Pheidole caffra Emery

Soldier - Minor - Type location South Africa (Emery, 1895h: 33, soldier; Santschi, 1939b: 239, worker); subspecies abyssinica (Forel 1910c: 254, soldier & worker) from Ethiopia, amoena (Forel, 1911d: 365, soldier) from Eritrea, bayeri (Forel, 1916: 413, soldier & worker) from Zaïre at Kasindi, by Bayer, montivaga (Santschi, 1939b: 240, illustrated, all forms) from Zimbabwe, and senilifrons Wheeler, 1922: 130, illustrated, soldier & worker) from Zaïre (Yakuluku, by Lang & Chapin); unavailable name thysvillensis (Wheeler, 1922: 130, soldier & worker) from Zaïre at Thysville, by Lang & Chapin; all forms described (see Bolton, 1995) .

Emery's (1895h) description is at . Forel's (1910c) description of abyssinica is at . Arnold (1920a: 478) gave a translation, this is at Forel's (1911d) description of amoena is at . Santschi's (1939b) description of montivaga is at . Santschi (1939b) gave an illustrated comparison of the type with montivaga and abyssinica, this is at .

The last indicates that abyssinica is not a subspecies of caffra.

It is quite clear from the original Emery description that true caffra does not have strongly marked sculpturation on the occiput and the frontal carinae reach the posterior quarter of the head; the colour also is given as ferruginous dull with the gaster piceous and shiny. It is my view that the common fault of Forel in defining subspecies or varieties rather than species led to confusion. Therefore, I have raised the quite distinctive bayeri to full species status, as Pheidole bayeri (Forel), with at least senilifrons and thysvillensis as junior synonyms.

The photomontage is of a major specimen from Gabon, Pongara National Park; Gabon 31; 26.v.2006; N 0°03.195' E 9°23.058'; degraded forest and under closed canopy; collector S Latour. Other images can be seen in the folder at -