identifier	taxonID	type	CVterm	format	language	title	description	additionalInformationURL	UsageTerms	rights	Owner	contributor	creator	bibliographicCitation
4EB49FF78A39579B86061FE3511122C7.text	4EB49FF78A39579B86061FE3511122C7.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Dorylus burmeisteri (Shuckard 1840)	<div><p>Dorylus burmeisteri (Shuckard, 1840)</p><p>Figs 6 D – F, 7 B, 19–22</p><p>Anomma burmeisteri Shuckard, 1840: 326 . Holotype worker, Sierra Leone (D. F. Morgan) [not examined, lost] . Neotype worker, here designated, Sierra Leone, Outamba Kilimi National Park, March 4 th, 2018, Bradley Larson OKNP_346_b, SMNG -SIE-2018-192-01, SMNG .</p><p>Dorylus (Anomma) nigricans st. burmeisteri var. hybrida Santschi, 1912: 161. Four workers, Senegal: Casamance, collected by M. Claveau, NHMB. Infrasubspecific name unavailable according to Bolton (2026).</p><p>Annotation.</p><p>A comprehensive taxonomic history of this species can be found in AntCat.</p><p>Other material examined.</p><p>Ghana: • Bobiri (Lat. 6.68, Long. - 1.35, 4 worker samples, L. Fisch &amp; W. H. Gotwald Jr., CSAC) , • Efufu (Lat. 5.20, Long. - 1.32, 2 worker samples, L. Fisch &amp; W. H. Gotwald Jr., CSAC) , • New Tafo (Lat. 6.22, Long. - 0.37, 1 worker sample, L. Fisch &amp; W. H. Gotwald Jr., CSAC) . Guinea: • Bakoun (Lat. 11.67, Long. - 11.8, 12 worker samples, A. Agbor, SMNG) , • Bossou (Lat. 8.65, Long. - 11.8,&gt; 30 worker samples, T. Humle, K. Koops, Y. Sugiyama, CSAC) , • Sangaredi (Lat. 11.1, Long. - 14.05, 10 worker samples, A. Keita, B. A. Sefou, C. Kabinet, SMNG) , • Seringbara (Lat. 7.64, Long. - 8.41, several hundred worker samples, K. Koops, CSAC) , • Sobeya (Lat. 11.0, Long. - 11.43, 64 worker samples, B. A. Sefou, G. Brazzola, SMNG) , • Sobory (Lat. 11.82, Long. - 11.21, 28 worker samples, A. Toure, A. Agbor, SMNG) , Guinea-Bissau: • Boe (Lat. 11.93, Long. - 13.90, 46 worker samples, E. Ton &amp; J. van Schijndel, SMNG) , Ivory Coast: • Comoé (Lat. 8.76, Long. - 3.85, 26 worker samples, J. Beck, C. Kost, P. Kouamé &amp; J. Lapuente, CSAC, SMNG; Kronauer et al. 2007 / 5, NHMD), • Gestion Participative des Ressources Naturelles et de la Faune (Lat. 8.71, Long. - 4.05, 20 worker samples, A. Tickle, SMNG) , • Lamto (Lat. 6.22, Long. - 5.03, 8 worker samples, 1 worker sample with queen, Y. Kolo, J. M. Leroux, J. Levieux, J. K. A. van Boven, CASC, MCZC, RMCA) , • Mont Sângbé, (Lat. 8.00, Long. - 7.31, 22 worker samples, H. Cohen &amp; J. Preece, SMNG) , • Taï National Park (Lat. 5.84, Long. - 7.32,&gt; 20 worker samples, T. Deschner, J. Lapuente, L. Luncz, A. Meier, Y. Möbius, C. Schöning, CASC, SMNG) . Liberia: • East Nimba (Lat. 7.43, Long. - 8.57, 14 worker samples, S. Jones &amp; S. Maroccoli, SMNG), • Grebo (Lat. 5.48, Long. - 7.56, 2 worker samples, S. Marrocoli, SMNG) , eight other sites in Liberia (from nationwide survey, see Tweh et al. 2014). Senegal: • Dindefelo (Lat. 12.37, Long. - 12.31, 21 worker samples, P. Álvarez, A. Aviles, A. Barciela, G. Coppola, J. M. Garcia, M. Llana, V. Moreno, SMNG) , • Fongoli (12.65, Long. - 12.20, 11 worker samples, S. Bogart, W. C. McGrew, J. Pruetz, CSAC) , Sierra Leone: • Outamba Kilimi National Park (Lat. 9.68, Long. - 12.16, 27 worker samples, B. Larson, SMNG) .</p><p>Notes.