Axinidris Weber 1941
Creators: name: Snelling, R. R.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2007
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Formicidae
Axinidris

description: KEY TO AXINIDRIS WORKERS
1 Propodeal ridge cariniform or absent; pronotal dorsum evenly rounded at sides ............ 2
-- Propodeal ridge compressed and strongly elevated, axiniform (Fig. 11); pronotal dorsum submarginate at side (Sudan; Kenya) .......................................................... acholli Weber
2 (1) Pronotum and antennal scape shaft without erect hairs; gastral terga usually without erect hairs ................................................................................................................................. 3
-- Pronotum with at least two erect hairs (caution: one or both, if only two are normally present, may be broken off or lying on the surface); antennal scape shaft and gastral terga with or without erect hairs ............................................................................................. 10
3 (2) Medial carina present at least on posterior half of dorsal face & at least slightly elevated at summit of declivity; propodeal spines various, but often more elongate and with surface between them concave in dorsal view ............................................................................. 4
-- Medial carina absent from entire length of dorsal face; propodeal spines triangular in dorsal view and surface between them straight ........................................ bidens Shattuck (part)
4 (3) Pronotal dorsum conspicuously imbricate and only slightly shiny; mesonotum, mesepisternum and propodeum duller, finely and contiguously punctate; dorsal surfaces with abundant prostrate pubescence; distance between outer margins of propodeal spines subequal to width of propodeum at spiracles .................................................................. 5
-- Pronotum and mesepisternum smooth and shiny, contrasting sharply with finely and contiguously punctate propodeum; pronotum with scattered prostrate pubescence; distance between outer margins of propodeal spines much less than width of propodeum at spiracles ……… .. .......................................................................................................................... 7
5 (4) Vertex without erect hairs; gastral terga without erect hairs ............................................ 6
-- Vertex with one pair of short erect hairs below dorsal margin; gastral terga 3 and 4 each with several erect hairs (Liberia) ..................................................... occidentalis Shattuck
6 (5) Head longer than broad; head and body dark brown, lower half of clypeus, mandibles, most of scape yellowish red; meso- and metatarsi whitish (Kenya) .............. icipe, new species
-- Head broader than long; head and body black, hypostomal area, head below, mandibles and legs reddish black; tarsi dark yellowish red (Kenya) .................... kakamegensis Shattuck
7 (4) Propodeal carina low and right-angular to obtuse in profile (Figs. 17, 18) ...................... 8
-- Propodeal carina elevated and acute in profile (Malawi; South Africa) .. tridens (Arnold)
8 (7) At least fourth gastral tergum with at least 2 erect hairs; head and body light to dark brown. ……… ............................................................................................................................. 9
-- Third and fourth gastral terga without erect hairs; head and mesosoma light reddish, petiole and first gastral segment yellowish (Central African Republic) .......... mlalu, new species
9 (8) Hypostomal area without erect or suberect hairs; longest hair on fourth tergum about 0.10 mm long and vertex hair about 0.66 x length of that on frontal lobe (Kenya; Cameroun) ……………………………………………………………… okekai, new species
-- Hypostomal area with several short erect and suberect hairs; longest hair on fourth tergum about 0.06 mm long and longest vertexal hairs about 0.60 x length of that on frontal lobe (Namibia) ............................................................................................ namib, new species
10 (2) Propodeum without medial carina and lateral spines virtually absent in dorsal view; pronotum with one pair of long erect hairs and propodeal spines each with similar hair; clypeal notch broad and shallow (CNI less than 75) ...................................................... 11
-- Propodeum with distinct medial carinae which, at summit of declivity, is usually a low obtuse lobe, less often sharply elevated or dentiform; pilosity various, but usually not as above; clypeal notch relatively narrow, CNI usually over 100, but if as little as 80, then medial carina sharply defined ........................................................................................ 12
11 (10) Head and body medium to dark brown; gena distinctly finely imbricate; larger species, HW consistently over 0.50 mm (Ghana; Cameroun; Kenya) .................. bidens Shattuck (part)
-- Head and body light reddish yellow, gaster sometimes slightly darker; gena smooth and shiny, sometimes weakly imbricate; smaller species, HW usually less than 0.50 mm, but may range up to 0.52 mm (Liberia; Democratic Republic of Congo; Kenya) …………. .................................................................................................... hypoclinoides (Santschi)
