Contents Contents The Ants of Egypt
SUBFAMILY MYRMICINAE - Genus Monomorium
Monomorium lepineyi (Santschi) - new status
salomonis-group
areniphilum-complex

Monomorium lepineyi (Santschi) - new status

return to key {link to the Hymenoptera Name Server} Type location Mauritania (Monomorium (Xeromyrmex) salomonis L. var lepineyi n. var., Santschi, 1934b: 84, illustrated, worker) note from "French Sudan"[wrongly thought by Bolton to be Sudan], Nema, collector J. De Lépiney, 1933-34; worker only described .

Raised by us to species status from a junior synonym of Monomorium areniphilum (Santschi) following examination of specimens from Egypt.


{Monomorium lepineyi}Santschi's (1934b) description is at {original description}. Bolton's modern note (1987: 336) is at {original description}.

In translation, the Santschi (1934b) description reads -
WORKERS - TL 3 mm; black, the alitrunk slightly reddish; mandibles, femora, genae, tarsi and peduncle of the petiole reddish; antenna and rest of the legs medium brown. Finely reticulo-punctate, near matt; gaster smooth and shiny with an effaced puncturation. Erect pilosity rare, absent on the alitrunk, very fine on and under the head. Pubescence very short, spaced on the appendages and gaster. Head about one-quarter longer than wide, the sides slightly convergent behind the eyes. The scape surpasses the occiptal border by about one fifth of its length; Second segment of the funiculus not notably longer than the third. Alitrunk more slender than Monomorium pullulum (Santschi); the propodeum more elongated, with the dorsum about twice as long as the declivity, which is more abrupt than in pullulum, the angle rounded. Metanotal groove slightly deep in profile. Postpetiole a fifth wider than the petiole. Generally smaller than pullulum, the head and dorsum of the propodeum longer. From Nema, 5 workers; collector de Lépiney.

The synonymy in Bolton (1987) was noted as "provisional" with the comment - "The single lepineyi specimen available for study matches areniphilum moderately well, but it is smaller and darker in colour, being a uniform blackish-brown, and has the head narrower than the areniphilum syntypes. The eyes in the lepineyi syntype are slightly larger than in areniphilum and the sides of the head are not as distinctly convergent posteriorly"

Clearly a north African Sahel savannah species, as the known findings are from Mauritania and Egypt.

Egypt records Sharaf list- notes examined "Monomorium lepineyi" - Abu-Madi, Zaranik (North Sinai), 6.v.2003 (5) (SHC).


Monomorium lepineyiThe photomontage is of the holotype worker collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0913554


Oxford University Museum specimens

Monomorium lepineyi
B Taylor det.
Egypt
M Fadl Ali


2007
El Minia
28°05'N
30°45'E
.
3
{album}

{Monomorium lepineyi}The photomontage is of specimens from Egypt, near El Minia, collector Mahmoud Fadl Ali.


{Monomorium lepineyi queen} Queen - from Egypt, what appears to be a lepineyi queen was illustrated by Savigny (Audouin, J.-V. 1825-27: Plate 20 Fig 23.1).


{Monomorium lepineyi queen} Queen - this montage compares the Savigny drawing and our worker specimen. The scale size images show the relative sizes of the worjer and the queen. As the lepineyi queen has never been described this is presumptive but the size relation is similar to that found in Monomorium pharaonis (worker TL ca 2.2-2.4 mm, queen TL ca 4 mm). Our lepineyi worker is TL ca 3 mm, the Savignyi queen has TL ca 6-7 mm. Both have the relatively long head, striate mandibles and slender antennae, plus the impressed anterior margin of the slender gaster.


{Monomorium lepineyi male} Male - from Egypt, what appears to be a lepineyi male was illustrated by Savigny (Audouin, J.-V. 1825-27: Plate 20 Fig 23.2).

©2008, 2012, 2015 - Brian Taylor CBiol FRSB FRES
11, Grazingfield, Wilford, Nottingham, NG11 7FN, U.K.

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