The Ants of Africa
Genus Camponotus subgenus Tanaemyrmex
Camponotus (Tanaemyrmex) negus Forel

maculatus species-group
TL 8-10-12 mm plus; alitrunk profile convex in a smooth elongated curve, propodeal declivity not or poorly separable from dorsum, if the latter always much shorter than dorsum; petiole scale of major cuneiform, with convex anterior face and quite sharp dorsal margin; mostly bicoloured with alitrunk lighter and distinct light areas on gaster; dimorphic (?) minors with head narrowed posteriorly but not dramatically so and without any "neck".

Camponotus (Tanaemyrmex) negus Forel

return to key {link to the Hymenoptera Name Server} Type locality Ethiopia (Camponotus maculatus F. subsp. negus n. subsp., Forel, 1907c: 142, all forms; subspecies of thraso according to Emery, 1920c: 6); subspecies agricola (as maculatus variety, Forel 1910e: 454, soldier & worker) from South Africa; unavailable names assabensis (C. maculatus ssp adenensis var assabensis, Emery, 1893f: 258, worker) from Eritrea, beritchi (Forel, 1915c: 348, worker) from South Africa; etiennei (Forel, 1910e: 453, soldier & worker) from Zaïre, and tacitus (Santschi, 1919b: 240, soldier & worker) from South Africa; all forms described (see Bolton, 1995) .

The type locality of thraso is Sri Lanka and subspecies range across to Israel; it seems unlikely that negus would be a subspecies with a range the length of eastern Africa, so I have taken negus as a full species. I am also including montinanus (Camponotus (Myrmoturba) thraso var montinanus, Santschi, 1926b: 251, soldier & worker) from Zimbabwe and nefassitensis (as C. maculatus ssp negus var nefassitensis, Forel, 1910c: 266; Menozzi, 1931a: 155, soldier & worker, name and distribution only) from Ethiopia (also from Eritrea, Finzi, 1939a: 160) as probable subspecies.

Forel's (1907c) description is at {original description}; his (1910e) description of agricola is at {original description}; his (1910e) description of etiennei is at {original description}; his (1910c) description of nefassitensis is at {original description}; and his (1915c) description of beritchi is at {original description}. Arnold's (1922: 648) translation, as maculatus race negus variety beritschi, is at {original description} and his (1922: 647) translation, as maculatus race agricola, is at {original description}. Santschi's (1926b) description of montinanus is at {original description}. Arnold's (1926: 293) translation of tacitus, is at {original description}

Emery (1893f) simply noted on assabensis that a worker specimen from Assab differed from adenensis in having the gaster without striolate sculpture but being irregularly transversely reticulo-punctate.

{Camponotus negus} The photomontage is of a major specimen from the Central African Republic, Dzanga-Sangha NP, 02°48’20.5" N 16°06’14.0" E 350m; Camp 1; 25.01.2005, U.V : 18h30-8h sur bute en forêt; collector Philippe Annoyer. This appears to match the general description of negus. Other images can be seen in the folder at - {original description}

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© 2007, 2008 - Brian Taylor CBiol FIBiol FRES
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