Dorylus (Anomma) victoriae Santschi - new status

Type locality Uganda (Dorylus (Anomma) kohli Wasm. var victoriae nov. var., Santschi, 1921c: 115, worker, not illustrated; single specimen), fuller description by Santschi (1933b: 98) of a series of workers, including the major, from Uganda, collected by Hargreaves, migrating column; junior synonym langi (Wheeler, 1922: 45) from Zaïre; workers only (see Bolton, 1995) .

Santschi's (1921c: 115, worker) description of the media is at and that of the major (Santschi 1933b: 98) is at .

TL 11-2 mm; major head with anterior three-quarters straight, converging slightly rearward but then more brusquely narrowing in the remaining quarter.

Wheeler (1922) gave the following description Dorylus (Anomma) kohli variety langi, new variety.

A series of more than a hundred workers from Malela (Lang and Chapin), taken beneath the prostrate trunk of a palm, represent a new variety near variety frenisyi Forel and variety minor Santschi.

Size range from 3 to 8 mm. The largest are very probably the true maxima workers as they lack the preapical mandibular tooth. In frenisyi the largest workers attain a length of 8.5 mm, in minor 8 mm.

The head of langi is nearly as broad as long, its sides convex and distinctly converging behind so that the occipital border, which is deeply and rather angularly excised, is about three-fourths as long as the anterior. The dorsal and ventral surfaces of the head are somewhat flattened. The whole body is finely, sharply, and rather uniformly shagreened or minutely and densely punctate and subopaque; the mandibles smooth and shining; the gaster behind its first segment feebly shining. The upper surface of the head, thorax, and gaster are uniformly but sparsely punctate, the punctures nonpiligerous for the most part. The suberect, yellow hairs are very sparse and confined to the gaster and the same is true of the dilute appressed pubescence. Legs and scapes with short stiff and appressed hairs, absent or very sparse on the extensor surfaces of the femora and tibiae. In some specimens a few very fine short hairs can be detected, under a magnification of 20 diameters, arising from the coarse punctures on the vertex or posterior corners of the head. Colour rather bright reddish ferruginous, with the legs paler and the mandibles and the upper surface of the head, except the cheeks and occiput, dark brown or blackish. The upper surface of the thorax and gaster, except the posterior borders of the segments of the latter, are darker and more brownish than the pleurae and venter. The petiole is scarcely longer than broad, its ventral tooth small, compressed and directed backward. The smaller workers have the head of nearly the same shape and proportions as the larger but less deeply excised behind and more shining, as is also the body. The pubescence is also a little more abundant. The colour is very similar but paler in the smallest individuals.

Raignier & van Boven (1955) made a single field collection, with 8 specimens, TL between 7 and 4 mm, CI 95, petiole as wide as long for TL 6.84; head dark brown, matt anteriorly, shiny behind; thorax and abdomen generally bright, more so than congolensis. They thought, however, that the form was no more than an example of the variability inherent in Anomma species, although they also felt more strongly that langi is very close to, if not identical with, victoriae.

Provisionally, I suspect the specimens from Kenya, of which one is shown below, are the type form and those shown lower down the page are of langi Wheeler's description includes the sharper narrowing of the posterior of the head and a more deeply incised posterior margin. Santschi (1933b) writing of the major of victoriae described it as close to langi but different somewhat in the lesser contrast of the colour of the anterior of the head.

