The American Museum of Natural History

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

The American Museum of Natural History BULLETIN OF THEAMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURALHISTORY VOLUME XLV, 1922 59.57,96(67.5) Article I.-ANTS OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM CONGO EXPEDITION. A CONTRIBUTION TO THE MYRMECOLOGP OF AFRICA1 BY WILLIAMMORTON WHEELER WITH THE COLLABORATIONOF J. BEQUAERT,I. W. BAILEY,F. SANTSCHI,AND w. M . MANN PLATESI TO XLV, 47 MAPS, AND 103 TEXTFIGURES CONTENTS PAQE INTRODUCTION......................................................... 7 New Species, Subspecies, and Varieties, with Their Type Localities.. .. 10 I.-ONTHE DISTRIBUTIONOF THE ANTS OF THE ETHIOPIANAND MALAQASY REQIONS,BY WM. M. WHEELER.............................. 13 The Peculiarities of the Ethiopian Ant-Fauna.. .................. 13 Table I. General Distribution of the Genera of Ants.. ............ 22 Table 11. Total Number of Genera and Number of Endemic Genera in each Region, also Number of Genera Common to Other Regions 29 Table 111. Total Number of Genera and Number of Endemic Genera in each of the Subfamilies. .................................. 29 Table IV. Number of Species, Subspecies, and Varieties known from each Region in 1911 (Forel). ................................. 30 Table V. Number of Species, Subspecies, and Varieties of each Genus hitherto Recorded from the Ethiopian Region and the Belgian Congo.. ................................................... 31 The Peculiarities of the Malagasy Ant-Fauna. ..................... 33 Table VI. Number of Species, Subspecies, and Varieties of each Genus hitherto Recorded from the Malagasy Region. ................. 37 ~ ~~~ ~~- 'Scientific Results of the American Museum Congo Expedition. Entomology No. 7. 1 2 Bulletin American Museum of Natural History [Vol. XLV PAGE IL-THE ANTS COLLECTEDBY THE AMERICANMUSEEM COXGO EXPEDITION, BY WM. M. WHEE ........... ....... 39 DorylinE, ............... ....................... 39 Dorylus Fabricius. ..................................... 41 Cerapachyinae., ................................................. 51 Cerapachys F. Smith.. ...................................... 52 Phyracaces Emery.. ......................................... 53 ......................................... 56 ............................................. 57 Paltothyreus Mayr. ......................................... 60 Megaponera Mayr.. ................................... 63 Bothroponera Mayr.. ........................................ 69 Phrynoponera Wm. R4. Wheeler.. ............................ 75 Euponera Forel., ......... .......................... 81 Plectroctena F. Smith...... Psalidomyrmex Ern. Andre Leptogenys Roger. ....... Anochetus hlayr. ........ Odontomachus Latreille., ... ............ 99 Pseudomyrminae. ............. Tetraponera F. Smith., ....... ............ 104 Viticicola Rm. M. Wheeler ....... 107 Pachysima Emery. ......... M yrmicina:. ................. Pheidole Westwood.. ....... Myrmicaria W. Saunders.. ............................... Cardiocondyla Emery.. ... Crematogaster Lund.. .... Aeromyrma Forel. ....... Carebara F. Smith.,..................................... Paxialgus Forel. ............................................. 177 Atopoiriyrmex Ern. Andr6. ................................... 180 Meranoplus F Smith.. ...................................... 183 Macromischoides Wm. M. Wheeler. .......................... 187 Tetramorium Mayr. ............................................ 190 Xiphomyrmex Forel.. .... ........... 193 Rhoptromyrmex Mayr., ........................................... 194 Triglyphcthriz Forel.. .. ... 196 Cataulacus F. Smith.,.............................................. 197 Dolichoderinae.................................................. 199 Engramma Forel.. .......................................... 201 Tapinoma Forster. ............................................ 208 Technomyrwex May............ ... .................. 209 Formicin=. ....................................................... 210 Plagiolepis 3laj.r.. ............................. 211 19221 Wheeler, Ants of the Belgian Congo 3 PAGE Acantholepis Mayr.,. , . , . , . , . , . , . , . 214 Prenolepis Mayr., , , , , . , . ........ 216 Pseudolasitis Emery. , , , , . , , . , . 218 03'cophylla F. Smith.. ................................ 