Pachycondyla (Bothroponera) talpa (André)

Type location Sierra Leone (Bothroponera talpa, in André, 1890: 316, worker; Emery, 1899e: 473, queen; Santschi, 1914d: 314, queen) collected by Mocquerys; subspecies variolata (Santschi, 1912b: 151, worker) from Congo, collected by Zimmermann; junior synonym clavicornis (Psalidomyrmex clavicornis, Bernard, 1952: 209, illustrated, queen) from Guinea, Mt. Nimba; worker and queen described see Bolton, 1995) .

André's (1890) description is at . Santschi's (1912b) description of variolata is at .

Nigeria specimens -
TL 9 mm; mandibles striate; antennal scapes not reaching to occiput; eyes small; petiolar node sharply truncated posteriorly; golden pubescence on body, especially on head, abundant; head, thorax, petiole and postpetiole coarsely punctate, punctate-rugulose or striated but sculpture less pronounced than pachyderma.

Wheeler (1922) listed it from Guinea (Kakoulima, F. Silvestri), Ghana (Aburi, F. Silvestri), Cameroun and Congo areas.

Bernard briefly described a single queen, collected at Mt. Nimba, Guinea (at Camp IV, 1000 m). TL 11.5, with illustration of the full-face head (above right). Petiole and abdomen with strong pilosity and yellow pubescence (Bernard, 1952). Bolton, 1975, noted the transference of Bernard's "Psalidomyrmex clavicornis" to a synonym of talpa by W.L. Brown, "in preparation" - which clearly indicated that Bolton (1995) was wrong in asserting the synonymy was by Bolton (1975).

The photomontage is of a specimen from the Usambara Mts, Tanzania, Amani NR, Zigi Lodge, S 5°05' E 38°38'; 2200 m; collector V. Grebennikov; 9-11.x.2002. Other images can be seen in the folder at -

The photomontage is collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=sam-hym-c007964&shot=p1&project=.