Crematogaster castanea

Crematogaster castanea
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmicinae
Tribe:	Crematogastrini
Genus:	Crematogaster
Species:	C. castanea
Binomial name
Crematogaster castanea Smith, F., 1858 Specimen labels
Subspecies
Crematogaster castanea analis Santschi, 1910 Crematogaster castanea aquila Forel, 1907 Crematogaster castanea arborea Smith, F., 1858 Crematogaster castanea bruta Santschi, 1926 Crematogaster castanea busschodtsi Emery, 1899 Crematogaster castanea durbanensis Forel, 1914 Crematogaster castanea adusta Santschi, 1935 Crematogaster castanea ferruginea Forel, 1892 Crematogaster castanea hararica Forel, 1894 Crematogaster castanea insidiosa Santschi, 1920 Crematogaster castanea inversa Forel, 1907 Crematogaster castanea mediorufa Forel, 1907 Crematogaster castanea museisapientiae Forel, 1911 Crematogaster castanea rufimembrum Santschi, 1914 Crematogaster castanea rufonigra Emery, 1895 Crematogaster castanea simia Forel, 1910 Crematogaster castanea ulugurensis Forel, 1911 Crematogaster castanea yambatensis Forel, 1913
Synonyms
Crematogaster tricolor decolor Forel, 1891

An arboreal ant, this species colonized tree wounds in a field based fire manipulation experiment in Kruger National Park (Wigley et al. 2019).

Identification

A member of the Crematogaster castanea group.

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 49.78306° to -34.0805°.

North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

• Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Afrotropical Region: Comoros, Eritrea, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Africa (type locality), Uganda, Zimbabwe.
Malagasy Region: Madagascar, Mauritius, Mayotte.

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.

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.

Castes

Worker

Images from AntWeb

Specimen code castanea. .

Male

Images from AntWeb

Specimen code castanea. .

Nomenclature

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

• castanea. Crematogaster castaneus Smith, F. 1858b: 136, pl. 9, fig. 2 (w.q.) Albania.
  • Type-material: syntype workers, syntype queen (numbers not stated).
  • Type-locality: Albania (in error) (no collector’s name).
  • [Note: according to Roger, 1859: 259, the correct type-locality is South Africa: Durban (“... ist nicht aus Albanien, sondern aus Port Natal”).]
  • Type-depository: BMNH.
  • Combination in C. (Crematogaster): Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 830;
  • combination in C. (Acrocoelia): Emery, 1922e: 145; Santschi, 1926b: 213;
  • combination in C. (Crematogaster): Bolton, 1995b: 166.
  • Synonym of tricolor: Mayr, 1907b: 16.
  • [Note: Mayr gives tricolor as senior synonym, but castanea has priority.]
  • Subspecies of tricolor: Forel, 1907g: 80; Forel, 1911f: 279; Santschi, 1913a: 412 (in key); Santschi, 1914e: 22.
  • Status as species: Mayr, 1863: 404; Roger, 1863b: 37; Emery, 1877b: 379; Emery, 1881b: 535; Dalla Torre, 1893: 80; Forel, 1894b: 99; Emery, 1915g: 12; Santschi, 1916b: 502; Arnold, 1920a: 488; Santschi, 1920d: 378; Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 152, 830, 1022; Emery, 1922e: 145; Santschi, 1926b: 213; Santschi, 1930b: 68; Weber, 1943c: 308; Bolton, 1995b: 150; Hita Garcia, et al. 2013: 210.
  • Senior synonym of decolor: Forel, 1907g: 80; Emery, 1922e: 145; Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 1022; Bolton, 1995b: 150.
  • Distribution: Democratic Republic of Congo, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania.
  • Current subspecies: nominal plus adusta, analis, aquila, arborea, bruta, busschodtsi, durbanensis, ferruginea, hararica, insidiosa, inversa, mediorufa, museisapientiae, rufimembrum, rufonigra, simia, ulugurensis, yambatensis.
• decolor. Crematogaster tricolor var. decolor Forel, 1891b: 188 (w.) MADAGASCAR.
  • Type-material: syntype workers (number not stated).
  • Type-localities: Madagascar: (no further data) (Humblot), Madagscar: (no further data) (Grandidier), Madagascar: Vohémar (C. Keller), Madagascar: Tamatave (C. Keller), Madagascara: Morondava (Grevé).
  • Type-depository: MHNG.
  • Subspecies of tricolor: Dalla Torre, 1893: 87.
  • Junior synonym of castanea: Forel, 1907g: 80; Emery, 1922e: 145; Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 1022; Bolton, 1995b: 151.