224 Campc notus Pvlayr.,. ........................... ...., 232 Phasmomyrmex Stita . , . , . 256 Polvrhachis F. Smith..,. ,. .. , , . , . , 256 III.-THE PREDACEOUSENEMIES OF ANTS,BY J. BEQUAERT.., . 271 Arthropods ..................................................... 273 ..............., 273 Coleoptera. , . , . , . , , . , 275 Neuroptera. , . , . , . ............ 276 Diptera.. , , . , . ......... ............ 277 Hymenoptera. , . ........., 283 285 295 Birds. , , . , . , . , . , . , . , . , . , 29 7 Mammals. , . 314 329 IV.-ANTS IN THEIR DIVERSEREL.4TIOK.B TO THE PLAKT WORLD BY J BEQUAERT... , . , . 323 1. Various Relations between Ants and Vegetation 334 334 349 351 ................ 355 358 364 . 369 375 384 401 403 408 408 Euphorbiacee. , . , . , . , , , . , , . , , 409 Macaranga DuPetit-Thouars . , . , 409 Ecology of Macaranga saccijera . 41 2 414 414 417 419 422 423 424 432 439 4 Bulletin American Museum of Natural History [Vol. XLV PAGE Apocynaceae., ................................................ 441 Epifaberna K . Schumann ....... ........... Verbenace ae ............................................. Clerodendron Linnsus................................ Vitex Linnsus .......................................... 444 Ecology of Vatex StawZtii ................. .............. 447 Rubiaceae.................. ......... 452 Uncaria Schreber .......................................... 453 Ecology of Uncaria africana . 458 Sarcocephalus Afzelius .................. ........ 459 Ecology of Sarcocephalus Species ...................... 460 Randia Houston .......................................... 461 Ecology of Randia Lujz ........................... Ecology of Randia myrmecophyla .................... Ecology of Randia physophylla .......................... 467 Plectronia Linnaeus ...................................... 468 Ecology of Plectronia Laurentii ........................ Ecology of Unidentified African Species of Plectronia Cuviera de Candolle ................................... Ecology of Cuviera in the Belgian Congo ............... 488 3 . Synopsis of Recorded Myrmecophytes ......................... 494 Pteridophyta ............................................... 497 Polypodiacee ............................................ 497 Monocotyledone z ................................... Palmae .......................................... Orchidacea ..................................... Dicotyledonere ............................................... 501 hloracez ................................................ 501 Polygonaceae.............................................. 505 Myristicace ze ........................................... 508 Monimiace ae ............................................ 509 Lauracere ................................................ 509 Nepenthacese ............................................ 510 ......................................... 510 ........................................... 510 Meliacea ................................................. 514 Euphorbiacez ............................................. 515 Sterculiacez.............................................. 517 Flacourtiacez .............................................. 517 Melastomatacez ......................................... 517 Loganiacez ................................................ 519 ................................... 520 Asclepiadacez .................................... Borraginaceze........................................... 521 Verbenacez ............................................. 522 Rubiacez ...... .............................. 522 4 . Bibliography of the tions between Ants and Plants ...... 530 19221 Wheeler, Ants of the Belgian Congo 5 PAGE V.-THE ANATOMYOF CERTAIN PLANT^^ FROM THE BELGIANCONGO, WITH SPECIALREFERENCE TO MYRMECOPHYTISM,BY I. W. BAILEY.., . 585 Introduction .......................... Minute Anatomy of African Myrmecophy Viter Staudtii Guerke.. ............ Cuviera ........ ..................................... 593 ............. 597 Pkctwnia Laurentii De Wildeman., ........................... 598 Barteria jistulosa Masters and B. Dewewei De Wildeman and Sarcorephalus Species.. Salient Features of African ........... Bibliography. .............. ......................... 619 VI.-KOTES ON A COLLECTIONOF WEST AFRICANMYRMECOPHILES, BY WM. M. MANN............. ..... .............. 623 VI1.-KEYS TO THE GENERAAND S NTS, BY WM.M. WHEELER... 631 Key to the Subfamilies.,. , ......................... 