Hagensia peringueyi saldanhae

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Afrotropical Region: South Africa.

Castes
In addition to gamergates, both winged and wingless males occur in H. peringueyi saldanhae (C. Peeters & H. Robertson unpubl.). Over 50 nests were excavated, in most months of the year. Both winged and wingless males were found in pitfalls during November-April. Thorax structure of winged and wingless males is much the same, hence it is not appropriate to describe the latter as ergatoid males, because their thorax is not reduced and worker-like (confirmed by SEM)

Importantly, no winged queens are known in this species, and our dissections revealed one gamergate per nest

Nomenclature

 *  saldanhae. Hagensia peringueyi r. saldanhae Arnold, 1951: 53, fig. 4 (w.) SOUTH AFRICA. Combination in Pachycondyla: Brown, in Bolton, 1995b: 309; in Hagensia: Schmidt & Shattuck, 2014: 92.

Description
The race saldanhae differs from the type of Hagensia peringueyi as follows:

Puncturation of the head larger, clearly resolvable under a magnification of 32 diameters (45 - 50 diameters in the type). Sides of the head and pronotum less convex. The fovea on the mandibles is very shallow and transverse in position, and the inner half of the mandibles is more strongly punctured. The posterior third of the epinotal dorsum is not deeply grooved, i.e. transversely concave, as in the type, since the raised lateral margins of the declivity are not continued over the dorsum. The specimens are also smaller, 9.3 to 9.5 mm. long. The very fine pubescence on the whole body is brownish as in peringueyi i. sp. The type of the subspecies is in the South African Museum. In the same collection there is also an apterous male, without any traces of wing-bases, from Darling, C.P. It is labelled E. (Mesoponera) peringueyi, probably by the late Mr. Lightfoot. In the absence of workers from the same locality I hesitate to confirm that determination.