Crematogaster (Oxygyne) margaritae Emery

Type location Congo (Emery, 1895h: 31, queen; Mayr, 1896: 243, worker & male) collected at Kuilu; subspecies brevarmata (as variety of santschii, Forel, 1915c: 337, worker & male; Santschi, 1930a: 65, queen) collected at Kondué, by Luja; cupida (Santschi, 1935a: 261, illustrated, worker); and lujae (Forel, 1913b: 325, queen) also from Kondué, by Luja - all from Zaïre (see Bolton, 1995); all forms described .

Emery's (1895h) description is at . Mayr's (1896) description of the worker & male is at and . Forel's (1913b) description of lujae is at . Santschi (1910c) in a discussion of Cr. depressa and Cr. julienni, gave an illustration of the mandible of Cr.margaritae (left).

Wheeler (1922) listed the type form from Cameroun (Sjöstedt). Santschi (1935) has the drawings (right) of brevarmata, specimens from Mongende and Kasai Kondue, Zaïre (which he spells as breviarmata, Wheeler had brevarmata) and cupida.

Forel's (1915c) description of brevarmata (the original is at ) is -
TL 2.9-3.4 mm; propodeal spines much smaller than type, length less than half the width between their bases; base also more slender. Mesonotum slightly convex anteriorly and obliquely truncate posteriorly, from above the truncated part is tranversely slightly concave. Head not as narrow but without concavity behind the mid-line. Scape shorter than clymene, not passing the occiput, as the type. Rest as the type.
MALE - TL 1.9-2.4 mm; mandibles narrow with a single apical tooth; scapes less than twice as long as their width; funiculus segments, except the apical, narrower than long; propodeum unarmed; wings lightly tinted with rust-brown; postpetiole scalloped behind. Body blackish brown with appendages brown.
Collected at Kasai, Kondué, Zaïre, by Luja.

WORKER (Nigeria specimens) TL 3.11 mm, HL 0.70, HW 0.68, SL 0.56, PW 0.40
Colour very dark red-brown, antennal funiculi yellow brown. Highly polished appearance with little or no sculpturation. Pilosity short and sparse, erect hairs only on apices of clypeus and gaster. Head near ovoid in frontal view. Alitrunk profile very convex, mesonotum slightly humped, no metanotal groove. Dorsal propodeum curved, spines straight narrow, acute and upwardly directed. Postpetiole flattened in profile, trapezoidal in front view, lower edge with acute lateral angles, upper edge slightly rounded and medially impressed. First gastral tergite with rounded acute anterolateral corners.

CRIN museum had two specimens from Nigeria, collected at CRIN (B. Bolton), and noted as commensal with Crematogaster gambiensis on a tree.

Santschi (1935) described cupida as follows (my translation) - (comparison with brevarmata)
TL 2.8 mm. Shiny, head and gaster black; often the rest of the body and appendages black brown; ends of mandibles, funiculi and tarsi rust or brownish red. Genae of head longitudinally striated up to the eyes; Clypeus, area of promesonotum suture, sides of alitrunk, part of petiole feebly shagreened and less shiny; gaster more or less wholly shagreened and dull; pubescence very short, spaced out on the gaster and appendages and rare elsewhere. Head slightly longer than wide, feebly impressed rearwards, the posterior border feebly convex and the angles very rounded; occipitum slightly concave; eyes slightly behind the midpoint of the sides and just under a quarter the length of the head. Anterior clypeal border slightly impressed, less than brevarmata. Scape reaching about the vertex. Mandibles straight, smooth and shiny. Second segment of the funiculus slightly longer than wide, 3-6 equally wide as long, Promesonotum profile more convex, metanotal groove more deeply impressed; propodeum dorsum shorter and more convex in profile, spines as short but space between bases slightly larger. Dorsum of petiole near as wide as long, trapezoidal, sides arced but more convergent posteriorly. Postpetiole less impressed medially now longer than petiole.

The photomontage is of specimens collected in Cameroun - south-western tropical coastal forest area between Edéa and Campo (McKey Wolbachia project) - Cameroon 66 from location BOU, 18 April 2001, on a domatia bearing and lianescent Rubiaceae. Other images can be seen in the folder at -

The specimens are almost unsculptured and highly polished, some very faint striations on anterior of face and minute puncturation. Dark brown except for mandibles and antennal funiculi, notably the clubs which are lighter orange-brown. Scattered decumbent pilosity; only erect hairs on anterior margin of clypeus, a pair on the postpetiole and, a number on the ventral gaster. In full face view, head near square, narrowed slightly forward and the vertex moderately impressed. In profile head globular, with clypeus raised slightly. Condylar bulbs exposed, as frontal carinae no more than lateral margin of the clypeus. Eyes quite small with midline forward of midline of face; set right on the sides of the head and only slightly convex. Pronotum dorsally concave; the anterior corners angular with a sharp transition from the dorsal to lateral pronotum. Promesonotal suture visible as a distinct impression; mesonotum with raised broad carina. Propodeum sloping downwards from distinct metanotal groove; spines short pointing upwards and outward; spiracle protruding and set into the base of the spines. Petiole relatively long and without a subpetiolar process.

The photomontage is of the head (only part found) of a specimen from the Central African Republic, Dzanga-Sangha National Park; site DN; 02°48’20.5" N 16°06’14.0" E 350m; Camp 1; U.V : 18h30-8h sur bute en forêt; 25.01.2005; collected by Philippe Annoyer. Other images can be seen in the folder at -