Pristomyrmex orbiceps (Santschi)

Type location Cameroun (Xiphomyrmex orbiceps n. sp., Santschi, 1914d: 367, illustrated, worker) collected at Victoria, by F. Silvestri, 1913; junior synonym laevigatus (Weber, 1952: 20, illustrated, worker) from Zaïre, south of Asa .

Santschi's (1914d) description is at . Weber's (1952) description of laevigatus is at . Bolton's modern description (1981b: 286, illustrated, worker head) is at .

WORKER (Nigeria specimens) - TL 2.89 mm, HL 0.75, HW 0.78, SL 0.64, PW 0.47 (in my guide as Pristomyrmex species A)
Colour very dark brown, polished. Unsculptured. Erect hairs mainly on the ventral surface, one pair on the mesonotal dorsum. Very sparse and very short pilosity on the gaster. Pronotum with rounded acute tubercles. Propodeal spines acute, upturned and triangular. Petiole and postpetiole with smoothly rounded nodes.

Described by Bolton (1981b, illustrated, head only) as widely distributed throughout the wet forest zones of West and Central Africa, nesting in fallen twigs or larger pieces of wood in the leaf litter.

Collected in Nigeria, at CRIN (B. Bolton; B. Taylor). My collections were from leaf litter and from a nest in what appeared to be an old mason wasp brood pot lying on the leaf litter (Bolton, 1981b).

In Ghana from Aburi (F. Silvestri, 1913, in Santschi, 1914d); other collections were at Kibi, Bunso and Mampong (D. Leston) and at CRIG and Mt. Atewa (B. Bolton) (Bolton, 1981b). Reported, as species A, from the Mamfe-Mampong cocoa farm in Ghana by Room (1971), but he collected it only on herbs and on the ground. Described as widespread (13 locations, 505 workers) in their leaf litter collections from the semi-deciduous forest zone by Belshaw & Bolton (1994b).

Other West African records (Bolton, 1981b) were Ivory Coast, at Divo (L. Brader), plus at ORSTOM and Banco Forest (W.L. Brown); and Cameroun, at Nko'emvon (D.A. Jackson).

Bernard (1952) noting that it was found throughout West Africa but was rare, listed a Guinea finding of one worker from Mt. Nimba, north-east, 700-900 m, in leaf litter by Villiers.

The photomontage is collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0417737
Collection details - Central African Republic: Prefecture Sangha-Mbaéré; Parc National Dzanga-Ndoki, Mabéa Bai, 21.4 km 53° NE Bayanga; 03°02'00"N 016°24'36"E, 510m. Collection Information: Collection codes: BLF4000. Date: 1-7 May 2001. Collected by: B.L.Fisher. Method: EC19 sifted litter. Habitat: rainforest Transect Type: MW 50 sample transect, 5m Transect Sample No.: 14.

The photomontage is of a queen from Ghana, collected by S Sky Stephens, 2006. This sppears to be the first finding of a queen. Other images can be seen in the folder at -