SUBFAMILY FORMICINAE - Genus Tapinolepis
|
|
The Ants of Africa SUBFAMILY FORMICINAE - Genus Tapinolepis |
| Contents - Formicinae - FORMICINAE Introduction |
Revised after Bolton (2003: 267) - separating Anoplolepis as previously understood into two separate genera Anoplolepis (in Tribe Lasiini; with Zealleyella as a junior synonym) and Tapinolepis (in Tribe Plagiolepidini; with Mesanoplolepis as a junior synonym). Note - as Bolton provided no analysis of the individual species, I have retained a separation of Tapinolepis and Mesanoplolepis as subgenera.
Bolton's prime separation points are :-
Anoplolepis
- mandible with 6-9 teeth, when closed not concealed by clypeus; dorsum of
head behind clypeus with erect stout setae; eye behind mid-length of head,
and anterior arc of torus around eyes posterior to and not touching
clypeal margin; ocelli absent (sometimes one median ocellus in largest
workers); metatibia with a large distinct apicoventral spur, with a coarse
seta on each side; anterior face of gaster without distinct concavity.
Tapinolepis - mandible with 5 teeth, when closed mostly concealed
by clypeus; dorsum of head behind clypeus without erect stout setae; eyes
set variably around midlength of head but anterior arc of torus around
eyes touching and slightly indenting clypeal margin; three ocelli
distinct; metatibia with a divergent pair of large coarse setae on each
side, no median spur; anterior face of gaster with distinct cavity, into
which the petiole fits when alitrunk and gaster in horizontal alignment.
In Tribe PLAGIOLEPIDINI (see Bolton, 2003: 107, 267)
Emery (1925b: 18) as subgenus of Anoplolepis; type species Plagiolepis
tumidula - his definition is at
.
Emery (1925b) separated Tapinolepis - with one species from
South Africa and one from Ethiopia. Santschi (1926a) clarified and
restated his definitions of the Genus and the subgenera Anoplolepis,
Zealleyella, Mesanoplolepis and Tapinolepis. These
are at 
;
together with a note on Mesanoplolepis he added later (1930b - as
to the subgenus having repletes but, unlike Zealleyella, not
different morphs in terms of head shape. All but one of the Mesanoplolepis
species are from eastern Africa, the odd one is from North Africa.
Bernard (1952) noted an unlabelled queen from Guinea (among the Mt. Nimba survey collection?), probably of the sub-genus Mesanoploplepis Santschi, of which queens were very poorly known. Bolton (1995) listed five species regarded as of this subgenus, all except Anoploplepis simulans (type location Tunisia) have type locations in southern Africa. Also it is only simulans of which the workers, males and queens are known. The South African species trimenii is known by workers and queens.
In Bolton's separation (2003) there are some anomalies which, as he gave no species details or even indication of any review, are questionable. For example Anoplolepis (Anacantholepis) bothae is given as Tapinolepis bothae [queen & male only known]; Anoplolepis (Anoplolepis) macgregori is given as Tapinolepis macgregori; and Anoplolepis (Anoplolepis) pernix is gven as Tapinolepis pernix. Typically, as in others of his generic revisions, Bolton synonymises subgenera and then creates species-groups, in this instance, under Anoplolepis, he wrote of the gracilipes group (being monomorphic) and the custodiens group (polymorphic).
