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Aphaenogaster gonacantha
| Aphaenogaster gonacantha | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Myrmicinae |
| Tribe: | Attini |
| Genus: | Aphaenogaster |
| Species group: | swammerdami |
| Species: | A. gonacantha |
| Binomial name | |
| Aphaenogaster gonacantha (Emery, 1899)
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Photo Gallery
Identification
Distribution
Latitudinal Distribution Pattern
Latitudinal Range: -15.66666667° to -15.66666667°.
| North Temperate |
North Subtropical |
Tropical | South Subtropical |
South Temperate |
- Source: AntMaps
Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Malagasy Region: Madagascar (type locality).
Distribution based on AntMaps
Distribution based on AntWeb specimens
Check data from AntWeb
Countries Occupied
| Number of countries occupied by this species based on AntWiki Regional Taxon Lists. In general, fewer countries occupied indicates a narrower range, while more countries indicates a more widespread species. |
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Estimated Abundance
| Relative abundance based on number of AntMaps records per species (this species within the purple bar). Fewer records (to the left) indicates a less abundant/encountered species while more records (to the right) indicates more abundant/encountered species. |
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Biology
Mimicry
Within Madagascar, there are four species of Camponotus, Camponotus imitator, Camponotus jodina, Camponotus karaha and Camponotus longicollis, that mimic the general form and behavior of the Aphaenogaster swammerdami group, specifically Aphaenogaster bressleri, Aphaenogaster gonacantha, Aphaenogaster makay, Aphaenogaster sahafina and Aphaenogaster swammerdami. These Camponotus mimics are often seen foraging with workers of Aphaenogaster, but potential benefits for Camponotus have not been studied (Csosz et al., 2021).
Castes
Images from AntWeb
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| Syntype of Ischnomyrmex gonacantha. Worker. Specimen code casent0101899. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. | Owned by MHNG, Geneva, Switzerland. |
   
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| Syntype of Ischnomyrmex gonacantha. Worker. Specimen code casent0102038. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. | Owned by MSNG, Genoa, Italy. |
   
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| Syntype of Ischnomyrmex gonacantha. Worker. Specimen code casent0102039. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. | Owned by MSNG, Genoa, Italy. |
   
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| Syntype of Ischnomyrmex gonacantha. Worker. Specimen code casent0102040. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. | Owned by MSNG, Genoa, Italy. |
     
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| Male (alate). Specimen code casent0102041. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. | Owned by MSNG, Genoa, Italy. |
    
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| Worker. Specimen code casent0107566. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. | Owned by CAS, San Francisco, CA, USA. |
   
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| Queen (alate/dealate). Specimen code casent0170916. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. | Owned by MCZ, Cambridge, MA, USA. |
Phylogeny
| Other Aphaenogaster |
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Bayesian phylogeny of Malagasy Aphaenogaster based on COI sequences, from on Csosz et al., 2021.
Nomenclature
The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.
- gonacantha. Ischnomyrmex gonacantha Emery, 1899f: 277, fig. (w.) MADAGASCAR.
- Combination in Aphaenogaster (Deromyrma): Emery, 1915d: 71.
- Status as species: Emery, 1921f: 65; Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 1016; Bolton, 1995b: 70.
Description
References
- Bolton, B. 1995b. A new general catalogue of the ants of the world. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 504 pp. (page 70, catalogue)
- Csősz, S., Loss, A.C., Fisher, B.L. 2021. Taxonomic revision of the Malagasy Aphaenogaster swammerdami group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). PeerJ 9, e10900. (doi:10.7717/peerj.10900).
- Emery, C. 1899e. Formiche di Madagascar raccolte dal Sig. A. Mocquerys nei pressi della Baia di Antongil (1897-1898). Bull. Soc. Entomol. Ital. 31: 263-290 (page 277, fig. worker described)
- Emery, C. 1915k. Definizione del genere Aphaenogaster e partizione di esso in sottogeneri. Parapheidole e Novomessor nn. gg. Rend. Sess. R. Accad. Sci. Ist. Bologna Cl. Sci. Fis. (n.s.) 19: 67-75 (page 71, Combination in Aphaenogaster (Deromyrma))
- Fisher, B. L. 1997a. Biogeography and ecology of the ant fauna of Madagascar (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). J. Nat. Hist. 31: 269-302 (see also)
- Schifani, E., Alicata, A., Menchetti, M., Borowiec, L., Fisher, B.L., Karaman, C., Kiran, K., Oueslati, W., Salata, S., Blatrix, R. 2022. Revisiting the morphological species groups of West-Palearctic Aphaenogaster ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) under a phylogenetic perspective: toward an evolutionary classification. Arthropod Systematics & Phylogeny 80, 627–648 (doi:10.3897/asp.80.e84428).
- Wheeler, W. M. 1922k. Ants of the American Museum Congo expedition. A contribution to the myrmecology of Africa. IX. A synonymic list of the ants of the Malagasy region. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 4 45: 1005-1055 (see also)
References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics
- Emery C. 1899. Formiche di Madagascar raccolte dal Sig. A. Mocquerys nei pressi della Baia di Antongil (1897-1898). Bullettino della Società Entomologica Italiana 31: 263-290.
- Fisher B. L. 1997. Biogeography and ecology of the ant fauna of Madagascar (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Journal of Natural History 31: 269-302.
- Fisher B. L. 1998. Ant diversity patterns along an elevational gradient in the Réserve Spéciale d'Anjanaharibe-Sud and on the western Masoala Peninsula, Madagascar. Fieldiana Zoology (n.s.)90: 39-67.
- Fisher B. L. 2003. Formicidae, ants. Pp. 811-819 in: Goodman, S. M.; Benstead, J. P. (eds.) 2003. The natural history of Madagascar. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, xxi + 1709 pp.
- Wheeler W. M. 1922. Ants of the American Museum Congo expedition. A contribution to the myrmecology of Africa. IX. A synonymic list of the ants of the Malagasy region. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 45: 1005-1055