Monomorium invidium Bolton

Type location Nigeria (Bolton, 1987: 427, illustrated, full-face view, and lateral profile, worker) collected at IITA by A. Russell-Smith, 28.iv.1981, holotype, 10 paratypes and one alate female .

Bolton's description (1987) is at .

WORKER - TL 1.87 mm, HL 0.47, HW 0.39, SL 0.31, PW 0.26
Colour very dark brown, appendages lighter, shiny with polished appearance. Lateral mesonotum punctate ventrally; propodeum with distinct dorsal and posterior surfaces; dorsal face margined, faint rugae ventro-laterally. Abundant semi-prone hairs on the head, moderately abundant erect hairs on the rest of the body. Petiole flattened in side view to a thick scale, the apex broadened in front view. Clypeal carinae well developed and extending forwards as sharp processes.
Bolton (1987) noted a small variation between the many specimens he examined; TL 1.8-2.3, HL 0.46-0.65, HW 0.39-0.48; some without sculpturation on the propodeal dorsum and/or the lateral alitrunk; propodeum outline varying from narrowly to bluntly rounded to sharply obtusely angular.

Elsewhere in Nigeria, collected by me from the base of a cocoa tree at CRIN (in my Guide as Monomorium species T³) (in Bolton, 1987); also from CRIN (B. Bolton), and Ile-Ife (J.T. Medler).

From Ghana at Mampong (P.M. Room) (Bolton, 1987). It was described as widespread by Belshaw & Bolton (1994b), who found it very numerous workers (3432) from leaf litter samples, and 62 in soil samples, at nineteen locations in the semi-deciduous forest zone.

In Ivory Coast, at Sassandra, Banco National Park and Man (I. Löbl, probably March 1977), Bingerville and Issoneu (V. Mahnert & J.-L. Perret, October 1980), Nzi Noua (W.L. Brown) and Abidjan (T. Diomande) (Bolton, 1987).

Also Guinea, Mt. Nimba (Villiers); primary forest leaf litter in north-east of massif (Bernard, 1952). In Bernard's text under Monomorium occidentale as "co-types" but after examining the specimens, Bolton (1987) placed them with his newly defined species invidium.

From Cameroun, at Nko'emvon (D.A. Jackson) (Bolton, 1987).

The photomontage is of a specimen from Gabon, Pongara National Park; 8.viii.2006; yellow tray traps at edge of savannah; collector Yves Braet Other images can be seen in the folder at - .