Bothroponera strigulosa Emery

Ama JOma & Wp MacKay, 2015, Revision of the African Ants of the Bothroponera pumicosa Species Complex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Ponerinae), Sociobiology 62 (4), pp. 538-563 : 558-559

Bothroponera strigulosa Emery

Figures 20, 21 and Plate 9 ; Map 10

Bothroponera strigulosa Emery, 1895: 19 (w) South Africa, Kimberley; Wheeler, W.M. 1922: 72 in key; Joma and Mackay: 2013: 3; Schmidt and Shattuck, 2014: 76; Pachycondyla (Bothroponera) strigulosa: Emery, 1901: 45 list; Arnold, 1915: 61 (w); Wheeler, W.M. 1922: 773; Pachycondyla strigulosa: Brown , in Bolton, 1995: 310.

Diagnosis: The head of the worker is subquadrate and the mandibles are smooth and covered with hairs. The anterior medial margin of the clypeus is convex and forms a “u” shaped edge, and the clypeus has a raised medial sharp carina which extends from the base of the frontal furrow to the lower medial margin of the clypeus.

Worker Description: (n=1), HL 2.50, HW 2.10, ML 1.35, EW 0.35, EL 0.45, SL 1.65, FL 2.50, WL 3.60, WPL 4.50, PL 1.15, PW 1.35, PH 1.45, CI 84, OI 21.42, MandI 54, SI 79, PetI 117.39. Total length 12.20 mm; mandibles triangular with 7 teeth, smooth, moderately covered with hairs (0.10 - 0.20 mm long); clypeal length 1.85 mm; scape nearly reaches posterior lateral corner of head; malar space from lower edge of eye to base of mandible 0.38 mm; length from upper edge of eye to edge of posterior lobe 1.10 mm; surface of head coarsely foveolate; frontal lobes rounded, smooth, shiny with width of 0.85 mm; pronotal shoulder rounded; two sharp angles on anterior (anteroinferior pronotal process) posterior (inferior pronotal process) ends of lower margin of pronotum (lateral view); basalar sclerite rounded; lower part of mesopleural suture well developed with mesopleuralcoxal excavation; petiole in dorsal view rounded, slightly narrowed anteriorly, anterior face vertical (side view), slightly concave posteriorly (side view) with slight depression on upper medial margin (top view); mesosoma 3.4 mm, gaster length 4 mm; antennae, edges of frontal lobes, mandibles and legs shiny; pronotum, mesonotum, propodeum, lateropropodeum, metapleuron densely foveolate, punctate; posteropropodeum rough, slightly concave; petiolar and postpetiolar surfaces densely covered with larger foveolae than those of mesosoma; postpetiolar dorsum partially covered with striae; second - fifth gastral segments densely covered with foveolae, punctures that become smaller, shallower posteriorly; postpetiolar dorsum partially covered with striae; dorsum of 2nd - 5th segments of gaster covered with fine striae; short (0.05 – 0.22 mm) golden hairs distributed on entire body including mandibles, clypeus, head, scape, legs; top of the head covered with short (0.05 - 0.13 mm) golden erect hairs; dorsum of pronotum, mesonotum, propodeum covered with short golden erect hairs (0.07 - 0.13 mm, a few up to 0.18 mm); petiole (0.08 - 0.22 mm), postpetiole covered with moderately short erect hairs (0.12 - 0.18 mm); sternopetiolar and sternopostpetiolar processes and 3rd to 7th abdominal segments covered with moderately long hairs (0.11 – 0.22 mm); ventral surface of gastral segments and between segments (0.15 - 0.32 mm); pygidium and hypopygium (up to 0.30 mm); head, scape, pronotum, mesonotum, mesopleuron, propodeum, petiole, postpetiole, entire gaster, legs black or dark-brown; mandibles, funiculus, frontal lobes reddish brown.

Comparison: Bothroponera strigulosa is similar to B. cariosa , and B. pumicosa , as they all have a “u” shaped anterior medial margins of the clypeus. Bothroponera strigulosa is quite similar to B. cariosa , but it can be distinguished because the mandibles of B. strigulosa are smooth and shiny while in B. cariosa they are covered with fine striae. The mandibles in B. pumicosa are hairy and smooth. The hairs are long (from 0.20 up to 0.55 mm) in B. pumicosa while they are short in B. strigulosa (from 0.05 up to 0.32 mm) and B. cariosa (from 0.05 up to 0.25 mm).

The characters of Bothroponera strigulosa are similar to those of B. berthoudi . The only apparent differences between them are that the raised medial area of the clypeus of B. berthoudi is smooth and the clypeal carina is not present, but B. strigulosa has a clypeal carina (it partially forms a carina in B. pumicosa ). The erect golden hairs on most surfaces are slightly longer in B. berthoudi than those of B. strigulosa .

Material examined

Type material: SOUTH AFRICA: Northern Cape Province, Kimberley, 1230 m [4040 ft] (Gr. W.), 28°44’0’’ S; 24°46’0’’, E, E. Simon 1893, Bothroponera strigulosa ( Emery, 1895) , Museo Geneva coll., Emery (dono 1925) (1w Holotype, MCSN).

Non-type material: None.

Distribution: Known from the type locality of Kimberley, South Africa. Bothroponera strigulosa was collected from Vaalwater, Northern Province, South Africa (The Ants of Africa website, accessed March 2014).

Biology and habitat: Kimberley, Northern Cape Province, South Africa is a large city located almost in the center of South Africa, close to the Free State Province. The summer climate is hot and wet, the annual maximum temperature is 26.05 ºC, the annual minimum temperature is 10.8 ºC (Kimberley website 1 and Kimberley website 2). It rains an average of 42.0 cm/year while the winter climate is dry to moderately dry (Kimberley website 1 and Kimberley website 2). The area is considered as a dry or semi-arid region, which is the typical environment for the Northern Cape Province. Mokala National Park, one of the 20 national parks in South Africa, is located south-southwest of Kimberley. The main vegetation in this park is the savanna biome with Kameeldoring trees or camel thorn trees Acacia erioloba , one of the major tree species of the desert regions (Kimberley website 3). This park is also one of the protected areas that include several endangered species and wild animals. The Northern Cape Province is characterized by three types of biomes, succulent karoo, nama karoo, and savanna biomes.

Figures

Plate 9: Bothroponera strigulosa, holotype worker.

Map 10. The distribution of B. strigulosa.