Heteroponera imbellis

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Heteroponera imbellis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Ectatomminae
Tribe: Heteroponerini
Genus: Heteroponera
Species: H. imbellis
Binomial name
Heteroponera imbellis
(Emery, 1895)

Heteroponera-imbellis-MCZ001L.jpg

Heteroponera-imbellis-MCZ001D.jpg

Specimen Label

Synonyms

Identification

Identification Keys including this Taxon

Distribution

Heterick (2009) - Heteroponera imbellis has a broad distribution on Australia’s east coast. In Western Australia it is most common in the wetter south-west, but there is at least one goldfields record (Kambalda). This species has also been collected in suburban Perth and on Rottnest Island.

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: -16.98333333° to -36.99166°.

     
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Australasian Region: Australia (type locality).

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.

  • imbellis. Acanthoponera imbellis Emery, 1895g: 346 (w.) AUSTRALIA (Queensland).
    • Type-material: holotype worker.
    • Type-locality: Australia: Queensland, Kamerunga (Podenzana).
    • Type-depository: MSNG.
    • Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1964b: 447 (l.).
    • Combination in A. (Anacanthoponera): Wheeler, W.M. 1923e: 179;
    • combination in Heteroponera: Brown, in Borgmeier, 1957: 112.
    • Status as species: Emery, 1911d: 36; Forel, 1915b: 10; Wheeler, W.M. 1923e: 179; Clark, 1928c: 39; Clark, 1938: 362; Brown, 1958g: 195, 261; Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1971b: 1200; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 30; Taylor, 1987a: 28; Bolton, 1995b: 212; Heterick, 2009: 142.
    • Senior synonym of hilare: Brown, 1958g: 196; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 30; Taylor, 1987a: 28; Bolton, 1995b: 212.
    • Senior synonym of nigra: Brown, 1958g: 196; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 30; Taylor, 1987a: 28; Bolton, 1995b: 212.
    • Senior synonym of occidentalis: Brown, 1958g: 196; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 30; Taylor, 1987a: 28; Bolton, 1995b: 212.
    • Senior synonym of scabra: Brown, 1958g: 196; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 30; Taylor, 1987a: 28; Bolton, 1995b: 212.
    • Distribution: Australia.
  • hilare. Ectatomma (Acanthoponera) imbellis var. hilare Forel, 1895f: 421 (w.) AUSTRALIA (Queensland).
    • Type-material: syntype workers (number not stated).
    • Type-locality: Australia: Queensland, Mackay (G. Turner).
    • Type-depository: MHNG.
    • Combination in Acanthoponera: Emery, 1911d: 36;
    • combination in A. (Anacanthoponera): Wheeler, W.M. 1923e: 180.
    • Subspecies of imbellis: Wheeler, W.M. 1923e: 180
    • Junior synonym of imbellis: Brown, 1958g: 196; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 30; Taylor, 1987a: 28; Bolton, 1995b: 212.
  • nigra. Acanthoponera nigra Clark, 1930c: 6 (w.) AUSTRALIA (Victoria).
    • Type-material: syntype workers (number not stated).
    • Type-locality: Australia: Victoria, Grampians, Mt William (J. Clark).
    • Type-depository: MVMA.
    • Junior synonym of imbellis: Brown, 1958g: 196; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 30; Taylor, 1987a: 28; Bolton, 1995b: 212.
  • occidentalis. Acanthoponera occidentalis Clark, 1926: 47, pl. 6, fig. 3 (w.) AUSTRALIA (Western Australia).
    • Type-material: syntype workers (number not stated, “a small colony”).
    • Type-locality: Australia: Western Australia, National Park (J. Clark).
    • Type-depository: MVMA.
    • Status as species: Wheeler, W.M. 1934d: 140.
    • Junior synonym of imbellis: Brown, 1958g: 196; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 30; Taylor, 1987a: 28; Bolton, 1995b: 212.
  • scabra. Acanthoponera (Anacanthoponera) imbellis var. scabra Wheeler, W.M. 1923e: 181 (w.) AUSTRALIA (New South Wales).
    • Type-material: 3 syntype workers.
    • Type-locality: Australia: New South Wales, Sydney (A.M. Lea).
    • Type-depository: MCZC.
    • Junior synonym of imbellis: Brown, 1958g: 196; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 30; Taylor, 1987a: 28; Bolton, 1995b: 212.

Type Material

Description

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • Clark J. 1930. New Formicidae, with notes on some little-known species. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria (n.s.)43: 2-25.
  • Emery C. 1911. Hymenoptera. Fam. Formicidae. Subfam. Ponerinae. Genera Insectorum 118: 1-125.
  • Heterick B. E. 2009. A guide to the ants of south-western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum Supplement 76: 1-206. 
  • Taylor R. W. 1987. A checklist of the ants of Australia, New Caledonia and New Zealand (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization) Division of Entomology Report 41: 1-92.