631 Dorylina Leach.. ................................. Cerapachyinae Forel and Ponerinae Lepeletier. , , , , , , , , Pseudomyrminae Emery. ........................... Myrmicine Lepeletier. .............................. Dolichoderins Forel.. ............................... Formicinre Lepeletier ...................................... 691 VIIL-A SYNOXYMICLIST OF THE AKTSOF THE ETHIOPIANREGION, BY WM.M. WHEELER.,................................................... 711 Approximate Location of African Localities, Rivers, Mountains, Lakes, etc., Mentioned in the Catalogue of Ethiopian Ants and Elsewhere in the Paper.. ........ .............. 714 Doryline Leach., ...... Cerapachyinae Forel.. .. Ponerinae Lepeletier., . , . Pseudomyrminae Emery Myrmicinae Lepeletier.. Dolichoderinze Forel., . ..................................... 921 Formicine Lepeletier.. 1X.-A SYNONYMICLIST OF THE ANTS OF THE
Recommended publications
  • The Eltham Copper Butterfly Paralucia Pyrodiscus Lucida Crosby (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae): Local Versus State Conservation Strategies in Victoria
    Invertebrate Conservation Issue The Eltham Copper Butterfly Paralucia pyrodiscus lucida Crosby (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae): local versus state conservation strategies in Victoria AA Canzano,1, 3 TR New1 and Alan L Yen2 1Department of Zoology, La Trobe University, Bundoora, Victoria 3086 2Department of Primary Industries, 621 Burwood Highway, Knoxfield, Victoria 3156 3Corresponding author Abstract This paper summarises some aspects of the practical conservation needs of the Eltham Copper Butterfly Paralucia pyrodiscus lucida, a small threatened subspecies of butterfly endemic to Victoria, Australia. The butterfly is located in three disjunct regions, separated by hundreds of kilo- metres across the state as a result of habitat removal and degradation. The three areas of ECB occur- rence each have distinct characteristics affecting the needs and intensity of conservation manage- ment on the various sites given their urban, regional and rural settings. Butterfly populations have been monitored nearly every year since 1988 with the active support of volunteers, ‘Friends of Eltham Copper Butterfly’, local councils and government agencies. This information has contributed to a more holistic management regime for the butterfly, and further research aims to elucidate the more intricate details of the butterfly’s biology, to continue to refine the current monitoring process across the state of Victoria. (The Victorian Naturalist 124 (4), 2007, 236-242) Introduction The Eltham Copper Butterfly Paralucia nests by day, around the base of the food pyrodiscus
    [Show full text]
  • Wildlife Trade Operation Proposal – Queen of Ants
    Wildlife Trade Operation Proposal – Queen of Ants 1. Title and Introduction 1.1/1.2 Scientific and Common Names Please refer to Attachment A, outlining the ant species subject to harvest and the expected annual harvest quota, which will not be exceeded. 1.3 Location of harvest Harvest will be conducted on privately owned land, non-protected public spaces such as footpaths, roads and parks in Victoria and from other approved Wildlife Trade Operations. Taxa not found in Victoria will be legally sourced from other approved WTOs or collected by Queen of Ants’ representatives from unprotected areas. This may include public spaces such as roadsides and unprotected council parks, and other property privately owned by the representatives. 1.4 Description of what is being harvested Please refer to Attachment A for an outline of the taxa to be harvested. The harvest is of live adult queen ants which are newly mated. 1.5 Is the species protected under State or Federal legislation Ants are non-listed invertebrates and are as such unprotected under Victorian and other State Legislation. Under Federal legislation the only protection to these species relates to the export of native wildlife, which this application seeks to satisfy. No species listed under the EPBC Act as threatened (excluding the conservation dependent category) or listed as endangered, vulnerable or least concern under Victorian legislation will be harvested. 2. Statement of general goal/aims The applicant has recently begun trading queen ants throughout Victoria as a personal hobby and has received strong overseas interest for the species of ants found.
