Technomyrmex (Technomyrmex) nigriventris Santschi

Type location Congo (Santschi, in Forel, 1910f: 22, worker, as "Footnote" - Bolton, 1995); subspecies albinasis (Forel, 1910f: 22, worker) from South Africa; worker only described (?) but males and females known (see Bolton, 1995; Wheeler, 1922) .

Note Bolton (2007: 121) separated albinasis as Tapinoma albinase (Forel) n., stat. n. (provisional) arguing that the gaster was deeply crushed inwards and the segment 5 very deformed but "appears to have a Tapinoma structure rather than that of Technomyrmex".

Note - Forel (1909b) listed the finding of Technomyrmex nigriventris Santschi - a male and a female in Kinshasa by Waelbroek, without any other information. Also, in his catalogue, Wheeler (1922) had the authority as "Santschi, in Schultze, 1910; and Santschi, 1910, Ann. Ent Soc. France, 78 (1909), 391"; and noted the sexual stages were reported but "without description" in the "Santschi" Forel, 1909 report. Schultze (1910) was titled 'Forschungreise in Südafrika', IV; and he, L. Schultze collected albinasis on Table Mountain, South Africa. All very confusing but Santschi (1910c) simply listed the name, with a finding from Brazzaville, in "parabiose" [cohabitation?] with Pheidole aurivillii Mayr (Weiss)".

Santschi's (1910f) description, as a footnote, is on page 22 of Forel (1910f), where the description of albinasis also appeared; these are both on .

Arnold (1915: 149) provided a translation of - Santschi, in Forel, Schultze Forschungreise Süd-Afr., footnote, p. 22, 1910. Type species.
"Worker - TL 2-2.8 mm. Pale testaceous yellow, the posterior region of the head, and often the shoulders and dorsum of the thorax more or less brownish, gaster black. The hairs on the thorax are scanty, fairly short and yellow, they are longer and more abundant on the gaster and around the mouth. The base of these hairs is often blackish. Pubescence fine, yellowish and moderately abundant all over, slightly lessening the shininess of the gaster.
Head and thorax sub-opaque. The whole body microscopically reticulate-punctate. Mandibles smooth with a few piligerous punctures. Head a little longer than wide, slightly narrowed in front, the posterior angles rounded, the occipital margin feebly emarginate. The eyes are longer than one-fourth of the sides of the head, their anterior margins reaching the level of the antennal sockets. Clypeus with a wide but shallow median longitudinal groove which ends anteriorly in a distinct emargination. Mandibles with about a dozen teeth, diminishing in size from the apical to the basal. The scape reaches beyond the occiput by about the length of the 1st joint of the funiculus, the median joints of the latter a little longer than wide. The meso-metanotum is rounded posteriorly in an even curve as far as the floor of the metanotal suture; the mesonotal spiracles do not project above its profile. The profile of the propodeum almost rectangular, with the dorsum about one-third the length of the declivity; the latter flat and clearly margined.
Brazzaville, French Congo".

Arnold (1915: 150) also gave a translation of albinasis; this is at .

Santschi (1930a) noted this species has a similar colour to T. semiruber but is distinguished by the absence of erect pilosity on the appendages and a more matt sculpturation. He added the finding of 4 workers at Luebo and Macaco, Zaïre, 1.x.1921, by Schouteden.

Wheeler (1922) noted - two workers taken by J. Bequaert at Thysville, Zaïre, "beneath decaying leaves on the soil of a patch of forest".

Bernard (1952) reporting the Mt. Nimba, Guinea, findings had several workers from N'Zo, and from the leaf litter sampling in the north-eastern slope primary forest around 700 m (Villiers). He felt the species might be very widespread in Africa (noting the original locations) but it was small and secretive.

Bolton's (2007: 30) re-description, not illustrated, is at .

WORKER - from Nigeria (Taylor, 1978) as Technomyrmex species IK - TL 2.05 mm, HL 0.59, HW 0.50, SL 0.51, PW 0.34
Colour of head, alitrunk and appendages orange brown but gaster black, shiny. Erect hairs sparse, most abundant on the gaster. Dense pubescence all over. Propodeum humped with an acute, rounded apex.

Found by us at CRIN and Apoje in Nigeria. Occasionally seen on cocoa, nests under bark and in debris accumulations in tree forks.

As Technomyrmex species IK; in Taylor (1981) but listed without reference by Bolton (2007).

The photomontage is of a specimen from Congo, Brazzaville, pitfall trap, 19.viii.2007, collected by Yves Braet & Eric Nzassi, 2007.

Other images can be seen in the folder at - Congo -