The Ants of Africa
SUBFAMILY DORYLINAE - Genus Dorylus Subgenus Dorylus
Subgenus Dorylus

Subgenus Dorylus sensu stricto Fabricius (1793: 365)

Santschi's (1910g) gave a collection of drawings of male heads, this is at {original description}.

Provisional key to males based on original descriptions and fresh specimens - 2009

1 Alitrunk dorsum without any pilosity and variable pubescence 2
-- Alitrunk dorsum with pilosity, sometimes laterally only 5
. Alitrunk dorsum without any pilosity and variable pubescence .
2 Essentially brown to yellow brown (head may be darker) 3
-- Essentially dark brown to black species 4
3 {Dorylus gribodoi}{Dorylus gribodoi}Brown, with a dark head, brown wings; TL 22-24; mandible apparently quite long and sharp .
. {Dorylus gribodoi head} Western Africa - gribodoi
-- {Dorylus morio}HW 3.2 mm; wing 14 mm; overall dull yellow-brown ..
. {Dorylus morio} .
. {Dorylus morio head} Congo - morio
-- {Dorylus denudatus}Promesonotum almost glabrous, also missing on much of the gaster; generally submatt, apex of gaster smooth and very shiny; TL 21 mm, PW 3.7, red. head dull red, mandibles, antennae and legs reddish-brown; several large blond hairs on the clypeus and dorsum of head, a weak tuft between the ocelli; scape almost reaching the occiput; second segment of funiculus pubescent below .
. {Dorylus denudatus} Nigeria - denudatus
. Essentially dark brown to black species .
4 TL and forewing 19-22 mm
4A
-- TL and forewing no more than 18 mm 4B
4A {Dorylus atratus}TL 19 mm, black, matt, with dark wings, with black nerves; pubescence silky brown; pronotum and mesonotum very short; scape more than half the length of the funiculus; .
. {Dorylus atratus} .
. {Dorylus atratus head} Western Africa - atratus
-- {Dorylus moestus}TL 20-22 mm, PW 4-4.5; dark brown; wing dark brown .
. {Dorylus moestus head} Western Africa - moestus
-- Head reddish, body brownish-yellow; mandibles, antennae and legs brownish-red; wings pale; TL 24 mm, HW 4, PW 4.3, wing 18 Uganda (under affinis) - ugandensis
4B {Dorylus depilistype male}Type male
 wing > 16 mm; scape as long as up to the 6-7th segments of the funiculus; body blackish-brown; head brown-black; wing yellowish		 .
. {Dorylus depilis CAR HS male}CAR HS male Congo Basin & West Africa - depilis
-- Dorylus depilis clariorBody yellowish brown (ssp of depilis) clarior
-- Dorylus stadelmanniTL not given (from Antweb photos) wing 12 mm; mandible shorter; dark brown, head more red-brown .
. Dorylus stadelmanni head Zaïre - stadelmanni
. Alitrunk with abundant erect hairs on the dorsum .
5 Mandibles with hairs on the basal one-third 6
-- Mandibles without hairs on the basal one-third 7
Mandibles with hairs on the basal one-third .
6 {Dorylus schoutedeni}TL 25-27 mm, HW 4-4.2, PW 4.8-5, wing 17 mm; head with posterior and superior surfaces flat; scape less than half as long as the funiculus; mandibles with long hairs on the basal one-third; shiny dorsally, sides of alitrunk matt; rust, gaster darker .
. {Dorylus schoutedeni} .
. {Dorylus schoutedeni male} Zaïre - schoutedeni
-- Dorylus mandibularis pulchellusTL 21 mm; head, pedicel and gaster dark brown, alitrunk and appendages lighter red-brown to yellowish; similar to but smaller than schoutedeni with shorter alitrunk and petiole pilosity; mandible hairs shorter West Africa - mandibularis
Mandibles without hairs on the basal one-third .
7 Upper border of head (from one eye to the other) horizontal; seen from above (the ocelli) the line from the neck to the compound eyes is convex 8
-- Upper border of head more or less convex (oblique from the ocelli to the compound eyes); from above the line from the neck to the compound eyes is weakly concave 14
8 Gaster with variable but distinct long pilosity on at least some all segments 9
-- Gaster without erect pilosity except on apical segment 10
9 {Dorylus sudanicus}Whole of gaster covered with raised pilosity that is slightly less abundant than on the alitrunk; reddish-yellow, head, mandibles and legs generally reddish, wings feebly tinted with brown, sometime with a violaceous reflection; TL 21-22 mm, HW 3.7, PW 3.6, wing 15-16; pubescence thinner than affinis; funiculus thicker than affinis, second segment slightly longer than the first .
. {Dorylus sudanicus} Sahel (French Sudan), Niger Basin - sudanicus
-- All segments of gaster with erect pilosity, this as long as on the alitrunk; erect pilosity fine and woolly, masking the tegminae; TL 23-24 mm, HW 3.9, PW 3.8-4, wing 17 mm; mandibles longer than affinis and aegyptiaca; pale reddish-yellow, vertex of head, mandibles and legs darkish red; wings pale yellowish, veins brown; pubescence scarce on the alitrunk Ethiopia (under affinis) - hirsutus
