Cladomyrma aurochaetae

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Cladomyrma aurochaetae
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Formicinae
Tribe: Plagiolepidini
Genus: Cladomyrma
Species: C. aurochaetae
Binomial name
Cladomyrma aurochaetae
Agosti, Moog & Maschwitz, 1999

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Specimen Labels

The worker series was collected from a very small colony containing only 22 workers. Therefore, it is likely that the extremely small soldiers and workers are the product of an early phase of colony foundation (= nanitics). The species has only been collected from an unidentified Neonauclea species and Neonauclea gigantea in the Hose Mountains, Sarawak, East Malaysia. The natal colony inhabited the first, single domatium of a Neonauclea gigantea sapling 0.42 m in height (Agosti et al. 1999).

Identification

Agosti et al. (1999) placed Cladomyrma species into two groups based on the shape of the queen's petiole, raised (an erect node or scale) or depressed (dorsally truncate and low). Cladomyrma aurochaetae belongs to the raised petiole group.

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Indo-Australian Region: Borneo (type locality), Indonesia, Malaysia.

Distribution based on AntMaps

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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

Castes

Nomenclature

The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.

  • aurochaetae. Cladomyrma aurochaetae Agosti, Moog & Maschwitz, 1999: 16, figs. 19, 31 (s.w.q.) BORNEO.

Unless otherwise noted the text for the remainder of this section is reported from the publication that includes the original description.

Description

Worker

Major worker. AL 1.04, HL 1.02, HW 0.92, EL 0.18, SL 0.48, CI 90, EI 20, SI 52 (n = 1). Small body size; body color light brown, and surface shining; clypeus in lateral view rounded, shining, and not longitudinally striate; gaster cuticle thin (when prepared out of ethanol, gaster collapsed); metapleural gland orifice small; gastral pubescence widely set, but hair longer than the space between their insertions. Minor: AL 0.60–0.68, HL 0.62–0.66, HW 0.56–0.62, EL 0.10–0.14, SL 0.30–0.36, CI 85–97, EI 18–24, SI 50–58 (n 5 5). Small body size; body color light brown, and surface shining; gastral pubescence widely set, but hairs longer than the space between their insertion.

Queen

Queen. AL 2.36–2.72, HL 1.60–1.64, HW 1.20–1.30, EL 0.50–0.54, SL 0.76–0.80, CI 74–80, EI 62–65, SI 40–43 (n = 4). Clypeus smoothly rounded with middle part shining; head elongate in frontal view; genae, just above the mandibles, slightly reddish, head otherwise blackish; head surface shining and smooth, very widely scattered punctulation between clypeus and the ocelli; dorsal part of katepisternum shining and with a distinct pubescence; metapleural gland orifice medium sized and open, in front a bunch of long, erect hairs; petiole in lateral view squamiforme, in hind view dorsally truncated; whole body covered with long, erect, golden hairs; on gastral tergites 2 and 3 erect hairs only at posterior margin; gaster tergites 2 and 3 at most with short, widely set appressed pubescence; gaster tergite 1 with long, backward curved hairs; gaster brilliantly shining; head and alitrunk evenly blackish; large body size. HOLOTYPE: Queen AL 2.72, HL 1.64, HW 1.30, EL 0.52, SL 0.80, CI 79, EI 40, SI 62.

Type Material

HOLOTYPE : E-MALAYSIA, Sarawak, Kapit, SE side Hose Mountains, 2/3/1997, Joachim Moog, 97-082, ex: Neonauclea gigantea, colony size small (worker = nanitics), American Museum of Natural History. PARATYPE : EMALAYSIA, Sarawak, Kapit, SE side Hose Mountains, 2/3/1997, Joachim Moog, 97-088, ex: Neonauclea sp. AMNH, Forest Research Institute Malaysia, Kepong, The Natural History Museum.

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • Agosti D., J. Moog, and U. Maschwitz. 1999. Revision of the Oriental Plant-ant genus Cladomyrma. American Museum Novitates 3283: 1-24.
  • Pfeiffer M.; Mezger, D.; Hosoishi, S.; Bakhtiar, E. Y.; Kohout, R. J. 2011. The Formicidae of Borneo (Insecta: Hymenoptera): a preliminary species list. Asian Myrmecology 4:9-58