Polyrhachis fissa Mayr
Type location Cameroun (Mayr, 1902: 301, worker &
queen), collected at Victoria by Buchholz; junior synonyms bequaerti
(Wheeler, 1922: 267, illustrated, worker; Santschi, 1923e:
294, queen) from Zaïre; and ugandensis
(Arnold, 1954: illustrated, worker) from Uganda; (see
Bolton, 1995)  .
Mayr's (1902) description is at
 .
Arnold's (1954) description of ugandensis is at
 .
Santschi (1923e: 29$) described the queen of bequaerti as
similar to the worker, TL 6.5 mm, pronotum rugose not striate.
Bolton's modern description (1973b) is at
|
 WORKER
- TL 5.2-6.3 m; distinguished by the deeply incised and distinct
transverse striations on the propodeum. Colour black, the gaster
distinctly shiny, antennal funiculi usually lighter brown, legs
vary often lighter (Bolton, 1973b: 304, illustrated, full-face
view, anterior petiole).
Wheeler (1922) listed other findings from Cameroun (at
Bibundi by Tessmann, at Mundame by Conradt) and Rio Muni. He
described bequaerti as a new species, with an
illustration, noting that the nest consisted of two leaves united
by a soft tissue comprised of fibrous, gnawed vegetable particles
and silk (Bolton examined the type and Wheeler's specimens and
found no differences).
Bernard (1952, not referenced by Bolton, 1973b) described it as
a rare form, from Spanish Guinea and Cameroun. Two alate females
were collected in Guinea, at Nion and Yalanzou; 4 workers
at Camp IV (1000 m).
Found in Ghana cocoa. Reported by Strickland (1951a), as
P. fissus, an arboreal species making small circular
carton nests on the underside of leaves, which is common in
relatively restricted areas but rare elsewhere. Found later at
Kade by Majer (1975, 1976b), using pkd, with 1-2 workers per
sample; and on cocoa mistletoe (Room, 1975). Bolton (1973b) lists
it from three of the cocoa canopy survey sites (Nswam, Aburi and
Asamankese) of Room (1971, which has one collection only), plus
CRIG (B. Bolton; C.A. Collingwood) and Korangang (J. Paine).
Four workers were collected, three by canopy pkd and one on the
ground from a block of mature Amelonado cocoa at CRIG by Bigger
(1981a).
Bolton (1973b) also lists findings from Cameroun, no
location (G. Mayr) and Equatorial Guinea. He cites it as arboreal
and making nests of vegetable particles and silk. |
The
photomontage of a cotype specimen of the junior synonym bequaerti
is collated from the MCZ, Harvard collection, see -