Camponotus lividipes

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Australasian Region: Australia.

Nomenclature

 *  lividipes. Camponotus nigriceps st. lividipes Emery, 1887a: 211 (footnote) (s.w.) AUSTRALIA. Combination in C. (Myrmoturba): Forel, 1914a: 267; in C. (Tanaemyrmex): Emery, 1925b: 103. Raised to species: Dalla Torre, 1893: 240; Forel, 1914a: 267. Subspecies of consobrinus: Wheeler, W.M. 1933b: 23; Clark, 1934c: 71. Currently subspecies of nigriceps: Taylor & Brown, D.R. 1985: 117. Type-series referred to testaceipes-group (recte terebrans-group): McArthur & Adams, 1996: 41.

Description
In my collection a specimen from the Andaman Islands has all the characteristic shape, markings and hair of C nigriceps, and the color of the smaller forms of the type. Length 12 mm.,the development of the head corresponding with the Australian forms of 10 mm. I believe that I have to refer to the aberrant race of C nigriceps the following forms that I will now call C lividipes n.st. The shape of the clypeus and markings is similar to C.nigriceps. The node is depressed from t he back where the appearance is almost plateau; the soft hair of the limbs is longer and more abundant. The color is black, with only the limbs and flagelli testaceous, so therefore at first sight it resembles C.testaceipes Smith. Specimens from my Adelaide and Queensland collections are a lot smaller (6-10 mm)

Forel (1902): Under the name nigriceps, subspecies lividipes, Emery has briefly described a still smaller form from Adelaide and Queensland. He maintains that the clypeus is like the type. He only gave me a female lividipes from Tasmania but with this species the clypeus is throughout not like the type. Its central lobe is trapeze shaped without the lateral concave sides (the sides are rather rounded) and in the middle is edged as with claripes. The sides of the central lobe are convex and not concave as is the case with nigriceps.

On the whole,the specimens from Adelaide and Queensland are identical with specimens from Tasmania, so the lividipes must be considered as a single (unique??) species. The scape is much longer than the almost familiar claripes and protrudes to exactly the posterior border of the head.