12 (10) Distance between outer margins of propodeal spines, in dorsal view, equal to or exceeding width of propodeum at spiracles; pronotum dull and closely pubescent, surface coarsely imbricate or punctate ..................................................................................................... 13
-- Distance between outer margins of propodeal spines, in dorsal view, distinctly less than width of propodeum at spiracles and / or pronotum shiny and sparsely pubescent, surface weakly imbricate ............................................................................................................ 14
13 (12) Erect hairs of head and mesosoma brown, coarse and seta-like; propodeal spines short, no longer than thick in profile (Ghana) ....................................................... nigripes Shattuck
-- Erect hairs of head and mesosoma yellowish and fine, not seta-like; propodeal spines distinctly longer than thick in profile (Kenya) ..................................... luhya, new species
14 (12) Mesonotum either smooth and shiny between several short longitudinal rugae or slightly shiny and coarsely rugulose .......................................................................................... 15
-- Mesonotum moderately shiny, anteriorly finely imbricate, posteriorly duller and densely punctulate ..................................................................................................................... 16
15 (14) Mesonotum smooth and shiny between short longitudinal rugae; head and body light reddish brown (Tanzania) .................................................................. stageri, new species
-- Mesonotum slightly shiny and coarsely rugulose; head and body dark brown (South Africa) ……………………………………………………………………… lignicola, new species
16 (14) Scape shaft with fine prostrate pubescence, but no suberect to erect hairs; front of head, exclusive of clypeus, with six hairs (two along each frontal carina and two on upper frons) ....................................................................................................................................... 17
-- Scape shaft with at least one or two short erect hairs in addition to appressed pubescence; front of head, exclusive of clypeus, with two hairs along each frontal carina and four or more on frons ................................................................................................................. 19
17 (16) Distance between outer margins of propodeal spine apices distinctly less than width of propodeum at level of spiracles; frons and vertex moderately shiny, weakly imbricate and with scattered weak punctures; gaster concolorous with mesosoma .............................. 18
-- Distance between outer margins of propodeal spine apices at least equal to width of propodeum at level of spiracles; frons and vertex weakly shiny, contiguously finely punctate and strigulate; mesosoma brown, gaster yellowish red (Ghana) ............................................................................................
........................................................................................................ palligastrion Shattuck
18 (17) Medial carina broadly rounded in profile; second gastral tergum moderately shiny and densely punctate (Republic of Congo) ............................................ denticulata (Wheeler)
-- Medial carina subacute in profile; second gastral tergum shiny between sparse punctures (Ghana) ............................................................................................... ghanensis Shattuck
19 (16) Pronotum with at least two fully erect hairs in addition to humeral pair; frons slightly shiny to shiny, varying from finely colliculate to weakly coriarious and scabriculous ........... 20
-- Pronotum with only two long fully erect hairs, one at each humerus; frons shiny, varying from smooth to obscurely coriarious (Gabon) ............................... gabonica, new species
20 (19) Scape shaft distinctly with six or more short erect hairs; frons slightly shiny, finely colliculate to imbricate ................................................................................................... 21
-- Scape shaft with only one or two very short erect hairs; frons shiny, weakly coriarious (Nigeria) ................................................................................................... kinoin Shattuck
21 (20) Body color reddish yellow; gaster yellow, similar in color to posterior portion of petiole (Ghana) ............................................................................................... hylekoites Shattuck
-- Entire head and body reddish brown, gaster darker than posterior portion of petiole (Cameroun; Ghana; Kenya) .................................................................. murielae Shattuck
description: Published as part of Snelling, R. R., 2007, A review of the arboreal Afrotropical ant genus Axinidris., pp. 551-579 in Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute 80 on pages 554-556