    [Show full text]
  • PHRYNOPONERA Armata. Pachycondyla (Bothroponera) Armata Santschi, 1919H: 82 (W.) DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC of CONGO
    PHRYNOPONERA armata. Pachycondyla (Bothroponera) armata Santschi, 1919h: 82 (w.) DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO. Type-material: holotype worker. Type-locality: Democratic Republic of Congo (“Congo belge”): Kitempuka (Gérard). Type-depository: NHMB. Combination in Phrynoponera: Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 773. Status as species: Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 773; Bolton, 1995b: 334. Junior synonym of gabonensis: Bolton & Fisher, 2008b: 43. bequaerti. Phrynoponera bequaerti Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 79, fig. 12 (q.) DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO. Type-material: holotype queen. Type-locality: Democratic Republic of Congo (“Belgian Congo”): Ngayu (= N’Gayu), stomach Bufo superciliaris (H.O. Lang). Type-depository: AMNH. Bolton & Fisher, 2008b: 41 (w.). Status as species: Bolton, 1995b: 334; Bolton & Fisher, 2008b: 41 (redescription). Distribution: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Ghana. esta. Phrynoponera gabonensis var. esta Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 77 (w.q.) DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO. Type-material: 8 syntype workers, 1syntype queen. Type-locality: Democratic Republic of Congo (“Belgian Congo”): Medje, stomach Bufo superciliaris, polycercus, funereus, tuberosus (Lang & Chapin). [On at least one syntype: Medje, 27°15’E, 2°25’N, stomach Bufo tuberosus.] Type-depositories: AMNH, LACM, MCZC. Junior synonym of gabonensis: Brown, 1950e: 246; Bolton, 1995b: 334; Bolton & Fisher, 2008b: 43. fecunda. Phyrnoponera gabonensis var. fecunda Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 78 (w.q.) DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO. Type-material:11 syntype workers, 1 syntype queen. Type-locality: Democratic Republic of Congo (“Belgian Congo”): Akenge, stomach Bufo superciliaris, polycercus, funereus, tuberosus (Lang & Chapin). [On some syntypes: Akenge, 26°50’E, 2°55’N, stomach Bufo polycercus/Bufo funereus (H.O. Lang).] Type-depositories: AMNH, LACM, MCZC.
    [Show full text]
  • Bias in the Effect of Habitat Structure on Pitfall Traps: an Experimental Evaluation
    Australian Journal of Ecology (1999) 24, 228–239 Bias in the effect of habitat structure on pitfall traps: An experimental evaluation BRETT A. MELBOURNE Division of Botany and Zoology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia ([email protected]) Abstract Habitat structure has been implicated as a source of bias for pitfall-trap data but most evidence is observational or anecdotal. This study used an experimental approach to quantify biases due to habitat structure. In a randomized block design, I manipulated native grassland to create three types of habitat structure and measured pitfall-trap catches of grassland ants. Small patches of modified habitat were surrounded by otherwise unmodified grassland with the assumption that population density remained unaffected by the modification and that the effects observed were due to changes in trappability. I assessed magnitude, direction, predictability, and consistency of bias for the following types of data: population abundance for single species, relative abundance among species, species composition of assemblages, and species richness. The magnitude of the bias in population abundance was large for most species. However, since the direction of the bias varied predictably with habitat structure, pitfall- trap data can be used to judge differences in population abundance in some situations. The magnitude of the bias in relative abundance was less than for abundance. However, there was inconsistency in the direction and magnitude of bias among species. Thus, interpretation of relative abundance data in pitfall-trap studies may be compromised. Species richness and species composition were biased by habitat structure but were affected significantly only when the groundcover was very dense, suggesting a threshold effect of habitat structure.