</p><p>The species was originally described based on a single worker collected in Sierra Leone. Unfortunately, the type specimen has been lost. In the species description, Shuckard (1840) emphasised features of the worker that distinguish the newly erected genus Anomma from the genus Typhlopone described by Westwood (1839). The general description is therefore applicable to almost all driver ant species and lacks details that would be helpful in separating this species from other driver ant species. However, Shuckard additionally wrote “ Brightly shining, perfectly smooth, pitchy black, with the antennae, legs and thorax, ventral incisures and sides of the abdomen pitchy red ”. In the workers collected in the present study, the head surface is indeed shiny and lacks the fine reticulation found in D. nigricans workers. Interestingly, Smith (1858) examined the type specimens of both Anomma burmeisteri Shuckard, 1840 and Anomma arcens Westwood, 1847 . His account is somewhat confusing because, when he uses the words “ former ” and “ latter ”, it is unclear whether he refers to the sequence of the two species names in his species list or in his introductory sentence in which the sequence is reversed compared to the list. However, when comparing the worker morphology of the two species he likewise stressed the head surface sculpture as a diagnostic feature: “ highly polished, perfectly smooth, entirely destitute of punctures or sculpture ” ( A. burmeisteri) vs “ subopake [sic!] and covered with a very delicate reticulation ” ( A. arcens). Moreover, he mentions the lateral angles of the head being more rounded in Anomma burmeisteri . While such features vary with size in driver ants, we assume that Smith was referring to large individuals with only one subapical tooth as they are depicted in his head shape drawings (Smith 1858: pl. VIII, figs 2, 3). In such larger workers the differences clearly exist. Finally, in these drawings the Anomma burmeisteri worker has a shorter scape relative to its head width (1.5 units / 3.2 units ≈ 0.47) than the Anomma arcens worker (1.5 units / 2.85 units ≈ 0.53), as we also find in our present morphometric analyses (Fig. 9). Together, this leads us to the conclusion that the workers are conspecific with the worker specimen described as Anomma burmeisteri by Shuckard. During a visit of the Hymenoptera collection of the Natural History Museum in London by one of us (CS) in 2005 the type specimen could not be located. An additional inquiry confirmed that the specimen is lost (Suzanne Ryder, pers. comm. 11 February 2026). The loss of the type specimen necessitates the designation of a neotype in order to clarify the taxonomic status. We chose a specimen collected from Sierra Leone, the same country where the original type specimen had been collected.</p><p>Description of the neotype</p><p>(by current designation). Worker specimen SMNG -SIE-2018-192-01 chosen from sample OKNP _ 346 _ b (collected by Bradley Larson on 4 March 2018 at Outamba Kilimi National Park in Sierra Leone). HW 2.620 mm, SL 1.364 mm, PW 1.179 mm, HFL 2.830 mm, HTL 2.773 mm, PeW 0.607 mm, PeL 0.812 mm. Head surface shiny and lacking the fine reticulation found in D. nigricans, typical trapezoidal head shape of large driver ant workers (anteriorly wider than posteriorly). Head: Fig. 20 C, dark brown with black patches in median line and at the anterior as well as posterior rim. Antenna with eleven antennomeres. Scape dark brown, but lighter at distal end; surface shinier and with weaker microsculpture than in similarly-sized workers of D. nigricans . Head trapezoidal, anteriorly wider than posteriorly. Mandible with one subapical tooth only, claw-like shaped, with strongest curvature at distal fourth. Mesosoma: Fig. 20 A, B. Pronotum dark brown to red brown with lighter areas in vicinity of sutures. Black line runs parallel to posterior rim of pronotum. Propodeum dark brown and with similar appearance as pronotum. Propodeal spiracle surrounded by a pale brown, yellowish ring, separated from the dark brown surroundings by a slim black ring. Coxae red brown, and mesocoxae and metacoxae with paler brown pigmentation distally and in lateral groove. Femora brown, yellow brown at joints. Tibiae appear paler than femur, with only slightly darkened mid-section. Tarsi similar in colour to tibiae. Two claws on each tarsus yellow proximally, black distally. Prothoracic leg darker than the other two legs. Petiole: Fig. 20 D. In dorsal view, posterior “ tubercles ” visible and producing widest part of petiole; colouration similar to mesonotum with dorsal surface darker than ventral one. Gaster: Fig. 20 A, B. First tergite dark brown with pale transverse band posteriorly. Gaster tergites one to four with lighter area close to the lateral margins, widening posteriorly and partly following their posterior end. Labels: Fig. 21.