Tetramorium cristatum Stitz

Type location Togo (Tetramorium guineense F. v. cristatum n.v., Stitz, 1910: 144, worker; raised to species by Bolton, 1980) collected at Bismarckburg, by L. Conradt; junior synonym medje from Zaïre (Wheeler, 1922: 192) Medje, by Lang & Chapin, from stomach of a toad; material with unavailable name ebangense (Santschi, 1937d: 235, illustrated, worker) from Angola (see Bolton, 1995); worker only described .

Stitz's (1910) description is at Santschi's (1937d) description of ebangense is at Bolton's modern description (1980) is at .

WORKER - TL 4.1-5.1 mm; distinctively coloured, with head, alitrunk and pedicel orange-yellow to glossy orange-brown, gaster always much darker, dark brown to blackish brown (Bolton, 1980: 268, illustrated).

Wheeler (1922) listed it twice as cristatum and, wrongly, as striatum (from Zimbabwe, reflecting an error by Arnold).

Findings listed by Bolton (1980) include Ivory Coast, at Sipilou (J. Lévieux); Ghana, at Legon (D. Leston); Guinea, Mt. Nimba, Thio (Lamotte); plus others from Central and East Africa. The locations suggest it is a savannah species.

The Guinea findings were recorded by Bernard (1952) as, although not identical, being Tetramorium guineense Fabricius, similar to the congolese forms ssp. medje, 1 worker from savanna at Kéoulenta, and ssp. cristatum, one worker from Thio. The latter he noted as TL 4.3, near the maximum known for "T. guineense" and with a head more rounded and the petiole more angular. The distribution he gave as tropicopolitan, very variable and rare here. In terms of nomenclature, the name Tetramorium guineense now applies to a synonymization of a Xiphomyrmex species (also collected at Mt. Nimba, and recorded by Bernard). The Tetramorium guineense of Fabricius (as Formica guineensis, 1793; transferred to Tetramorium by Mayr (1862) is now regarded as Pheidole guineensis.