The Ants of Africa

	The Ants of Africa Genus Camponotus subgenus Paramyrmamblys
Genus Camponotus

Paramyrmamblys - Santschi (1926c: 604)

Subgenus defintion - apparently major with truncated anterior to head; clypeus usually trapezoidal or convex, variably carinate, with anterior border arcuate, rarely with a median impression; alitrunk narrowed posteriolry and witha continuous profile, arcuate or straight, the propodeum not saddle-shaped; declivity of propodeum abrupt.

It seems that members (15 species most from eastern/southern Africa) of this subgenus are the African equivalent of the otherwise pantropical subgenus Colobopsis, whose soldiers are known to use the truncated head to block the entrance holes to the nests, always in the wood of trees - in hollow stems, galls or spines {described in Arnold, 1922: 613). Colobopsis usually have an excised metanotal groove. In Bolton (1995), two species C. (Param.) amamianus and C. (Param.) kiusiuensis are listed with type locations in Japan. It seems unlikely that these could be genuinely related to the African subgenus.

Santschi's (1926c) subgenus definition is at Note - Emery (1925b: ) had the species in his simus-group of subgenus Myrmamblys.

Key to species

¤	Queen only known, close to ferreri - see image on species page	Ivory Coast - robertae
¤	Queen only known, yellow - see image on species page	Kenya - viri
1	Major with elongated rectangular head	2
--	Major with HW ca HL; trapezoidal in profile	6
2	Major head with straight sides	3
--	Major head with elongated but arcuate sides	4
3	Major TL 5.8-6.4 mm; anterior margin of clypeus entire; very fine whitish pubescence on body and legs; black appendages varying brown	.
.	Major	.
.	Minor	Zimbabwe - aequitas
--	Major - TL 6.5 mm, HL 2.3 mm HW 1.6 mm; anterior margin of clypeus with median notch and excavation of surface; overall dull; blackish, gaster darkest, appendages dull red	.
.	Major	Zaļre - prosulcatus
4	TL 6.8-7.0 mm; head only one-fifth longer than wide; head piceous, alitrunk and gaster dark brown to black;	.
.	Minor	South Africa - brookei
--	Head about 50% longer than wide	5
5	TL 5 mm; clypeus without a carina; alitrunk bordered; head wider and alitrunk more arcuate; shiny; varying from pitch brown to brownish yellow, head always darker and gaster clearer, appendages lighter and gaster segments with a diffuse pale posterior border	.
.		Tanzania - limbiventris
--	TL 4.8-5 mm; clypeus with posterior longitudinal carina; alitrunk not bordered; clear reddish brown, appendages reddish-yellow	.
.		Zaļre - vulpus
--	Queen with elongated head; minor TL 5.5 mm, HL twice HW; petiole conical widest at the base subacuminate at the summit; shiny feebly shagreened; head and gaster brown, all remainder yellowish red. Only known minor (shown) is of the ssp akka	Cameroun - ferreri
-	Head with width and length about equal, in profile with steeply sloping anterior dorsum	-
6	With elongated low alitrunk profile and propodeum with vertical concave declivity	7
--	Wtth relatively short arcuate alitrunk profile	9
7	With very long alitrunk and high petiole scale; TL 4.5-6.5 mm; HL 1.6 mm, HW 1.3 mm; clypeus not carinate, anterior margin slightly arcuate with shallow median impression; generally shiny, with feeble reticulation; brownish-black, appendages reddish, gaster segmens with weak yellowish posterior borders	.
.	Major	.
.	Minor	Kenya - orinobates
--	Alitrunk moderately long and petiole scale much lower	8
8	Major; TL 6.5-11 mm; minor worker elongated, alitrunk low, head narrowed behind; clypeus with median carina and rounded anterior border; petiole scale thick	.
.	Minor	Zaļre - lilianae
8A	TL 6.5-11 mm; Worker elongated, alitrunk low, head narrowed behind; clypeus with median carina and rounded anterior border; petiole scale thick	South Africa - cornutus
--	TL 5.8-7.4 mm; shiny; head black, rest of body dark brown, appendages paler	.
.		southern Sudan forests - hapi
9	Alitrunk with weak but distinct bordering on pro- and mesonotum	9A
--	Alitrunk without bordering	10
9A	Anterior of head coarsely reticulo-punctate; major TL 8.5-9 mm	.
.	Major	.
.	Minor	South Africa - ostiarius
--	Anterior of head without coarse sculpture or foveae; TL 9 mm HW 2.8 HL 2.8 SL 2.2	South Africa - bianconii
10	Propodeum declivity marginate; major TL 7 mm; head and alitrunk densely finely reticulo-punctate but head also with coarse rugae, these serpiginous and elongated terminally; erect pilosity coarse, obtuse, white, marginally on propodeum, petiole scale and gaster segments, black but anterior two-thirds of head ochreous, appendages brownish, posterior of gaster segments narrowly testaceous	South Africa - bifossus
--	Propodeal declivity not marginate	11
11	Petiole scale thin, convex anteriorly and near flat behind; TL 5-7 mm; major HL slightly more than HW; clypeus and genae with large oblong piligerous punctures; gaster with fine transverse rugulae; piceous shining, extremities fusco-ferruginous	South Africa - bertolonii
--	Petiole scale thicker with convex faces	12
12	Metanotal suture weak disappearing on sides of alitrunk; TL 4.3-7 mm	.
.		.
.	Minor	South Africa - orites
--	Metanotal suture descending full depth of alitrunk	13
13	TL 5-6.5 mm; HL 1.8 mm, HW 1.6 mm; pronotum shoulders rounded; shiny with fine superficial reticulation on mesonotum and propodeum; reddish erect hairs numerous; very dark brown, head almost black, appendages brown to rust, with hind trochanters and hind femora basally yellow	.
.		Congo Basin - simus
--	TL (minor) 4.4 mm; head about one-fifth longer than wide, smaller than others; converging anterior to eyes (much more than in vulpus and limbiventris alitrunk more evenly convex than vulpus
.	Possible major	Ethiopia - moderatus

Genus page

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