    [Show full text]
  • Easychair Preprint Ant Microbial Endosymbionts and the Emergent
    EasyChair Preprint № 1661 Ant microbial endosymbionts and the emergent properties of social groups Alessio Sclocco, Shirlyn Jia Yun Ong and Serafino Teseo EasyChair preprints are intended for rapid dissemination of research results and are integrated with the rest of EasyChair. October 14, 2019 Ant microbial endosymbionts and the emergent properties of social groups Alessio Sclocco1, Shirlyn Jia Yun Ong2 and Serafino Teseo2† 1Netherlands eScience Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (E-mail: [email protected]) 2School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (Tel: +65 63167088; E-mail: [email protected]) Abstract: In the last fifteen years, research on animal models has provided advances on how gut symbiotic microbes affect behavior and its underlying neurophysiology. However, most studies on the gut microbiota only take into exam individual behavior without considering social dynamics. Contrarily, animals and humans live in complex societies where they constantly adjust physiology and behavior to social interactions. To improve our understanding of how microbes and hosts interact and produce functional individual, social and collective phenotypes, we need to broaden our experimental approaches to a group-level dimension. The ideal models for this purpose are social animals living in stable symbioses with microbes, such as eusocial insects. In our research, we investigate Camponotus carpenter ants and their obligate bacterial symbiont Blochmannia from a behavioral ecology perspective. We aim to create ant colonies including differential proportions of bacteria-free individuals by suppressing Blochmannia with antibiotics. Then, using a machine learning-based video tracking system, we will study network features and group-level behavior of such experimental colonies. Keywords: Social Evolution; Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis; Ants; Group-Level Behavior; Machine Learning; Real Time Data Analysis 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
    Zootaxa 3955 (2): 283–290 ISSN 1175-5326 (print edition) www.mapress.com/zootaxa/ Article ZOOTAXA Copyright © 2015 Magnolia Press ISSN 1175-5334 (online edition) http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3955.2.6 http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:97FCBEF2-E95E-47A8-A959-408241A2574D A review of the ant genus Myrmecorhynchus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) S.O. SHATTUCK ARC Centre of Excellence in Vision Science, Research School of Biology, The Australian National University, Building 46, Biology Place, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2601, Australia and Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA Abstract The Australian endemic ant genus Myrmecorhynchus is reviewed. The genus is known from three species (M. carteri Clark, M. emeryi André and M. nitidus Clark) which are restricted to eastern and southern Australia. Myrmecorhynchus musgravei Clark and M. rufithorax Clark are newly synonymised with M. emeryi André. All species are found in forested areas where they nest arboreally or, less commonly, in soil. Foraging occurs primarily on vegetation and tree trunks. Key words: Myrmecorhynchus, Australia, taxonomy, Formicidae Introduction Myrmecorhynchus is an endemic Australian genus, known from three species. They occur in forested areas ranging from mallee through rainforest across eastern and southern Australia. All three species are sympatric in Victoria and New South Wales, with M. emeryi extending westward to south-western Western Australia and northward to central Queensland, and with M. carteri occurring in Tasmania (Fig. 1). They are small and inconspicuous ants and are most often encountered while foraging on vegetation or tree trunks (Fig. 2). Nests are in branches, twigs and vines on shrubs or trees, or in soil.
    [Show full text]
  • Borowiec Et Al-2020 Ants – Phylogeny and Classification
    A Ants: Phylogeny and 1758 when the Swedish botanist Carl von Linné Classification published the tenth edition of his catalog of all plant and animal species known at the time. Marek L. Borowiec1, Corrie S. Moreau2 and Among the approximately 4,200 animals that he Christian Rabeling3 included were 17 species of ants. The succeeding 1University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, USA two and a half centuries have seen tremendous 2Departments of Entomology and Ecology & progress in the theory and practice of biological Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, classification. Here we provide a summary of the NY, USA current state of phylogenetic and systematic 3Social Insect Research Group, Arizona State research on the ants. University, Tempe, AZ, USA Ants Within the Hymenoptera Tree of Ants are the most ubiquitous and ecologically Life dominant insects on the face of our Earth. This is believed to be due in large part to the cooperation Ants belong to the order Hymenoptera, which also allowed by their sociality. At the time of writing, includes wasps and bees. ▶ Eusociality, or true about 13,500 ant species are described and sociality, evolved multiple times within the named, classified into 334 genera that make up order, with ants as by far the most widespread, 17 subfamilies (Fig. 1). This diversity makes the abundant, and species-rich lineage of eusocial ants the world’s by far the most speciose group of animals. Within the Hymenoptera, ants are part eusocial insects, but ants are not only diverse in of the ▶ Aculeata, the clade in which the ovipos- terms of numbers of species.
