Dorylus (Anomma) gribodoi Emery

Type locality Togo (Emery, 1892d: 570, illustrated, male) collected at Amu by Mr Gribodo; subspecies confusus (Santschi, 1915c: 246, male) from Ivory Coast, collected at Grand Bassam, by Lohier, and insularis (Santschi, 1937b: 98, male) from Fernando Po I.; revisions and synonymy by Schöning et al. (2008) - junior synonyms gerstaeckeri (Emery, 1895j: 713, illustrated, holotype major worker only) from Ghana; and lamottei (Bernard, 1952: 219, illustrated, workers) from Guinea.

Emery's (1892d) description, with a drawing of the male head, is at . Emery (1895j) had a brief description, with an illustration; this is at . Santschi's (1937b) description of insularis is at . In April (2008) Schöning et al. have synonymized D. gerstaeckeri and lamottei under Dorylus gribodoi, note they decline to separate it as in Anomma or Dorylus - http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2008/f/zt01749p052.pdf. Note that the single male and the workers were collected entirely separately but have been linked by genetic methods.

Santschi (1915c) described the male of variety confusa as differing from the type in being darker, of uniform dark ferruginous brown; in gribodoi the thoracic sutures and the base of gastral segments has very distinct dark brown bands; in atratus the colour is black. The specimens were from Ivory Coast, Grand Bassam, by J.H. Lohier, 2 males, and from near Imbroko, by Posth, 1910, 3 males.

Wheeler (1922) has records from Liberia (by Keiselbach), Ivory Coast (by A. Richard, Lohier, and at (D?)Imbroko by Posth), Ghana (no location), Nigeria (Lower Benue, by Lenfant), Congo and Zaïre.

From Guinea, Bernard (1952), calling it a purely western form, noted two typical males were taken from Mt. Nimba, one at Yalanzou, the other at Camp IV, 1000 m.

The photomontage is of a male from Taï, Ivory Coast, collected by Casper Schoning; collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0172625&shot=p1&project=null

The photomontage is of a specimen from Taï, Ivory Coast, collected by Casper Schoning; collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0172626&shot=p1&project=null

Dorylus (Anomma) gerstaeckeri Emery

Type locality Ghana (Emery, 1895j: 713, illustrated, workers) from Accra .

The original description was of a single worker, TL 8.0; but Emery (1901) received others from Cameroun which were longer, TL 10 mm. These were characterised by a square head about 1/3 of TL; vertex shiny and puncturation sparse; petiole slightly wider than long; overall body stocky (stockier than burmeisteri) and appendages shorter.

My separation of the much redder Dorylus (Anomma) quadratus (Santschi) as a distinct species has now (April, 2008) been confirmed by Schöning et al. (2008), although they synonymize quadratus with kohli.

Emery's (1895j) description is at . Emery's (1901c) description is at .

Raignier & van Boven (1955) under Dorylus (Anomma) emeryi note comparison with gerstaeckeri; emeryi being bigger TL 12.7 mm; head rectangular, slightly longer than wide, and slightly more than 1/3 of TL (in gerstaeckeri it is slightly less than 1/3).

The Ghana record was from Aburi (F. Silvestri, in Wheeler, 1922). One of the two species studied in Ghana during 1971 by Gotwald (1974). He found it only in the high forest areas, especially in and around cocoa at CRIG, where the almost exclusive prey was earthworms.

Also from Cameroun by Conradt (in Wheeler, 1922).

Dorylus (Anomma) lamottei Bernard

Type locality Guinea (Bernard, 1953b: 219, illustrated) from Mt. Nimba, 12 workers; 3 minors from Mount Tô; 4 medium workers, Nion crest, forest, 1300 m; 5 medium workers, Camp I, all collected by Lamotte; worker only known (see Bolton, 1995) .