</p><p>Description of the queen.</p><p>This description is based on one queen associated with workers collected from a single nest at Lamto in Ivory Coast (Van Boven and Levieux 1970) and obtained from the Van Boven collection in the RMCA (collection number Van Boven 2767). Habitus: Fig. 22, smaller and brighter in appearance than D. nigricans (see Fig. 25). Total length: 3.700 cm. Head: Fig. 22 C, H W = 5.384 mm, HL = 3.701 mm, SL = 1.734 mm, lateral sides red, dark brown on dorsal and ventral side, surface appears slightly dull due to microreticulation but weaker than in D. nigricans, foveola evenly distributed over whole surface of head and at least as deep as wide (diameter 27 µm), foveola occasionally with small hair-like sensillae (7 µm length), hairs usually pointing inwards to the centre of the foveola, no pilosity present; Antenna: 11 antennomeres, funicular segments dark orange and scape slightly darker, antennal fossae pronounced, deeply impressed and rounded, median line V-shaped impressed in the lower half, clypeus with some setae of two different lengths, labrum hardly visible; Mandible: some setae at inner side; no subapical teeth, apical tooth is slightly pointing medially; posterior angles of head drawn out backwards and ventrally. Mesosoma: Fig. 22 A, B, P W = 3.309 mm, PropW = 3.485 mm, HFL = 3.435 mm, colour dark brown like dorsal areas on head, paler close to sutures between segments, promesonotal suture slightly impressed, ventral margin of pronotum with small setose ridge. Propodeum: wider than pronotum, not rectilinear, lateral margins curved, left posterior margin with small pronounced spine, propodeal spiracles visible in dorsal view, at metanotal groove with medial spine projecting backwards, surface morphology similar to head, with microreticulation and foveolae, coxae with yellowish pilosity at junctions, terminal tarsal segments missing from specimen. Petiole: Fig. 22 A, B, PeW = 5.855 mm, colour similar to the darker areas of the mesosoma, surface sculpture similar to head and mesosoma but microreticulation not as strong in medial areas, no seta and without pilosity, posterior lateral lobes very conspicuous in dorsal view. Gaster: Fig. 22 A, B blackish brown, shinier than head and mesosoma but otherwise similar, numerous scratches of unknown origin. Genitalia: Fig. 22 D, typical driver ant hypopygium similar as depicted in Gotwald (1982: 167).</p><p>Biology.</p><p>Confirmed records treated here extend from Senegal to Ghana; the status of related forms east of the Dahomey Gap requires further study. The species is not restricted to moist forests (where it often coexists with D. nigricans and D. mayri) but also occurs in drier savanna areas. It was observed in more detail during fieldwork at Taï National Park, where we observed nesting and swarm raiding behaviour typical for driver ants. The species is regularly consumed by chimpanzees at Bossou, Fongoli, Seringbara, and Taï (Schöning et al. 2008 c; Koops et al. 2015).</p><p>Remarks.