Dorylus (Dorylus) aegyptiacus Mayr - revived
status
 Male  Type location Egypt (Dorylus
aegyptiacus nov. sp., Mayr, 1865: 76, male; Emery, 1915g: 3,
worker, no description but reported as collected with males in Eritrea;
as variety of affinis, Emery 1895j: 704) male, Natt, 1858 - see
below.
junior synonyms
abyssinicus (Dorylus
brevinodosus Mayr var. abyssinicus
n. var., Emery, 1895j:
717, worker) from Ethiopia - no images on Antweb (June 2014)
hirsutus (Dorylus affinis
Shuck. st. aegyptiaca Mayr var. hirsuta n, var.,
Santschi, 1917c: 20) from Ethiopia - see http://www.antweb.org/specimenImages.do?code=casent0911326
.
Revived from status of variety of Dorylus affinis,
used by various authors since Emery (1892c: lv).
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Mayr's (1865) description of the male aegyptiacus
is at  . Emery's (1877b: 318)
description of "brevinodosus" workers is at  . Emery (1895j: 717) gave a further
description, with reattribution of the specimens reported as brevinodosus
in 1877, this is at  .
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 In his description of Dorylus (D. ) striatidens,
Santschi (1910g) noted larger workers from Dakar; his description is
at  .
As Santschi suspected, this appears to embody two
species, with the larger Dakar form being separated from the true
Casamance form. The latter appears to be matched by the specimens I
drew from CRIN, Nigeria, and the Cameroun and Central African Republic
workers. What Santschi denoted as a media would appear to be
the major worker of the true striatidens.
With fresh specimens from Senegal, I believe the Dakar
form specimens were examples of aegyptiacus,
i.e. of a
savannah or desert species. The Antweb images (below) of the Emery
(1877b) workers appear to confirm this. D.
striatidens on the other hand, came from southern Senegal in a
riverine wooded area.
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 The
photomontage is of the type male collated
from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0915641
The hirsutus male (link above) is an exact match.
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 The
photomontage is of a syntype worker of abyssinicus (as in Emery, 1877b)
collated
from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0903696
Note: the scales on the Antweb originals do not match.
HW on the dorsal view = 1.62 mm, HW in fullface view = 1.80 mm.
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Oxford University Museum
specimens
Dorylus (Dorylus) aegyptiacus
B Taylor det.
Male
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Sudan
A Omer
S 2-13
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2005-6
Dinder
11°21' N
35°02' E
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Dinder (Aldinder)
National Park Centre, along Sudan-Ethiopian Boundary
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1
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Dorylus (Dorylus) aegyptiacus
B Taylor det. |
Israel
J Kugler
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23.x.1972
Tel Aviv
32.0666667 N
34.7666667 E
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Hod Hasharon
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3
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Dorylus (Dorylus) aegyptiacus
B Taylor det. |
Sudan
A Omer
S 1-7
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2006
South Sudan
8.4666667° N
30.3166667° E
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10 km south west of
Thar Jath
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1
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Dorylus (Dorylus) aegyptiacus
B Taylor det. |
Senegal
Tambacounda
B Ndiaye
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2.viii.2009
Bambaraya
13°06'30"N
12°05'18" W
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Bambaraya12-VIII-09
Buisson
264 m; Soudanian savannah, by hand, on tree
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3
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Dorylus (Dorylus) aegyptiacus
B Taylor det. |
Senegal
Tambacounda
B Ndiaye
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6.viii.2009
Maka Madina
13°03'42" N
12°07'03" W
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Maka Madina
6-VIII-09 Dans le sol
186 m; Soudanian savannah, underground, by hand
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6
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Dorylus (Dorylus) aegyptiacus
B Taylor det. |
Senegal
Kolda
B Ndiaye
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11.viii.2009
Koilo
12°45'0" N
13°41'60" W
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Sabodola 11-VIII-09
Koilo St5 [B]
48 m; Soudanian savannah, from label; media worker
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1
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Dorylus (Dorylus) aegyptiacus
B Taylor det. |
Senegal
Lamine Diamé
35
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21.vi.2012
Doyene-KS
14°46'N
17°07'W
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Sébikotane
tube 01
media workers
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2
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Dorylus (Dorylus) aegyptiacus
B Taylor det. |
Senegal
Lamine Diamé
36
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2012
Sigele
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tube 01
S. seche
Major and smaller workers
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5
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 The photomontage is of
a male from Sudan, Dinder
(Aldinder) National Park Centre 11°21' N and 35°02' E along
Sudan-Ethiopian Boundary; collector Awatif Omer (S 2-13).
From the Santschi (1917c) key to "Dorylus affinis"
males, one can extrapolate more on the male as - TL 20-21 mm, HW <
4.0; 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; second segment of funiculus not longer
than the first; reddish-yellow; gaster without erect pilosity on
segments 3,4 & 5; pubescence thinner than affinis.
The specimen shown here clearly matches those criteria
and the type shown above.
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 Polymorphism
Workers from Senegal,
Maka Madina; collector B Ndiaye.
The various morphs
are shown in detail on the Dorylus
(Dorylus) aegyptiacus morphs page and the Dorylus
(Dorylus) aegyptiacus Senegal morphs page.
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