Tetraponera ambigua

This widespread species is found from the Arabian Peninsula and the Sahara south to South Africa. It is dimorphic with soldiers and workers. Found nesting in dead twigs in dry habitats.

Distribution
This taxon was described from South Africa. It is also found in Angola, Algeria, Botswana, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Gabon, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Namibia, Somalia, Tanzania, Sudan, Israel, Djibouti, Kenya, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Egypt, Senegal, Saudi Arabia, Yemen and United Arab Emirates.

Nomenclature

 *  ambigua. Sima ambigua Emery, 1895h: 23 (w.q.) SOUTH AFRICA. Forel, 1910f: 5 (m.). Combination in S. (Tetraponera): Arnold, 1916: 185; in Tetraponera: Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 796. [Sima ambigua Forel, 1894b: 89. Nomen nudum, attributed to Emery.] Senior synonym of angolensis, bifoveolata, encephala, erythraea, maculifrons, occidentalis, rhodesiana, syriaca: Ward, 2006: 123.
 * bifoveolata. Sima bifoveolata Mayr, 1895: 146 (w.) MOZAMBIQUE. Menozzi, 1926a: 37 (q.). Combination in S. (Tetraponera): Arnold, 1916: 184; in Tetraponera: Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 796. Junior synonym of ambigua: Ward, 2006: 123.
 * erythraea. Sima ambigua subsp. erythraea Emery, 1895h: 23 (w.) YEMEN. [Sima ambigua susbp. erythraea Emery, 1893f: 256. Nomen nudum.] Combination in S. (Tetraponera): Emery, 1921f: 27; in Tetraponera: Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 796. Raised to species: Collingwood, 1985: 242. Junior synonym of ambigua: Ward, 2006: 123.
 * maculifrons. Sima bifoveolata st. maculifrons Santschi, 1912b: 162 (w.) SOMALIA. [Name misspelled as foveolata in original description.] Combination in Sima (Tetraponera): Emery, 1921f: 27; in Tetraponera: Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 796. Junior synonym of ambigua: Ward, 2006: 123.
 * rhodesiana. Sima ambigua r. rhodesiana Forel, 1913a: 112 (w.) ZIMBABWE. Arnold, 1914: 31 (s.w.); Arnold, 1916: 187 (q.). Combination in S. (Tetraponera): Arnold, 1916: 186; in Tetraponera: Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 796. Junior synonym of ambigua: Ward, 2006: 123.
 * syriaca. Sima bifoveolata var. syriaca Wheeler, W.M. & Mann, 1916: 167 (w.) SYRIA. Combination in S. (Tetraponera): Emery, 1921f: 27; in Tetraponera: Ward, 1990: 489. Junior synonym of ambigua: Ward, 2006: 123.
 * encephala. Sima encephala Santschi, 1919h: 84 (q.) SENEGAL. Combination in Tetraponera: Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 797. Junior synonym of ambigua: Ward, 2006: 123.
 * angolensis. Tetraponera ophthalmica st. angolensis Santschi, 1930b: 61, fig. 1 (w.) ANGOLA. Junior synonym of ambigua: Ward, 2006: 123.
 * occidentalis. Tetraponera ambigua var. occidentalis Menozzi, 1934: 154 (w.) ALGERIA. [First available use of Sima ambigua r. erythraea var. occidentalis Stitz, 1917: 336. Unavailable name (Ward, 1990: 489).] Junior synonym of ambigua: Ward, 2006: 123.

Additional References

 * [[Media:Ward 2006.pdf|Ward, P.S. 2006. The ant genus Tetraponera in the Afrotropical region: synopsis of species groups and revision of the T. ambigua-group. Myrmecologische Nachrichten 8: 119-130. PDF]]