References

• Arnold, G. 1920a. A monograph of the Formicidae of South Africa. Part IV. Myrmicinae. Ann. S. Afr. Mus. 14: 403-578 (page 488, Revived status as species)
• Blaimer, B.B., Fisher, B.L. 2013. Taxonomy of the Crematogaster degeeri-species-assemblage in the Malagasy region (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). European Journal of Taxonomy 51: 1-64 (doi:10.5852/ejt.2013.51).
• Emery, C. 1915l. La vita delle formiche. Torino: Fratelli Bocca, vii + 254 pp. (page 12, Revived status as species)
• Emery, C. 1922c. Hymenoptera. Fam. Formicidae. Subfam. Myrmicinae. [part]. Genera Insectorum 174B: 95-206 (page 145, Combination in C. (Acrocoelia))
• Forel, A. 1907i. Ameisen von Madagaskar, den Comoren und Ostafrika. Wiss. Ergeb. Reise Ostafr. 2: 75-92 (page 80, Senior synonym of decolor)
• Forel, A. 1911g. Die Ameisen des K. Zoologischen Museums in München. Sitzungsber. Math.-Phys. Kl. K. Bayer. Akad. Wiss. Münch. 11: 249-303 (page 279, Variety of tricolor)
• Nsengimana, V., Hagenimana, T., Barakagwira, J., de Dieu Nsenganeza, J., Iradukunda, S. C., Majyambere, M., Kizungu, O. B., Nkundimana, A., Umutoni, D., Fabrice, R., Cyubahiro, B., Kouakou, L. M., Kolo, Y., Anale, J. S., Gómez, K., Dekoninck, W. 2023. Checklist of ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) species from Nyungwe Tropical Rain Forest, south-western Rwanda. Journal of East African Natural History 111(2), 69-81 (doi:10.2982/028.111.0203).
• Santschi, F. 1913a [1912]. Cremastogaster du groupe tricolor-Menileki (Hym. Formicidae). Bull. Soc. Entomol. Fr. 1912: 411-414 (page 412, Variety of tricolor (in key))
• Santschi, F. 1920d [1919]. Formicides africains et américains nouveaux. Ann. Soc. Entomol. Fr. 88: 361-390 (page 378, Revived status as species)
• Smith, F. 1858b. Catalogue of hymenopterous insects in the collection of the British Museum. Part VI. Formicidae. London: British Museum, 216 pp. (page 136, pl. 9, fig. 2 worker, queen described)
• Wang, W.Y., Soh, E.J.Y., Yong, G.W.J., Wong, M.K.L., Benoit Guénard, Economo, E.P., Yamane, S. 2022. Remarkable diversity in a little red dot: a comprehensive checklist of known ant species in Singapore (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) with notes on ecology and taxonomy. Asian Myrmecology 15: e015006 (doi:10.20362/am.015006).
• 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 (page 830, Combination in C. (Crematogaster))
• Wigley, B. J., C. Coetsee, L. M. Kruger, J. Ratnam, and M. Sankaran. Ants, fire, and bark traits affect how African savanna trees recover following damage. Biotropica. 2019:0:1-10. doi:10.1111/btp.12683

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

• Arnold G. 1920. A monograph of the Formicidae of South Africa. Part IV. Myrmicinae. Annals of the South African Museum. 14: 403-578.
• Blaimer B. B. 2012. Acrobat ants go global – Origin, evolution and systematics of the genus Crematogaster (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 65: 421-436.
• Emery, C.. "Catalogo delle formiche esistenti nelle collezioni del Museo Civico di Genova. Parte prima. Formiche provenienti dal Viaggio dei signori Antinori, Beccari e Issel nel Mar Rosso e nel paese dei Bogos. [concl.]." Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale 9 (1877): 363-381.
• Emery, C.. "Viaggio ad Assab nel Mar Rosso dei Signori G. Doria ed O. Beccari con il R. Avviso "Esploratore" dal 16 novembre 1879 al 26 febbraio 1880. I. Formiche." Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale 16 (1881): 525-535.
• 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.
• Garcia F.H., Wiesel E. and Fischer G. 2013.The Ants of Kenya (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)—Faunal Overview, First Species Checklist, Bibliography, Accounts for All Genera, and Discussion on Taxonomy and Zoogeography. Journal of East African Natural History, 101(2): 127-222
• Majer J. D. 1976. The ant mosaic in Ghana cocoa farms: further structural considerations. Journal of Applied Ecology 13: 145-155.
• Majer J. D. 1976. The influence of ants and ant manipulation on the cocoa farm fauna. The journal of Applied Ecology 13(1): 157-175.
• Medler J. T. 1980: Insects of Nigeria - Check list and bibliography. Mem. Amer. Ent. Inst. 30: i-vii, 1-919.
• Prins A. J. 1964. Revised list of the ants collected in the Kruger National Park. Koedoe 7: 77-93.
• Prins A. J., and J. J. Cillie. 1968. The ants collected in the Hluhluwe and Umfolozi game reserves. The Lammergeyer 8: 40-47.
• Santschi F. 1913. Cremastogaster du groupe tricolor-Menileki (Hym. Formicidae). Bulletin de la Société Entomologique de France 1912: 411-414.
• Santschi F. 1926. Description de nouveaux Formicides éthiopiens (IIIme partie). Revue Zoologique Africaine (Brussels) 13: 207-267.
• Soulié J., and L. D. Dicko. 1965. La répartition des genres de fourmis de la tribu des "Cremastogastrini" dans la faune éthiopienne et malgache. Hymenoptera - Formicoidea - Myrmicidae. Ann. Univ. Abidjan Sér. Sci. 1: 85-106.
• Weber N. A. 1943. The ants of the Imatong Mountains, Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 93: 263-389.
• 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
• Wheeler W. M. 1922. Ants of the American Museum Congo expedition. A contribution to the myrmecology of Africa. VIII. A synonymic list of the ants of the Ethiopian region. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 45: 711-1004