</p><p>Van Boven and Levieux (1970) conducted field studies at Lamto, Ivory Coast, during which they also excavated queens from nests. These queens are described here. Van Boven and Levieux (1970) mentioned the occurrence of “ Dorylus (Anomma) burmeisteri var. molestus (Gerstäcker) ” as well as of “ Dorylus (Anomma) nigricans sjöstedti (sic!) Emery ”. Leroux (1982) studied “ Anomma nigricans Illiger ” at Lamto for several years and reported extensive data on nesting, foraging and emigration behaviour as well as on reproduction. Examination of the queens and workers collected by Van Boven and Levieux (1970) and held in RMCA, and of the workers collected by Leroux and originally sent to W. H. Gotwald (now held in MCZC), revealed that the three authors in fact studied colonies of two different species, namely D. burmeisteri and D. nigricans . The colonies at Lamto designated by Leroux (1982) as MS, ESB, IS, EY, 27 G and D belong to D. burmeisteri .</p><p>The workers described as Dorylus (Anomma) nigricans st. burmeisteri var. hybrida Santschi, 1912 (unavailable name) do not show an aberrant morphology that would justify treating them as a separate species. We consider them conspecific with Dorylus burmeisteri .</p><p>The male of this species is unknown. Emery (1895) described a male from Ghana (no information on the specific locality) as a new variety (“ funereus ”) and mentions the distinctly darker wings as a relevant feature in which it differs from D. nigricans males. We have not been able to examine this specimen in detail. Using the images available on AntWeb (specimen CASENT 0903695, https://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?code=casent0903695) we estimate its head width to be 5.22 mm, which is much larger than the head width of the smaller D. nigricans type specimen B (see below). This D. funereus male might therefore belong to D. burmeisteri, which indeed occurs in Ghana.</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/4EB49FF78A39579B86061FE3511122C7	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Pensoft via Plazi	Schöning, Caspar;Weniger, Raphael;Gotwald Jr., William;Vilhelmsen, Lars;Boomsma, Jacobus J.;Kronauer, Daniel J. C.	Schöning, Caspar, Weniger, Raphael, Gotwald Jr., William, Vilhelmsen, Lars, Boomsma, Jacobus J., Kronauer, Daniel J. C. (2026): Taxonomy of African driver ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae, Dorylus nigricans species group) west of the Dahomey Gap. ZooKeys 1290: 185-226, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1290.192534
6D81ECC501E8566E9C077F015B0DAAB0.text	6D81ECC501E8566E9C077F015B0DAAB0.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Dorylus mayri Santschi 1912	<div><p>Dorylus mayri Santschi, 1912</p><p>Figs 6 G – I, 7 C, 23</p><p>Dorylus (Anomma) mayri Santschi, 1912: 159 . Three worker syntype specimens, Cameroon, locality and collector unknown (these were sent by Emery, who had received them from Mayr), NHMB [examined].</p><p>Other material examined.</p><p>Cameroon: • Dja (Lat. 3.62, Long. 13.68, 5 worker samples, I. Deblauwe, CSAC) , • Korup (Lat. 5.35, Long. 9.04, 7 worker samples, J. Schäfer, CSAC) , • Kom Wum (Lat. 6.42, Long. 10.26, 14 worker samples. C. Fotang, CSAC) , Central African Republic: • Bai Hokou (Lat. 2.86, Long. 16.47, 1 worker sample, C. Cipoletta, CSAC) . Gabon: • Loango (Lat. - 1.99, Long. 9.65, 4 worker samples, C. Boesch &amp; J. Head, CSAC) , • Monts de Cristal (Lat. 0.82, Long. 10.16), 1 worker sample, C. Schöning, CSAC) , Ghana: • Kakum (Lat. 5.48, Long. - 1.35, 1 worker sample, W. H. Gotwald Jr. &amp; L. Fisch, CSAC) . Guinea: • Bossou (Lat. 8.65, Long. - 11.8,&gt; 30 worker samples, T. Humle, K. Koops, Y. Sugiyama; Kronauer et al. 2007 / 6, NHMD) , • Seringbara (Lat. 7.64, Long. - 8.41,&gt; 100 worker samples, K. Koops) . Ivory Coast: • Taï National Park (Lat. 5.84, Long. - 7.32,&gt; 20 worker samples, T. Deschner, J. Lapuente, L. Luncz, A. Meier, Y. Möbius, C. Schöning, CASC, SMNG) . Liberia: • East Nimba (Lat. 7.43, Long. - 8.57, 14 worker samples, S. Maroccoli &amp; S. Jones, SMNG), • Grebo (Lat. 5.48, Long. - 7.56, 17 worker samples, S. Marrocoli, SMNG) , eight other sites in Liberia (from nationwide survey, see Tweh et al. 2014). Nigeria: • Cross River National Park (Lat. 5.58, Long. 8.75, 3 worker samples, M. Moffett &amp; C. Schöning , Republic of Congo: • Goualougo (Lat. 2.66, Long. 16.66, 9 worker samples, D. Morgan &amp; C. Sanz, CSAC) .