Nigeria specimens (as Dorylus (Anomma) species T¹, Taylor, 1978b: 15). WORKERS. TL 9.56-3.93 mm . At least four morphs - seemingly I did not find the true major; largest HL 2.41, HW 2.47, SL 1.27, PW 0.89, petiole length 0.87.
Colour very dark red-brown; each morph lighter as size diminishes, smallest yellow brown. Sculpturation of extremely fine all over reticulation, coarser on alitrunk and petiole giving those parts a matt appearance, but head of major highly polished . Relatively slender, light coloured, erect hairs on sternites, one dorsal pair and two ventral pairs on the petiole. Head widest at anterior margin, sides only slightly convex. Mandibles with the apical tooth relatively short and blunt, then a small preapical tooth before an irregular margined flange running to a large blunt triangular basal tooth; very fine long setae on inner margin. Anterior clypeal margin with short hairs only. Face with very sparse and minute pucturations overlaying faint spiculation. Antennal scapes finely spiculated, thickening slightly to a moderately broad apex and reaching midpoint of face; funiculus segments progressively longer from 1-9. Promesonotum strongly convex dorsally, propodeum rounded in profile. Subpetiolar process rear curving and triangular
I collected it on leaf litter under cocoa at the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, Idi Ayunre.

Polymorphism

The photomontages are of specimens collected at Yeale, Nimba Mountains region, Ivory Coast by Tatyana Humle (Humle 12, ix.2001); she also collected specimens at Bossou, south eastern Guinea (Humle 3). Others seen are from Ghana, collected by Sky Stephens. Those with the various morphs are shown in detail on Dorylus (Anomma) victoriae page.

Full new description - Humle 12, Humle 3 (similar but major not seen), HUmle 10; CRIN species T1

Humle 12 - TL 11.15 HW 2.75 HL 3.0 HD 2.0 CI 92 SL 1.6 SI 53 AL 3.5 PW 1.0 PetL 0.9 GL 3.75 MFL 3.25
Humle 3 - HW 2.41 HL 2.47 HD 1.6 CI 98 SL 1.27 SI 51 AL 2.9 PW 0.89 PetL 0.87 GL 2.6
CRIN - TL 9.56 HW 2.47 HL 2.41 HD 1.6 CI 98 SL 1.27 SI 51 AL 2.8 PW 0.89 PetL 0.87 GL 2.6
Overall appearance - submatt, pronotum and all but basal gaster shinier, head glossy dark chestnut, legs and funiculi orange chestnut .
Head - widest at anterior margin, narrowest posteriorly; sides evenly and shallowly convex; posterior margin smooth shallow scallop; sculpturation almost effaced and very minute spiculation, visible only at x 32; hairs minute sparse hair pits; median line visible as faint impression on front of occiput and above frontal carinae; clypeal margin a shallow scallop, fine moderately long hairs; mandible quite long and slender, with moderate triangular basal tooth broadening evenly base to apex; scape matte appearance, sparse fine pilosity apically relatively slender; funiculus segments evenly increasing in length and width base to apex; head profile bulbous, with anterior concavity dorsally, ventrally shallowly convex; hairs none, no pilosity.
Alitrunk - domed LS and TS, latter flattened anteriorly; distinct "saddle" well below level of rear pronotum and lower than propodeum; spiracle circular and only slightly raised; propodeum from above spiracle almost three flat areas with rounded transitions, angles steepening posteriorly, third is the short declivity about 60° upper barely longer than lower; sculpturation pronotum with fine spiculation, coarsening posteriorly and lower; hairs minute and sparse pilosity on pronotum and dorsal propodeum.
Petiole - all edges smoothly rounded, highest point where sloping front margin meets dorsum, posterior vertical; dorsum subparallel, slightly wider at rear; spiracle moderate and at mid-height, slightly protruding seen from above' subpetiolar process shallow triangle; sculpturation as posterior alitrunk; hairs several on posterior dorsum.
Gaster - basal segment sculpturation as petiole; rest shiny matte; distinct waisting; 2 long hairs on basal dorsum, quite long and abundant fringing hairs otherwise, fine pilosity on all but basal dorsum, as on alitrunk.
Legs - coxae relatively short and rounded; femora long and shiny, with sparse pilosity; tibiae finely spiculated, with abundant fine decumbent pilosity; tarsi quite thin, large stout claws.

Minima morph
Head colour yellowish brown; anterior corners raised; dorsum with sparse decumbent pilosity; funiculus segments yellow with dark edges.