Lepisiota depilis (Emery)
  Type location Somalia
(Acantholepis capensis sottosp. depilis n. subsp.,
Emery, 1897e: 602, worker & queen; raised to species Collingwood,
1985: 294)  .
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Emery's (1897e)
description is on  . Compared with capensis,
head more
truncate with less rounded corners, erect hairs short more scarce, on
gaster dorsum restricted to tranverse row at posterior of each segment;
pubescence less copious; overall subopaque, metanotum and propodeum
opaque. He added that the queen he had described earlier (Emery, 1892a)
under L. carbonaria appeared
to be the queen of depilis,
see  and the Emery (1877b) description of the
queen of L. capensis.
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WORKER - TL 2.2-2.4 mm; HL slightly > HW; scapes
surpassing occiput
by over 1/3 of their own length; petiole with feeble teeth; moderately
abundant yellowish-white pilosity, pubescence sparse white appressed
; black, appendages blackish-brown. |
 The photomontage
of the type worker is collated
from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0905149
The
minute appressed pubescence on the head, especially, is quite
distinctive. It does seem, however, that the term "depilis" is a
misnomer as fresh specimens, as shown below, have quite abundant long
erect hairs.
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Oxford University Museum
specimens
Lepisiota depilis
B Taylor det.
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Sudan
J Mathews
JM 351
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12.x.2001
Khordonia
11°51' N
34°15' E
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Damazine Plantation,
Blue Nile
pyrethrum fogging of Acacia senegal
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i
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 |
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 The
photomontage is of a worker from Sudan,
collected by J Mathews, by pyrethrum fogging of Acacia senegal.
Blue Nile, Khordonia, Damazine Plantation, 11°51' N 34°15' E;
12.x.2001, JM 351; one
specimen mounted, numerous others
JM 351; clypeus with distinctive raised median carina;
eyes near
flat (ca 0.4 x length of side of head); alitrunk relatively short and
stocky, pronotum quite strongly domed; petiole scale weakly bispinose,
head narrowed anteriorly but in profile convex on both upper and lower
sides, occiptum feebly impressed; erect hairs moderately long and
slender off-white (ca 0.10 mm long). head quite shaggy due to decumbent
pubescence; overall uniform dark brown-black
Type description has petiole scale effectively unarmed, head, pronotum
and mesonotum subopaque. This is shinier but seems a good match for acholli
TL ca 2.4 mm, HL 0.61, HW 0.54, CI 88, SL 0.69, SI 124, PW 0.37, eye
length 0.20
Khordonia 2 trees (351 only 12; 370 3 plus very many others).
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 The
photomontage is of a worker from Sudan,
Dinder National Park; collected by Awatif Omer (Sudan 30)
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 The
photomontage is of a worker from Ethiopia,
Abijata National Park; collected by A Pauly
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