Polyrhachis limitis

Nothing is known about the biology of .

Identification
Rigato (2016) - An alexisi group species identifiable by: pronotum and propodeum laterally marginate, petiole quadrispinose, head oval, with moderately convex sides, and eyes somewhat slightly breaking the head outline in full face view.

Bolton (1973) - Originally described as a race of Polyrhachis alexisi, limitis is now considered to be a good species and appears to be more closely related to Polyrhachis latharis than to the species with which it was first associated. The main differences responsible for the decision to raise limitis to specific rank were the presence of margination on the propodeum and the differences in sculpturation between it and alexisi.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Afrotropical Region: Democratic Republic of Congo, United Republic of Tanzania.

Nomenclature

 *  limitis. Polyrhachis (Pseudocyrtomyrma) alexisi st. limitis Santschi, 1939c: 12 (w.) DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO. Raised to species: Bolton, 1973b: 350.

Worker
Bolton (1973) - TL 6.5, HL 1.59, HW 1.29, CI 81, SL 1.63, SI 126, PW 1.33, MTL 1.67.

Anterior clypeal margin produced into a shallow, rectangular lobe medially, the lobe bluntly dentate on each side. Sides of head more or less straight and somewhat convergent in front of the eyes, convex and rounding into the occipital margin behind. Eyes convex, situated well up on the sides but breaking the outline of the sides in full-face view. Alitrunk anteroposteriorly compressed and with a swollen appearance. Pronotum convex, armed with a pair of spines, marginate from the spines to a point about half way between their bases and the promesonotal suture; the latter distinct. Mesonotum not marginate, the dorsum rounding into the sides, separated from the propodeum by a very weakly marked metanotal groove. Propodeum unarmed, weakly marginate laterally and posteriorly, the sides not greatly expanded beyond the lateral marginations in dorsal view. Propodeal declivity deep and shallowly concave. Petiole armed with four spines, the dorsal pair noticeably longer than the laterals but narrower and separated by a distance about twice as great as the length of one spine. Anterior face of the first gastral segment concave medially.

Erect hairs absent from all dorsal surfaces of the head and body except the clypeus and the apex of the gaster. Pubescence very short and sparse, most easily seen on the gaster and the appendages.

Clypeus, declivity of propodeum, petiole and gaster finely reticulate. Dorsal surfaces of head, mesonotum and propodeum longitudinally striate-rugose, the pronotum more irregularly so, tending to a rugoreticulum laterally. Sides of pronotum and the mesopleuron reticulate-rugose, the sides of the propodeum longitudinally striate-rugose.

Rigato (2016) - HL 1.34, HW 1.16, CI 87, SL 1.47, SI 127, FW 0.37, FI 32, PW 1.14, WL 1.66, HTL 1.40.

Type Material
Holotype worker, DEMOCRATIC REP. of the CONGO: Pale (Gérard) [examined]. In the original description Santschi begins with the symbol for female but later refers to the specimen as a worker, which is the correct caste.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Rigato F. 2016. The ant genus Polyrhachis F. Smith in sub-Saharan Africa, with descriptions of ten new species. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zootaxa 4088: 1-50.