Plectroctena subterranea

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online

This slow moving and bright red species can be found searching within leaf litter.

Plectroctena subterranea
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Ponerinae
Tribe: Ponerini
Genus: Plectroctena
Species: P. subterranea
Binomial name
Plectroctena subterranea
Arnold, 1915

MCZ ENT Plectroctena subterranea hal.jpg

MCZ ENT Plectroctena subterranea had.jpg

Specimen Label

Synonyms

Photo Gallery

  • Plectroctena subterranea gyne from Wundanyi, Taita Hills, Kenya. Photo by Gino Brignoli.

Identification

This distinctively punctate bright red species is easy to distinguish within the genus.

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: -0.317° to -24.61667°.

   
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Afrotropical Region: Ivory Coast, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe (type locality), Zimbabwe (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

Forages slowly in leaf litter, colony size is moderate to small.

Castes

MCZ ENT Plectroctena subterranea 001 hef 5x.jpgMCZ ENT Plectroctena subterranea 001 hal 2.jpgMCZ ENT Plectroctena subterranea 001 had 2.jpgMCZ ENT Plectroctena subterranea 001 lbs.jpg
. Owned by Museum of Comparative Zoology.


Images from AntWeb

Plectroctena subterranea casent0102946 head 1.jpgPlectroctena subterranea casent0102946 profile 1.jpgPlectroctena subterranea casent0102946 dorsal 1.jpgPlectroctena subterranea casent0102946 label 1.jpg
Syntype of Plectroctena subterraneaWorker. Specimen code casent0102946. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by NHMUK, London, UK.
Plectroctena subterranea casent0178265 head 1.jpgPlectroctena subterranea casent0178265 profile 1.jpgPlectroctena subterranea casent0178265 dorsal 1.jpgPlectroctena subterranea casent0178265 label 1.jpg
Worker. Specimen code casent0178265. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by LACM, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Plectroctena subterranea casent0178266 head 1.jpgPlectroctena subterranea casent0178266 profile 1.jpgPlectroctena subterranea casent0178266 label 1.jpg
Worker. Specimen code casent0178266. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by LACM, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Plectroctena subterranea sam-hym-c000908 head 1.jpgPlectroctena subterranea sam-hym-c000908 profile 1.jpgPlectroctena subterranea sam-hym-c000908 dorsal 1.jpgPlectroctena subterranea sam-hym-c000908 label 1.jpg
Worker (major/soldier). Specimen code sam-hym-c000908. Photographer Hamish Robertson, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by SAMC, Cape Town, South Africa.
Plectroctena subterranea sam-hym-c002429 head 1.jpgPlectroctena subterranea sam-hym-c002429 profile 1.jpgPlectroctena subterranea sam-hym-c002429 dorsal 1.jpgPlectroctena subterranea sam-hym-c002429 dorsal 2.jpgPlectroctena subterranea sam-hym-c002429 label 1.jpg
Queen (alate/dealate). Specimen code sam-hym-c002429. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by SAMC, Cape Town, South Africa.

Nomenclature

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

  • subterranea. Plectroctena subterranea Arnold, 1915: 84, pl. 3, fig. 23 (w.q.) ZIMBABWE. Combination in Myopias: Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 785; in Plectroctena: Santschi, 1924a: 171. Senior synonym of punctatus: Bolton, 1974c: 333.
  • punctatus. Plectroctena punctatus Santschi, 1924a: 170 (m.) KENYA. Junior synonym of subterranea: Bolton, 1974c: 333.

Description

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • Bolton B. 1974. A revision of the ponerine ant genus Plectroctena F. Smith (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Bull. Br. Mus. (Nat. Hist.) Entomol. 30: 309-338.
  • Bolton B., and W. L. Brown Jr. 2002. Loboponera gen. n. and a review of the Afrotropical Plectroctena genus group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Bulletin of the Natural History Museum. Entomology Series 71: 1-18.
  • 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
  • IZIKO South Africa Museum Collection
  • Lévieux J. 1972. Les fourmis de la savane de Lamto (Côte d'Ivoire): éléments de taxonomie. Bulletin de l'Institut Fondamental d'Afrique Noire. Série A. Sciences Naturelles 34: 611-654.
  • Robertson H. G. 2000. Formicidae (Hymenoptera: Vespoidea). Cimbebasia Memoir 9: 371-382.
  • Ross S. R. P. J., F. Hita Garcia, G. Fischer, and M. K. Peters. 2018. Selective logging intensity in an East African rain forest predicts reductions in ant diversity. Biotropica 1-11.
  • Santschi F. 1924. Revue du genre Plectroctena F. Smith. Revue Suisse de Zoologie 31: 155-173.