Aenictus weissi

Identification
The lack of a developed subpetiolar process and the presence of a horizontal propodeal ridge separates this species from the rest in the rotundatus complex except for Aenictus nyuyi, but both species are separable by the shorter scapes (SIL<75 against SIL>80).

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Afrotropical Region: Cameroon, Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Uganda.

Nomenclature

 * . Aenictus weissi Santschi, 1910c: 354, fig. 2 (w.) CONGO.
 * Type-material: holotype male.
 * Type-locality: Congo (“Congo français”): Gomba (A. Weiss).
 * Type-depository: NHMB.
 * Santschi, 1920b: 9 (q.).
 * Status as species: Forel, 1913j: 212; Santschi, 1920b: 9; Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 755; Menozzi, 1942: 165; Eidmann, 1944: 429; Bolton, 1995b: 61.
 * Distribution: Cameroon, Congo, Equatorial Guinea (Bioko I.), Gabon.

Type Material

 * Syntype, GABON (as Congo fr.): Gomba (A. Weiss) (1w) [CASENT0911444] NHMB [Examined by Gomez, 2022]; Syntype, GABON, 1914 (F. Faure) (1w) MHNG [Examined by Gomez, 2022].

Gomez (2022): Type material is referred to Congo Francaise, Gomba. I’m assuming this location refers to Gomba city in Gabon. Although different catalogues cite the queen caste as described in SANTSCHI (1920), this reference only cites the species from Gabon, so the queen remains undescribed.

The specimen from Gr. Batanga (Cameroon) labelled as type has two identification labels: Aenictus weissi wasmanni Santschi and Aenictus rixator v. congolensis. Two more workers with the same data seem to belong to the same series and are labelled as Aenictus weissi wasmanni Santschi. This material is referred here to A. weissi, as A. weissi wasmanni seems to be unpublished.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Borowiec M. L. 2016. Generic revision of the ant subfamily Dorylinae (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). ZooKeys 608: 1–280.
 * Eidmann H. 1944. Die Ameisenfauna von Fernando Poo. 27. Beitrag zu den Ergebnissen der Westafrika-Expedition. Zool. Jahrb. Abt. Syst. Ökol. Geogr. Tiere 76: 413-490.
 * Menozzi C. 1942. Formiche dell'isola Fernando Poo e del territorio del Rio Muni (Guinea Spagnola). 24. Beitrag zu den wissenschaftlichen Ergebnissen der Forschungsreise H. Eidmann nach Spanisch-Guinea 1939 bis 1940. Zoologischer Anzeiger 140: 164-182.
 * Santschi F. 1910. Formicides nouveaux ou peu connus du Congo français. Annales de la Société Entomologique de France 78: 349-400.
 * Santschi F. 1920. Formicides nouveaux du Gabon, du Congo, de la Rhodesia et du Natal. Annales de la Société Entomologique de Belgique 60: 6-17.
 * Wheeler W. M. 1922. Ants of the American Museum Congo expedition. A contribution to the myrmecology of Africa. VIII. A synonymic list of the ants of the Ethiopian region. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 45: 711-1004