Camponotus fieldellus

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Australasian Region: Australia.

Nomenclature

 *  fieldellus. Camponotus fieldellus Forel, 1910b: 79 (s.w.q.) AUSTRALIA. Forel, 1915: 100 (m.). Combination in C. (Myrmophyma): Forel, 1912i: 91.

Description
Workers length 7.5-10 mm. Worker major. Mandibles short, very thick, strongly curved, sub opaque, densely and finely striated with large sparse points, armed with 6 (visible) teeth. Clypeus trapezoidal, wide at front, without a lobe, widely bidented, without a distinct median indentation between the dents. Frontal area small, indistinct, rhombiform, frontal carinae strongly diverging; frontal groove deeply impressed. The head extremely thick, square, 3.3 mm long and 3.2 mm wide; viewed from the front the posterior border is straight (excavated behind when seen from the top), sides straight, the posterior angles distinct, in a short rounded curve; cheeks convex and the head narrows in front of them. Viewed from the front, the head presents a strong median posterior hump between the vertex and occiput (corresponding to the hump of C.sponsorum), but more extended. The cheeks are humped to the front and to the side, very noticeable. The eyes a little forward of the posterior third. The scape, strongly curved, reaches the occiput or exceeds it slightly. Pronotum is twice as wide as long. There is a profound suture between the pronotum and mesonotum. Basal face of the epinotum is very wide, 1.5 times longer than wide, straight in profile but convex transversely, without an edge, as long as the declivity with which it forms a very rounded angle. Node is very wide, flat at the back, convex in front with a sharp border. The tibias are cylindrical, with numerous strong barbs dark brown on the inside surface. Quite glossy, finely shagreen; clypeus sub opaque, more strongly shagreen. Punctations very sparse very distinct on front of the head and gaster, but faded elsewhere. Some sparse red bristles on the body; limbs without erect hairs. Pubescence entirely flat lying, yellow, very thin everywhere. Dark black; funicles and extremities of the tarses brown. Worker minor. The head is rectangular, longer than wide, the sides sub rectangular and compressed, the posterior edge is weakly convex and the posterior angles are distinct, slightly widened at the back. Mandibles narrow, quite glossy, punctated, the outer edge almost straight. The clypeus strongly projecting in front into a rounded lobe; very wide at the front, entire and sub careened. There is no elevated hump at the vertex or at the cheeks. The scape exceeds the occiput by 3/5 of its length. Pronotum narrower than the major worker, sub margined at the front. Promesonotal suture, etc, similar to the major worker, but the basal face of the epinotum is twice as long as the declivity which is a little concave in profile. The node is very thick, as thick at the top as at the bottom and nodiform at the summit. The sculpture and pilosity erect like the major worker, but the whole body especially the gaster is covered with a down of quite strong yellowish gray pubescence which partly hides the sculpture. Same color as the major worker, but the funicles and extremities of the mandibles reddish. Female 13.5mm.....not yet translated. Tennants Creek Central Australia (Field) The species is a relative of capito Mayr but differs from it by the hump on the cheeks, by its square head which is not trapezoidal, the form of the clypeus, its black color and sculpture. The hump at the back of the head is also more occipital, much less however than sponsorum. C. fieldellus is also related to C. tasmani Forel of which the minor worker is only known. But tasmani has a body and limbs bristling with erect hairs, red thorax, the sides of the head more compressed and especially a sharp margin behind the eye which does not occur with the minor worker of fieldellus.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Forel A. 1915. Results of Dr. E. Mjöbergs Swedish Scientific Expeditions to Australia 1910-13. 2. Ameisen. Ark. Zool. 9(16): 1-119