</p><p>Biology.</p><p>In the new surveys, the species was found in moist forest habitats extending from Ghana to Liberia (Longitude - 1.35 to - 9.9). Other sampling efforts confirm its presence in areas eastwards towards Central Africa. The species was observed in more detail during fieldwork at Taï National Park, where we observed nesting and swarm raiding behaviour typical for driver ants. The species is regularly consumed by chimpanzees at Bossou, Dja, Goualougo, Seringbara and Taï (Schöning et al. 2008 c; Koops et al. 2015; Sanz et al. 2010).</p><p>Remarks.</p><p>The male of this species is unknown. It is possible that it was described under another name but the crucial association between a male form and the name-bearing worker type specimen has not been established. Cohic (1948) described the mouthparts of a D. mayri queen, but no associated workers are depicted in the article so that the specimen’s identity could not be verified. Phylogenetic analyses based on mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequence data support a sister relationship between D. mayri and all other driver ant species (Kronauer et al. 2007).</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/6D81ECC501E8566E9C077F015B0DAAB0	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Pensoft via Plazi	Schöning, Caspar;Weniger, Raphael;Gotwald Jr., William;Vilhelmsen, Lars;Boomsma, Jacobus J.;Kronauer, Daniel J. C.	Schöning, Caspar, Weniger, Raphael, Gotwald Jr., William, Vilhelmsen, Lars, Boomsma, Jacobus J., Kronauer, Daniel J. C. (2026): Taxonomy of African driver ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae, Dorylus nigricans species group) west of the Dahomey Gap. ZooKeys 1290: 185-226, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1290.192534
3E0A980BF03D5481BC9AB94C5B59D2AD.text	3E0A980BF03D5481BC9AB94C5B59D2AD.taxon	http://purl.org/dc/dcmitype/Text	http://rs.tdwg.org/ontology/voc/SPMInfoItems#GeneralDescription	text/html	en	Dorylus nigricans Illiger 1802	<div><p>Dorylus nigricans Illiger, 1802</p><p>Figs 6 A – C, 7 A, 11, 12, 15, 16, 24, 25, 27</p><p>Dorylus nigricans Illiger, 1802: 188 . Two male syntypes, Sierra Leone, collector unknown (“ Hellwig’s collection ”), ZMHB [examined] . Lectotype male (above referred to as syntype A), here designated, unique specimen identifier of lectotype: MfN 9e9e77.</p><p>Anomma pubescens Roger, 1861: 47 . Holotype worker, Liberia, collector F. E. Guérin-Méneville (ZMHB) [examined] . Junior synonym of D. nigricans (see Emery 1895).</p><p>Combination in Dorylus (Anomma): Emery 1895: 710.</p><p>Combination in Anomma: Menozzi 1942: 165.</p><p>Combination in Dorylus: Borowiec 2016: 117.</p><p>Anomma arcens Westwood, 1847: 17 . Thirty worker syntypes, Liberia, collected by Savage at Cape Palmas, OUMNH HYME 1178 / 1-30 [examined] . New synonymy.</p><p>Annotation.</p><p>A comprehensive taxonomic history of this species can be found in AntCat.</p><p>Other material examined.