    [Show full text]
  • Origins and Affinities of the Ant Fauna of Madagascar
    Biogéographie de Madagascar, 1996: 457-465 ORIGINS AND AFFINITIES OF THE ANT FAUNA OF MADAGASCAR Brian L. FISHER Department of Entomology University of California Davis, CA 95616, U.S.A. e-mail: [email protected] ABSTRACT.- Fifty-two ant genera have been recorded from the Malagasy region, of which 48 are estimated to be indigenous. Four of these genera are endemic to Madagascar and 1 to Mauritius. In Madagascar alone,41 out of 45 recorded genera are estimated to be indigenous. Currently, there are 318 names of described species-group taxa from Madagascar and 381 names for the Malagasy region. The ant fauna of Madagascar, however,is one of the least understoodof al1 biogeographic regions: 2/3of the ant species may be undescribed. Associated with Madagascar's long isolation from other land masses, the level of endemism is high at the species level, greaterthan 90%. The level of diversity of ant genera on the island is comparable to that of other biogeographic regions.On the basis of generic and species level comparisons,the Malagasy fauna shows greater affinities to Africathan to India and the Oriental region. Thestriking gaps in the taxonomic composition of the fauna of Madagascar are evaluatedin the context of island radiations.The lack of driver antsin Madagascar may have spurred the diversification of Cerapachyinae and may have permitted the persistenceof other relic taxa suchas the Amblyoponini. KEY W0RDS.- Formicidae, Biogeography, Madagascar, Systematics, Africa, India RESUME.- Cinquante-deux genres de fourmis, dont 48 considérés comme indigènes, sontCOMUS dans la région Malgache. Quatre d'entr'eux sont endémiques de Madagascaret un seul de l'île Maurice.
    [Show full text]
  • Permanent Loss of Wings in Queens of the Ant Odontomachus Coquereli from Madagascar
    Insect. Soc. 54 (2007) 183 – 188 0020-1812/07/020183-6 Insectes Sociaux DOI 10.1007/s00040-007-0930-0 Birkhäuser Verlag, Basel, 2007 Research article Permanent loss of wings in queens of the ant Odontomachus coquereli from Madagascar M. Molet1, C. Peeters1 and B.L. Fisher2 1 Laboratoire dEcologie CNRS UMR 7625, UniversitØ Pierre et Marie Curie, 7 quai Saint Bernard, 75005 Paris, France; e-mail: [email protected], [email protected] 2 Department of Entomology, California Academy of Sciences, 875 Howard Street, San Francisco, California 94103, USA; e-mail: [email protected] Received 15 December 2006; revised 26 February 2007; accepted 1 March 2007. Published Online First 20 March 2007 Abstract. Winged queens are the most common repro- Keywords: Ergatoid queen, morphometry, colony fission, ductives in ants. They are morphologically specialized for intermorph, caste. independent colony foundation, with wings for long- range dispersal and metabolic reserves to raise the first brood. However independent foundation can sometimes be selected against and replaced by fission, featuring Introduction short-range dispersal on the ground and reproductives that are dependent on the wingless workers for all non- Colonial reproduction has a major impact on the mor- reproductive tasks. We investigated the evolutionary phology of reproductives in ants. Independent colony consequences of this transition on the morphology of foundation is performed by winged queens that disperse the reproductives by collecting 30 colonies of Odonto- by flight, mate and found their colony alone (Hçlldobler machus coquereli from Madagascar, the only species in and Wilson, 1990). High mortality of foundresses can the genus where winged queens have never been found.
    [Show full text]
  • Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Along an Elevational Gradient at Eungella in the Clarke Range, Central Queensland Coast, Australia
    RAINFOREST ANTS (HYMENOPTERA: FORMICIDAE) ALONG AN ELEVATIONAL GRADIENT AT EUNGELLA IN THE CLARKE RANGE, CENTRAL QUEENSLAND COAST, AUSTRALIA BURWELL, C. J.1,2 & NAKAMURA, A.1,3 Here we provide a faunistic overview of the rainforest ant fauna of the Eungella region, located in the southern part of the Clarke Range in the Central Queensland Coast, Australia, based on systematic surveys spanning an elevational gradient from 200 to 1200 m asl. Ants were collected from a total of 34 sites located within bands of elevation of approximately 200, 400, 600, 800, 1000 and 1200 m asl. Surveys were conducted in March 2013 (20 sites), November 2013 and March–April 2014 (24 sites each), and ants were sampled using five methods: pitfall traps, leaf litter extracts, Malaise traps, spray- ing tree trunks with pyrethroid insecticide, and timed bouts of hand collecting during the day. In total we recorded 142 ant species (described species and morphospecies) from our systematic sampling and observed an additional species, the green tree ant Oecophylla smaragdina, at the lowest eleva- tions but not on our survey sites. With the caveat of less sampling intensity at the lowest and highest elevations, species richness peaked at 600 m asl (89 species), declined monotonically with increasing and decreasing elevation, and was lowest at 1200 m asl (33 spp.). Ant species composition progres- sively changed with increasing elevation, but there appeared to be two gradients of change, one from 200–600 m asl and another from 800 to 1200 m asl. Differences between the lowland and upland faunas may be driven in part by a greater representation of tropical and arboreal-nesting sp ecies in the lowlands and a greater representation of subtropical species in the highlands.
