Bothroponera escherichi

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Afrotropical Region: Eritrea, Ethiopia.

Nomenclature

 * . Pachycondyla (Bothroponera) escherichi Forel, 1910c: 244 (w.) ERITREA.
 * Type-material: holotype worker.
 * Type-locality: Eritrea: Nefasit (K. Escherich).
 * Type-depository: MHNG.
 * Combination in Euponera (Mesoponera): Emery, 1911d: 82.
 * Combination in Pachycondyla: Brown, in Bolton, 1995b: 305.
 * Combination in Mesoponera: Schmidt, C.A. & Shattuck, 2014: 110.
 * Combination in Bothroponera: Esteves & Fisher (2021): 109.
 * Status as species: Emery, 1911d: 82; Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 776; Santschi, 1935b: 260 (in key); Finzi, 1939a: 161; Bolton, 1995b: 305; Madl, 2019: 17.
 * Distribution: Eritrea.

Taxonomic Notes
Esteves & Fisher (2021): The species originally described as Pachycondyla (Bothroponera) escherichi Forel, 1910, based on one worker collected in Eritrea (Fig. 16), was recently combined in Mesoponera by Schmidt and Shattuck (2014). However, the species is clearly misassigned. Mesoponera escherichi presents every character that sets Bothroponera and Mesoponera apart from the remaining Ponerinae genera in the Afrotropics, including the absence of a basolateral or dorsal pit on the mandibles (Forel 1910). The shape of the propodeal dorsal face corresponds to that of the B. sulcata group. The propodeal spiracle is slit-shaped. The petiolar tergite is unaligned in the image we evaluated; even so, it shows a somewhat nodiform petiole (clearly not cuneiform) that is reasonably accommodated by the variation seen in the Bothroponera. Moreover, Forel (1910) stated that the anterior and posterior faces of the petiole are vertical surfaces. The metanotal sulcus is present but weakly impressed, and does not interrupt the dorsal outline of the mesosoma in profile. The presclerites and postsclerites of abdominal segment IV are separated by a moderately impressed constriction. The torular lobes are not hypertrophied. Sculpture is not strongly impressed: most of the head and the dorsal face of the mesosoma is densely foveolate (i.e., covered by small pits that are wider than punctures); the lateral face of the mesosoma is mostly costulate; the petiole is somewhat shiny; the gaster is slightly punctate, and is shinier than the head and mesosoma. Therefore, M. escherichi becomes Bothroponera escherichi (Forel, 1910), comb. nov., a member of the B. sulcata species group.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Borowiec L., and S. Salata. 2018. Notes on ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Gambia (Western Africa). Annals of the Upper Silesian Museum in Bytom Entomology 26: 1-13.
 * Finzi B. 1939. Materiali zoologici dell'Eritrea raccolti da G. Müller durante la spedizione dell'Istituto Sieroterapico Milanese e conservati al Museo di Trieste. Parte III. Hymenoptera: Formicidae. Atti del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Trieste 14: 153-168.
 * Forel A. 1910. Ameisen aus der Kolonie Erythräa. Gesammelt von Prof. Dr. K. Escherich (nebst einigen in West-Abessinien von Herrn A. Ilg gesammelten Ameisen). Zoologische Jahrbücher. Abteilung für Systematik, Geographie und Biologie der Tiere 29: 243-274.
 * Lévieux J. 1972. Les fourmis de la savane de Lamto (Côte d'Ivoire): éléments de taxonomie. Bulletin de l'Institut Fondamental d'Afrique Noire. Série A. Sciences Naturelles 34: 611-654.
 * Madl M. 2019. Notes on the ant fauna of Eritrea (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae): type specimens deposited in the Natural History Museum Vienna (Austria) and a preliminary checklist. Ann. Naturhist. Mus. Wien, B 121: 9-18.