</p><p>Ghana: • Bobiri (Lat. 6.68, Long. - 1.35, 3 males, 15 worker samples, L. Davis, L. Fisch, M. Moffett &amp; W. H. Gotwald Jr., CSAC) , • New Tafo (Lat. 6.22, Long. - 0.37, 2 worker samples, L. Fisch &amp; W. H. Gotwald Jr., CSAC) . Guinea: • Bossou (Lat. 8.65, Long. - 11.8,&gt; 30 worker samples, T. Humle, K. Koops, Y. Sugiyama) , • Seringbara (Lat. 7.64, Long. - 8.41,&gt; 100 worker samples, K. Koops) . Ivory Coast: • Djouroutou (Lat. 5.40, Long. - 7.20, 6 worker samples, J. Lapuente) , • Lamto (Lat. 6.22, Long. - 5.03, 2 males, 5 worker samples, 1 worker sample with queen, M. Kone, J. M. Leroux, J. Levieux, J. K. A. van Boven, CASC, MCZC, RMCA) , • Taï National Park (Lat. 5.84, Long. - 7.32, 10 males,&gt; 20 worker samples, T. Deschner, J. Lapuente, F. Leendertz, L. Luncz, A. Meier, Y. Möbius, C. Schöning, CASC, SMNG ; • 1 worker, Kronauer et al. 2007 / 7, 1 male, Kronauer et al. 2007 / 14, NHMD). Liberia: • Charlesville (Lat. 6.20, Long. - 10.38, 3 males, D. H. Kistner, RMCA) , • East Nimba (Lat. 7.43, Long. - 8.57, 14 worker samples, S. Maroccoli &amp; S. Jones, SMNG), • Grebo (Lat. 5.48, Long. - 7.56, 54 worker samples, S. Marrocoli, SMNG) , • 20 other sites in Liberia (from nationwide survey, see Tweh et al. 2014).</p><p>Notes. After the species was described based on the males collected in Sierra Leone, Savage (1849) discovered winged males in a driver ant colony in Gabon and considered them to belong to the same species. Since then, several authors have jumped to the conclusion that Dorylus nigricans males may be conspecific with driver ant forms collected at other locations across Africa. For example, Emery (1895) considered Dorylus nigricans males to be conspecific with Anomma burmeisteri workers, while Forel (1912) described a small queen from central Uganda under the name D. nigricans . Driver ant workers from other parts of Africa that resembled the West African Anomma burmeisteri were likewise described as subspecies of D. nigricans (e. g. “ Dorylus nigricans sjöstedti (sic!) ” by Emery (1899)). In all these instances the logic behind these decisions remains unconvincing because conspecificity can only be unequivocally demonstrated in one of the ways mentioned in the Introduction. The phrasing in Illiger’s original description from 1802 is somewhat ambiguous. We considered the possibility that he examined more than just two specimens and designated all of them as types, but no further specimens are present in the ZMHB collection. Bolton (2026) mentions that a part of Illiger’s collection is kept at the Staatliches Naturhistorisches Museum at Braunschweig (Germany), but this collection does not contain any further type specimens either (Claudia Kamcke, pers. comm. 27 August 2025), so that we could only work with the two specimens available.</p><p>The results presented above allow us to clarify the taxonomy of this species. We explain the argument behind synonymising D. nigricans arcens (Westwood, 1847) under D. nigricans Illiger, 1802 in a set of summary statements:</p><p>Dorylus nigricans Illiger, 1802 is a name based on a male from Sierra Leone.</p><p>Based on our morphometric analyses (Fig. 17) we consider the two male syntypes in ZMHB to belong to different species: syntype A falls within the variation of modern West African driver ant males from Charlesville (Liberia), Bobiri (Ghana), Lamto and Taï (Ivory Coast) with translucent wings, while the smaller syntype B with smoky-brown wings differs substantially from them. We thus conclude that syntype A is conspecific with the males with translucent wings.</p><p>We designate syntype A as the lectotype of Dorylus nigricans Illiger, 1802, thereby fixing the name to a single name-bearing specimen for the first time. Syntype B becomes the paralectotype and loses name-bearing function for D. nigricans; its species identity remains to be resolved.</p><p>The DNA sequence data from sympatric specimens from Taï National Park (Fig. 18) show that the males which we consider to be conspecific with syntype A are associated with the worker form with relatively longer legs and antennae.</p><p>The morphological examination of the worker syntypes of Anomma arcens Westwood, 1847 in OUMNH revealed that the workers with relatively longer legs and antennae are conspecific with those syntypes.