Carebara langi, Wheeler, W. M., 1922

Wheeler, W. M., 1922, The ants collected by the American Museum Congo Expedition., Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 45, pp. 39-269 : 173

Carebara langi , new species

Female.- Length 13 mm.; wings 14 mm.

Head broader than long, narrower in front, with straight posterior border and rounded posterior corners. Eyes rather large, on the sides, twice as long as the straight cheeks; ocelli large, in deep impressions. Mandibles with 6 graduated teeth, the apical tooth large. Clypeus rather evenly convex, slightly depressed in the middle behind; its anterior border entire and broadly rounded. Frontal area large, semicircular, convex; frontal groove deeply impressed; frontal carinae slightly lobed, diverging behind. Antennae short, 10-jointed; scapes reaching only to the posterior orbits; funicular joints 2 to 4 a little broader than long, fifth joint as long as broad, remaining joints longer than broad, the three terminal joints forming an indistinct clava as long as the remainder of the funiculus. Thorax long and narrow, elliptical from above; mesonotum distinctly longer than 'broad, distinctly overarching the pronotum in front, with sharply marked parapsidal furrows. Epinotum in profile rectangular, with the declivity longer than the base, abruptly sloping, somewhat concave in the middle, on each side with a marginate projection which forms the bluntly rectangular outline of the epinotum in profile. Petiole from above a little longer than broad, in profile with straight ventral outline and rather low, rounded node, the anterior slope of which is feebly concave. Postpetiole twice as broad as the petiole, nearly twice as broad as long, very slightly flattened above and on the sides, with a distinct transverse impression anteriorly on the ventral surface. Gaster broadly and regularly elliptical, slightly flattened above and below. Legs rather short, hind metatarsi about three-fifths as long as the hind tibiae.

Shining; sides of epinotum, petiole and postpetiole more opaque; mandibles very coarsely rugose-punctate; remainder of body with umbilicate punctures, which are smaller and sparser on the thorax and gaster than on the clypeus and head. Between these punctures there are more numerous, very minute but sharp punctures. Clypeus transversely rugulose, especially behind; front of head very finely longitudinally striate. Base and declivity of epinotum very finely transversely striate. Antennal scapes and legs finely punctate.

Almost hairless; only a few short, yellowish hairs towards the tips of the antennae, on the mandibles, mouth-parts, border of clypeus and a patch of more numerous hairs at the tip of the gaster.

Deep castaneous; gaster, scutellum, pedicel and sides of epinotum blackish. Wings uniformly infuscate, with dark brown veins and pterostigma, the veins narrowly bordered with blackish.

A single specimen taken at light at Stanleyville (Lang and Chapin).

The species is evidently very different from all the described African species, except sicheli Mayr , but this form, judging from Mayr's description, is less shining, of a paler color, with small but distinct hairs arising from the coarse punctures on the body, the clypeus has a shallow longitudinal impression and is merely punctate and the sides of the epinotum are finely longitudinally striate. The study of more material of both forms may show that langi is to be regarded as a subspecies of sicheli .