Provisional key to workers from all Africa (based primarily on historical sources)
| 1 |  Petiole
scale low and strongly inclined anteriorly; eyes forward of midpoint of
head; segment 2 of funiculus much shorter than segment 3 |
Tapinolepis subgenus Tapinolepis - 2 |
| -- |  Petiole
scale only slightly inclined anteriorly; eyes behind midpoint of head;
together segments 2 and 3 of funiculus longer than segment 1 |
Tapinolepis subgenus Mesanoplolepis - 3 |
| 2 | Tapinolepis subgenus Tapinolepis | - |
| 2 | TL 1.6-2.0 mm; head rectangular HL one-sixth > HW, narrowing behind, with slightly convex sides and almost straight occiput; eyes small and flat in anterior quarter of sides; scape just reaching occiput; petiole scale short, inclined and concealed by gaster; no erect hairs, pubescence fine and abundant but not concealing shiny reflective appearance of body; colour pale yellow, slightly rusty, appendages whitish-yellow | South Africa - candida |
| -- |  TL
2.5 mm; longer in size; head near rectangular with parallel sides; scape
surpassing occiput by 1.5 to 2 times apical width |
Ethiopia - tumidula |
| Tapinolepis subgenus Mesanoplolepis | - | |
| 3 | TL 1.7-2.5 mm; head subquadrate, angles rounded; scapes scarcely surpass occiput; colour flavo-testaceous, head darker, apex of gaster fuscous dull | South Africa - decolor |
| -- | TL > 2.5 mm in most instances | 4 |
| 4 | Scapes not or barely surpassing the occiput | 5 |
| -- | Scapes surpassing the occiput by a distinct margin | 7 |
| 5 | Scapes surpass occiput by no more than one-fifth their own length; TL 2.7-3.2 mm; HL one-sixth > HW; ocelli distinct, reddish ochreous, petiole brownish ochreous, gaster first segment and anterior of second yellowish, remainder black | Zimbabwe - deceptor |
| Scapes scarcely surpass occiput | 6 | |
| 6 | TL 3.3 mm; scapes surpassing occiput by no more than their apical width; propodeal dorsum twice as long as declivity; whole body dull, with microscopic pruinose pubescence, at some angles greyish; colour brownish-black, mandibles reddish-yellow, most of appendages brown with part ochreous | Zimbabwe - litoralis |
| -- |  TL
2.5-3.2 mm; NOTE replete TL 4.6-6.0 mm; head quadrate, occiput feebly
convex; eyes large occupying one-third of sides, three very minute
ocelli present; scapes scarcely surpass occiput; propodeum dorsum
straight and short, declivity longer and very oblique; petiole scale in
profile with very thin dorsal edge; overall dull due to microscopic
reticulo-rugosity; clothed with fine whitish yellow pubescence; colour
pale ochreous, funiculus darkening to apex, petiole scale, gastral apex
and patch on all gaster segments brownish; alternate colouration all
over yellowish brown |
South Africa - trimenii |
| 7 |  TL
2.4-2.6 mm; head rectangular HL slightly > HW, occiput weakly
concave, angles strongly rounded; eyes one-third of sides of head;
scapes surpass occiput by one-quarter of their own length; propodeal
dorsum weakly convex, declivity slightly concave; petiole scale short
very inclined partly covered by gaster; shiny, finely reticulo-punctate,
sides of head very shiny; colour black or black-brown, appendages mostly
testaceous |
North African - simulans |
| -- | TL > 2.6 mm | 8 |
| 8 | TL
3.2 mm; frontal carinae very divergent, scape surpassing occiput by less
than one-quarter of own length; propodeal dorsum convex, declivity flat;
petiole scale squamiform, dorsal edge flat; colour black, appendages
pale ochreous but apex of funiculus brownish |
Zimbabwe - macrophthalma |
| -- | TL 2.8-3.1 mm; NOTE has replete form, TL 4.5 mm; scapes surpass occiput by one-fourth of their length, so as to reach middle of pronotum ; HL one-sixth > HW, eyes occupying nearly one-third of side of head; petiole scale very thin apically in lateral view; whole body near glabrous and shiny; propodeal dorsum same length as declivity; colour black; appendages ochraeous | Zimbabwe - melanaria |
 |
Subfamily Formicinae | © 2007, 2008 - Brian Taylor CBiol
FIBiol FRES 11, Grazingfield, Wilford, Nottingham, NG11 7FN, U.K. |
href="tapinolepis.htm"