    [Show full text]
  • Diversity of Bacteria in Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Canopy and Understory of Selected Trees at Mount Makiling Forest Reserve, Laguna, Philippines
    Philippine Journal of Science 150 (3): 753-763, June 2021 ISSN 0031 - 7683 Date Received: 30 Sep 2020 Diversity of Bacteria in Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Canopy and Understory of Selected Trees at Mount Makiling Forest Reserve, Laguna, Philippines Michael P. Gatpatan1, Mia Beatriz C. Amoranto1, Alfredo Jose C. Ballesteros3, Noel G. Sabino1, Jocelyn T. Zarate2, Ma. Anita M. Bautista3, and Lucille C. Villegas1* 1Microbiology Division, Institute of Biological Sciences 2National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (BIOTECH) University of the Philippines Los Baños, College, Laguna 4031 Philippines 3National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (NIMBB) University of the Philippines Diliman, Quezon City 1101 Philippines The Mount Makiling Forest Reserve (MMFR) is a biodiversity hotspot and listed as one of the 170 conservation priority areas established by the Philippine government. Its flora and fauna diversity has been reported, but knowledge gap has been identified concerning the bacterial communities associated with the flora and fauna. This study focused on ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), which are dominant in forest canopy and play essential roles in the ecosystem functionality. A metagenomic sequencing approach based on amplified V3–V4 regions of the 16S rRNA was employed to investigate the bacterial communities associated with five arboreal ant species collected from MMFR. The collected ants were identified as Dolichoderus thoracicus, Myrmicaria sp., Colobopsis leonardi, Polyrhachis mindanaensis, and Polyrhachis semiinermis. The sequence analyses revealed that Proteobacteria, Spirochaetes, Firmicutes, Bacteroides, and Actinobacteria were the most abundant phyla. Individual analysis of the bacterial genera associated with the five ant species showed that unclassified members of Rhizobiaceae, Orbaceae, and Burkholderiaceae were dominant in D.
    [Show full text]
  • Convergent Evolution of the Army Ant Syndrome and Congruence in Big-Data Phylogenetics
    bioRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/134064; this version posted May 4, 2017. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under aCC-BY-NC 4.0 International license. Convergent evolution of the army ant syndrome and congruence in big-data phylogenetics Marek L. Borowiec Department of Entomology and Nematology, One Shields Avenue, University of California at Davis, Davis, California, 95616, USA Current address: School of Life Sciences, Social Insect Research Group, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, 85287, USA E-mail: [email protected] Abstract The evolution of the suite of morphological and behavioral adaptations underlying the eco- logical success of army ants has been the subject of considerable debate. This ”army ant syn- drome” has been argued to have arisen once or multiple times within the ant subfamily Do- rylinae. To address this question I generated data from 2,166 loci and a comprehensive taxon sampling for a phylogenetic investigation. Most analyses show strong support for convergent evolution of the army ant syndrome in the Old and New World but certain relationships are sensitive to analytics. I examine the signal present in this data set and find that conflict is di- minished when only loci less likely to violate common phylogenetic model assumptions are considered. I also provide a temporal and spatial context for doryline evolution with time- calibrated, biogeographic, and diversification rate shift analyses. This study underscores the need for cautious analysis of phylogenomic data and calls for more efficient algorithms em- ploying better-fitting models of molecular evolution.
    [Show full text]