Bernard (1953b) description - TL 8.1-2.7 mm - the original description is at .
Medium worker - red-brown, head darker, mandibles blackish, tarsi yellow-orange, antennae reddish. Minor - dark yellow, head orange, tarsi yellow. Both shiny (more so than kohli, similar to wilverthi; with sparse puncturation. Pilosity yellow and dense on minors, sparse save on the gaster of media. Allowing for size differences, they vary from the equivalent morphs of kohli by having a flatter thorax dorsum, the head more incurved posteriorly, and a less symmetrical profile to the petiole node.
Media TL 8.1 mm, HL 2.2 (centrally), HW 2.0 anteriorly, 1.5 at the vertex. Head large, shiny with very fine and sparse puncturations, median groove very fine, interrupted centrally, wide only at the vertex. Vertex with posterior angle rounded above but seen from the posterior, bordered and extended to sharp angles (less developed than those of wilverthi). Pronotum more convex than in wilverthi and molestus, almost hump-backed, more matt than the head, with microscopic reticulation and several sparse large puncturations. Propodeum similarly sculpted, shinier, parallel sided and straight. Petiole near spherical dorsally, elegantly reticulated with fine mesh; in profile, anterior face more oblique than the posterior - both faces are straight in kohli - subpetiolar process, sharper and longer than others, wilverthi and molestus have a lower petiole, matt, twice as long as wide. Gaster shiny, finely reticulate.
Minima - TL 2.7 mm; head with more rounded vertex angles but also more distinct than those of kohli. Pronotum more shouldered. Petiole similar to that of media but with a reduced ventral process.

Polymorphism - the photomontages are of specimens collected at Bossou, south eastern Guinea by Tatyana Humle (Humle 1, 20.ix.2001, and Humle 5, 8.ix.2001). The ant colonies were was observed as eaten by chimpanzees using the "ant-dipping" (using tools to gather the ants). The characters are quite distinctive, notably the short, near globose petiole with a spike-like subpetiolar process; the lighter colour and smaller size also seem consistent. See also the polymorphism montage at the bottom. It seems the species may be restricted to the Mt. Nimba massif and surrounding areas.

The various morphs are shown in detail on Dorylus (Anomma) lamottei morphs page. Also shown is a specimen labelled "Dorylus gribodoi" collected and labelled by Caspar Schöning, from Ivory Coast

Full new description of major -
Humle 1 Humle 5 - TL 8.9 HW 2.2 HL 2.1 HD 1.25 CI 1.05 SL 1.25 SI 60 AL 2.75 PW 1.0 PetL 0.55 GL 3.5 MFL 1.75
Overall appearance - shiny matte, except polished occiput and posterior gaster yellow chestnut, darkest on head and posterior gaster, appendages more yellow
Head - sub-rectangular, posterior slightly narrower; sides near straight for first two-thirds, then slightly convex angle in; posterior margin very shallow scallop with distinct median bump, scallop in form of flattened depressions to occiput; sculpturation anterior near half very finely spiculate, remainder of dorsum highly polished with very sparse minute hair pits, except occiput which is like anterior; median line visible as very faint impression for whole length; clypeal margin near straight with strong median hair; mandible highly polished, slender, moderate sharp triangular basal tooth, faintest of subapical denticles, internal hairs; scape stout distinctly out curved, broad apex 2 X width of funiculus segment 1, spiculation as anterior face thick; funiculus segments barely longer than wide, bristly; head distinctly ovoid in profile, venter almost as convex as dorsum, posterolateral processes smaller than in wilverthi group members; erect hairs none, no pilosity.
Alitrunk - altogether shorter and stockier than any other species, distinct flat sides, near flat dorsum; mesonotum/metanotal groove area flat smooth line with propodeum, below level of pronotum; spiracle a small vertical oval, facing downwards and backwards; propodeum a smooth curve downwards and backwards to short subvertical declivity; metapleural gland upper flange barely longer than lower but down curved; sculpturation fine spiculation all over; no erect hairs.
Petiole - distinctively globulose and small; dorsum globulose; spiracle tiny, low down and forward; subpetiolar process peg-like; sculpturation as alitrunk; hairs none dorsally, pair short bristles.
Gaster - base as petiole rest shiny, basal segment shorter than normal, little waisting; hairs none dorsally, although sparse fine pilosity, few ventrally relatively long.
Legs - coxae flattened with marked impressions; femora short, wide and shiny; tibiae distinctly flattened relatively short, fine pilosity; tarsi relatively short, with fine pilosity, claws slender.

Minima morph
Head uniquely near square (slightly wider than long), glossy but anterior spiculate, colour yellow; clypeal margin not produced anteriorly; dorsum with sparse decumbent quite coarse pilosity; funiculus with short wide segments.