Dorylus (Alaopone) aethiopicus Emery

Type location not given, noted as Sudan, Ethiopia (Abyssinia) and Tunisia (Dorylus (Shuckardi) atriceps subspecies aethiopicus n. sp., Emery, 1895j: 741, male; raised to species by Santschi, 1923e: 277); male & worker described .

Emery's (1895j) description of the male is at Forel's (1907b: 201, worker) description of the worker (as a variety of atriceps) from Tunisia (Kairouan, by F. Santschi) is at . Finzi (1940: 156) illustrated the male genitalia from specimens collected in Libya; this is at

Nigeria species (as Dorylus (Alaopone) species 1, Taylor, 1980b: 9)
TL 6.71-2.74 mm. Largest morph HL 2.09, HW 1.28, SL 0.49, PW 0.72
Colour orange-brown, mandibles darker. Sculpturation all over of scattered hair-pits, giving rise to fine pilous hairs. Erect hairs only at anterior and posterior apices of body. Head of larger morphs elongated and near rectangular. Alitrunk completely flat dorsally. Subpetiolar process a triangular spine, slightly hooked to the rear in largest morph, straight in medium morphs and blunt in smallest.
Collected from under bark (presumably of dead wood) at the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, Idi Ayunre, by B. Bolton.

From Forel's (1907b) description of aethiopicus and his comparative notes between the known workers of Alaopone, notably conradti, it seems the head of aethiopicus is longer and more deeply impressed posteriorly, with the thorax dorsum flatter and its sides parallel. Also with aethiopicus seen from above the sides of the pro- and mesonotum are slightly convex, such as to give a median concavity in the sides of the thorax. Then with conradti the thorax has a more dense and elongated puncturation, also the petiole is less trapeziform (in dorsal view) and the mandibles are thicker. The overall features and colouration suggest that this form may well be aethiopicus.