Gaster without erect pilosity except on the apical segment .
10 The long pilosity is irregularly disposed on all the promesonotum 11
-- The long pilosity restricted to fringes along the promesonotal and parapsidal sutures; pubescence forming a pelt; TL 21-22 mm, HW 3.8, PW 4, wing 16 mm; dull yellowish-brown Malawi  (under affinis) - parapsidalis
11 Scape as long as up to the 6-7th segments of the funiculus 12
-- Scape reaching only about the 5th segment of the funiculus 13
12 {Dorylus affinis male head} {Dorylus affinis}TL ca 22.2 mm, PW ca 4 mm, wing ; scape as long as up to the 6-7th segments of the funiculus; alitrunk with short hairs but dense pubescence hiding the sculpturation; reddish-testaceous, head similar except occiput very dark chestnut; wings sub-hyaline, veins dark brown .
. {Dorylus affinis} .
. {Dorylus affinis} Pan-African - affinis
-- {Dorylus CAR HS2}Near to affinis; TL ca 26.5 mm; apex of mandible uniquely flattened; erect hairs on alitrunk semidecumbent but much denser than affinis, also in a regular longitudinal arrangement (scruffy in affinis type); mandibles a dull mahogany red; surface of head and alitrunk finely but distinctly sculptured .
. {Dorylus n sp CAR HS 2} Central African Republic - new species - sanghae
¤ {Dorylus staudingeri}TL 27 mm, PW 5 mm; dark brown-yellow; scape as long as half the funiculus and reaching the 7th segment .
. {Dorylus staudingeri head} Zaïre - staudingeri
¤ Dorylus gaudens maleTL 25 mm, HW 4.3, PW 4.4, wing 19; mandibles about 2.5 X longer than wide (wider and shorter than gribodoi; scape reaching the 7th funiculus segment; submatt, finely & densely puncturate; unicolourous clear red (no image); wings yellowish with reddish veins; petiole shorter and wider than affinis
 Zaïre - gaudens
. Scape reaching only about the 5th segment of the funiculus .
13 {Dorylus pulliceps}Head blackish, body reddish-brown; TL 20-21 mm, HW 3.8, PW 3.8, wing 14-14.5; alitrunk appears shiny as the pubescence is scarce; pubescence more abundant on gaster [?? funiculus with first two-three segments fuscous, the remainder yellowish] .
. {Dorylus pulliceps} Niger Basin - pulliceps
-- TL 20-20.5 mm, HW 3.5, PW 3.8; scape about as long as to the sixth segment of the funiculus; in front view the eyes are about as wide as a quarter of the distance between them; dark red-brown; East Africa (under affinis) - exilis
-- TL 21 mm, HW 3.6-3.7, PW 3.8-4.0, wing 16; mahogany red, appendices darker; head, metanotum and porterior border of scutellum black; eyes beige, ocelli mahogany red; erect hairs more abundant than exilis Zimbabwe (under affinis) - badior
. Upper border of head more or less convex (oblique from the ocelli to the compound eyes); from above the line from the neck to the compound eyes is weakly concave .
14 {Dorylus helvolus}TL 26-27 mm, PW ca 5.0; pronotum, mesonotum and scutellum with many long hairs; scape as long as up to the 6-7th segments of the funiculus; overall reddish-yellow, head brown; antenae and legs red; desnsely pilous; gaster pubescent, legs without hairs; mandibles and scape shiny .
. {Dorylus helvolus male genitalia} .
. {Dorylus helvolus male} '
. {Dorylus helvolus male} Southern Africa - helvolus
-- TL < 25 mm 15
15 TL ca 23 mm 16
-- TL max 22 mm 17
16 {Dorylus aegyptiacus}Gaster without erect pilosity on segments 3, 4 & 5; pubescence thinner than affinis; TL ca 23 mm; PW 3.5, HL+AL =8-9 mm; darker than type, wings weakly yellowish .
. {Dorylus aegyptiacus} Sudan - aegyptiacus
-- {Dorylus alluaudi}TL 23-24 mm; short mandibles; dark red-black; wings longer and darker than gaudens .
. {Dorylus alluaudi male} .

{Dorylus alluaudi male} Uganda/Zaïre - alluaudi
17 {Dorylus brevipennis}{Dorylus brevipennis}TL 20-21 mm, PW 4 mm, wing 12.5; scape short, only as long as up to the fifth funiculus segment; dark yellow-brown; head and mandibles dark brown; the margins of the gaster segments brownish; wings short, pale yellow with dark veins .
. {Dorylus brevipennis male} .
. {Dorylus brevipennis male head} East Africa, Congo Basin (West Africa ?) - brevipennis
-- TL 22 mm; HW 4-4.3, PW 4.5; second segment of funiculus longer than the first; reddish-brown; posterior border of head concave; second segment of funiculus distinctly longer than the first; mandibles as affinis but the internal convexity is less abrupt; eyes bigger than affinis or gribodoi; area between the ocelli and the eye concave; posterior of petiole medially convex East Africa, Rhodesia (under affinis) - loewyi
Contents Genus Dorylus and Key
© 2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014 - Brian Taylor CBiol FSB FRES
11, Grazingfield, Wilford, Nottingham, NG11 7FN, U.K.

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