Strumigenys tetraphanes

Known from numerous wet forest habitat litter-samples.

Identification
A member of the arnoldi complex in the Strumigenys arnoldi-group.

Bolton (1983) - The enormously expanded antennal scapes make tetraphanes one of the most easily recognized Afrotropical Strumigenys and this character, coupled with the form of the mandibles, pilosity, head width and sculpture, should make confusion of tetraphanes with any other species impossible.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Afrotropical Region: Cameroun, Gabon, Kenya, Uganda.

Nomenclature

 *  tetraphanes. Strumigenys tetraphanes Brown, 1954k: 30 (w.) UGANDA. See also: Bolton, 1983: 395; Bolton, 2000: 597.

Worker
Bolton (1983) - TL 2.0-2.2, HL 0.54-0.60, HW 0.51-0.57, CI 91-97, ML 0.19-0.22, MI 34-37, SL 0.28-0.30, SI 52-55, PW 0.30-0.32, AL 0.50-0.58 (4 measured).

Mandibular apices each with a fork of 2 spiniform teeth, without intercalary teeth or denticles, the upper tooth of the apical fork very long, more than 0.5 X ML. Preapical armament of each blade of 2 teeth, the proximal long and strongly spiniform, 2-3 times longer than the small distal preapical tooth. Upper scrobe margins sharply divergent behind, the head broad behind the midlength and almost as broad as long. Eyes not visible in full-face view, small, conspicuously much smaller than the maximum width of the scape. Preocular notch absent, the ventral surface of the head without a transverse preocular groove or impression. Antennal scapes flattened and enormously expanded anteriorly into a large lobe which about equals the clypeus in area. Leading edges of scapes with a row of broad shallowly spoon-shaped hairs. Dorsum of head from posterior clypeal margin to about the midlength densely clothed with very broad shallowly spoon-shaped hairs which appear scale-like to suborbicular in full-face view; such hairs also fringe the upper scrobe margins. Behind the midlength the cephalic ground-pilosity is much smaller, about the same as on the clypeus; the difference in size between these hairs and the broad scale-like hairs is striking. Dorsum of head with a transverse row of 4 longer narrowly clavate hairs close to the occipital margin, without a pair situated close to the highest point of the vertex. Head densely reticulate-punctate. Pronotal humeri lacking flagellate or any other kind of projecting hair. Mesonotum with a single pair of strongly clavate hairs. Ground-pilosity of dorsal alitrunk of small flattened hairs which are almost appressed. With the alitrunk in profile the sides of the pronotum thickly and bluntly marginate. Anterior portion of mesonotum shallowly convex, the posterior portion depressed behind the level of the clavate hairs and shallowly transversely impressed. Propodeal teeth subtended by broad infradental lamellae. Sides of pronotum reticulate-punctate, the pleurae and sides of the propodeum mostly smooth, with punctures peripherally. Dorsal alitrunk, petiole and postpetiole reticulate-punctate. Spongiform appendages of pedicel segments well developed. In profile the petiole with a straight narrow ventral strip; ventral spongiform lobe of postpetiole equal to or slightly smaller than the exposed area of the postpetiolar disc in profile, equalling or slightly larger than the lateral lobe. Basigastral costulae sharply developed but short. Petiole, postpetiole and gaster dorsally with stout hairs which are swollen or clavate apically. Colour brown.

Type Material
Bolton (1983) - Holotype worker, UGANDA: 5 miles (8 km) N. of Kampala, Kawanda Exp. St., 15.ii.1949, soil sample under elephant grass (G. Salt) [examined].