</p><p>When combining steps 1–5, we conclude that the worker form historically called A. arcens is conspecific with the male-based D. nigricans . Because D. nigricans Illiger, 1802 has priority over A. arcens Westwood, 1847, acceptance of this association makes D. nigricans the valid name for this species and A. arcens a junior synonym.</p><p>Description of the queen.</p><p>This description is based on one queen associated with workers from the Van Boven collection in the RMCA (collection number Van Boven 2768). It was collected from a nest at Lamto in Ivory Coast probably on August 11, 1965 (Van Boven and Levieux 1970). Habitus: Fig. 25 A, overall darker and larger than D. burmeisteri . Total length: 4.130 cm. Head: Fig. 25 C, H W = 5.883 mm, HL = 4.018 mm, SL = 1.916 mm, lateral sides orange, dark brown on dorsal and ventral side, surface appears slightly dull due to microreticulation, foveola evenly distributed over whole surface of head and at least as deep as wide (diameter 29 µm), no pilosity present; Antenna: eleven antennomeres, funicular antennomeres dark orange and scape somewhat darker, antennal fossae pronounced, deeply impressed and round in shape, median line at the lower half V-shaped, circular impression in the upper third of median line, similar to “ ocellus-like body ” in D. gribodoi (Schöning et al. 2008 b), clypeus with some setae, labrum with small median notch and some hairs, mandibles with few setae at inner side; subapical teeth missing and apical tooth slightly pointing medially, small lateral indentation like in ocular area of males, posterior angles of head drawn out backwards and ventrally. Mesosoma: Fig. 25 A, B, P W = 3.618 mm, PropW = 4.192 mm, HFL = 3.923 mm, colour similar to dorsal areas of head, dark brown, lighter close to sutures between segments, pronotal suture slightly impressed, ventral margin of pronotum with small hairy ridge, propodeum rectilinear, spiracle rim not visible in dorsal view; at metanotal groove with medial spine projecting backwards; surface sculpture similar to head, with microreticulation and foveolae; pleura and coxae of pro-, meso- and metathorax with yellowish pilosity at junctions, terminal segments of legs missing. Petiole: Fig. 25 A, B, PeW = 6.990 mm, blackish brown in colour, surface sculpture similar to head and mesosoma, no setae and without pilosity, posterior lateral lobes very conspicuous in dorsal view. Gaster: Fig. 25 A, B blackish brown, shinier than head and mesosoma but otherwise similar, with numerous scratches of unknown origin. Genitalia: Fig. 25 D, typical driver ant hypopygium similar to Gotwald (1982: 167).</p><p>Biology.</p><p>In our surveys, the species was found from Liberia to Ghana. The type locality is further to the West in Sierra Leone. Based on the information of habitat types at the collection localities we inferred that the species is restricted to moist forest habitats. This species is also regularly consumed by chimpanzees at Bossou, Seringbara, and Taï (Schöning et al. 2008 c; Koops et al. 2015). As mentioned above, Leroux, unbeknownst to him, was dealing with two species in his long-term field study at Lamto. The colonies designated 2 ” 0 ”, 2 R, 52 B, IB, and IE by him belong to D. nigricans .</p></div>	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/3E0A980BF03D5481BC9AB94C5B59D2AD	Public Domain	No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.		Pensoft via Plazi	Schöning, Caspar;Weniger, Raphael;Gotwald Jr., William;Vilhelmsen, Lars;Boomsma, Jacobus J.;Kronauer, Daniel J. C.	Schöning, Caspar, Weniger, Raphael, Gotwald Jr., William, Vilhelmsen, Lars, Boomsma, Jacobus J., Kronauer, Daniel J. C. (2026): Taxonomy of African driver ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae, Dorylus nigricans species group) west of the Dahomey Gap. ZooKeys 1290: 185-226, DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.1290.192534
