Podomyrma laevifrons

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Podomyrma laevifrons
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Tribe: Crematogastrini
Genus: Podomyrma
Species group: laevifrons
Species: P. laevifrons
Binomial name
Podomyrma laevifrons
Smith, F., 1859

Podomyrma laevifrons casent0901390 p 1 high.jpg

Podomyrma laevifrons casent0901390 d 1 high.jpg

Specimen Labels

Synonyms

Identification

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: -3.033333302° to -10.18332958°.

 
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Australasian Region: Australia (type locality).
Indo-Australian Region: Indonesia (type locality), New Guinea.

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

Images from AntWeb

Podomyrma laevifrons casent0901391 d 1 high.jpgPodomyrma laevifrons casent0901391 p 1 high.jpgPodomyrma laevifrons casent0901391 h 1 high.jpgPodomyrma laevifrons casent0901391 l 1 high.jpg
Lectotype of Podomyrma laevifronsWorker. Specimen code casent0901391. Photographer Ryan Perry, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by OUM, Oxford, UK.
Podomyrma laevifrons casent0902001 h 1 high.jpgPodomyrma laevifrons casent0902001 d 1 high.jpgPodomyrma laevifrons casent0902001 p 1 high.jpgPodomyrma laevifrons casent0902001 l 1 high.jpg
Syntype of Podomyrma laevicepsWorker. Specimen code casent0902001. Photographer Will Ericson, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by NHMUK, London, UK.
Podomyrma laevifrons casent0904707 h 1 high.jpgPodomyrma laevifrons casent0904707 d 1 high.jpgPodomyrma laevifrons casent0904707 p 1 high.jpgPodomyrma laevifrons casent0904707 l 1 high.jpg
Syntype of Podomyrma gracilisWorker. Specimen code casent0904707. Photographer Will Ericson, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by MSNG, Genoa, Italy.
Podomyrma laevifrons casent0906186 d 1 high.jpgPodomyrma laevifrons casent0906186 h 1 high.jpgPodomyrma laevifrons casent0906186 p 1 high.jpgPodomyrma laevifrons casent0906186 l 1 high.jpg
Worker. Specimen code casent0906186. Photographer Estella Ortega, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by NHMUK, London, UK.

Nomenclature

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

  • laevifrons. Podomyrma laevifrons Smith, F. 1859a: 146 (w.) INDONESIA (Aru I.). Senior synonym of gracilis, laeviceps, nugenti, striata: Taylor, 1999: 174.
  • striata. Podomyrma striata Smith, F. 1859a: 146 (w.) INDONESIA (Aru I.). Junior synonym of laevifrons: Taylor, 1999: 174.
  • laeviceps. Podomyrma laeviceps Mayr, 1867a: 108 (w.) NEW GUINEA. Junior synonym of laevifrons: Taylor, 1999: 174. [Misspelled as leviceps by Dalla Torre, 1893: 60.]
  • gracilis. Podomyrma gracilis Emery, 1887b: 460, pl. 2, fig. 15 (w.) NEW GUINEA. Subspecies of laeviceps: Viehmeyer, 1914c: 521 (in key); Donisthorpe, 1949b: 498. Revived status as species: Taylor & Brown, D.R. 1985: 82. Junior synonym of laevifrons: Taylor, 1999: 174.
  • nugenti. Podomyrma gracilis var. nugenti Forel, 1901h: 54 (w.) AUSTRALIA. Junior synonym of laevifrons: Taylor, 1999: 174.

Type Material

  • Podomyrma laevifrons: Syntype, worker(s), Aru Island, Indonesia.
  • Podomyrma gracilis Emery, 1887: Syntype, Ramoi, New Guinea, museum unknown (prob. MCSN (Genoa)).
  • Podomyrma gracilis nugenti Forel, 1901: Syntype, worker(s), Cairns, Queensland, Australia, Australian National Insect Collection.
  • Podomyrma laeviceps Mayr, 1867: Syntype, worker(s), Waigeo, Indonesia.
  • Podomyrma striata Smith, 1859: Syntype, worker(s), Aru, Indonesia, The Natural History Museum.

The following notes on F. Smith type specimens have been provided by Barry Bolton (details):

Podomyrma laevifrons

Two worker syntypes in Oxford University Museum of Natural History. One of them labelled “Aru 20,” and both with the figure “3” written on their stage cards.

Podomyrma striata

One worker syntype in Oxford University Museum of Natural History, one worker syntype in The Natural History Museum. Oxford University Museum of Natural History specimen labelled “Aru 58/23. striata Sm.” and with the figure “2” written on the stage card. The Natural History Museum specimen is labelled only “striata Sm.” and with the figure “2” on the stage card. It has a Donithorpe “compared with type” label but is certainly a syntype.

The four species described by Smith (1859a) were the first species in Podomyrma after he had defined the genus. The numbers written on the stage cards of his specimens correspond to the order of description of the four species: 1 femorata, 2 striata, 3 laevifrons, 4 basalis.

Description

References

  • Smith, F. 1859a. Catalogue of hymenopterous insects collected by Mr. A. R. Wallace at the islands of Aru and Key. [part]. J. Proc. Linn. Soc. Lond. Zool. 3: 132-158 (page 146, worker described)
  • Taylor, R. W. 1999. Nomenclatural changes in the Australasian ant genus Podomyrma Fredrick Smith (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae). Sociobiology 34: 173-174 (page 174, Senior synonym of gracilis, laeviceps, nugenti and striata)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • CSIRO Collection
  • Donisthorpe H. 1948. A fourth instalment of the Ross Collection of ants from New Guinea. Annals and Magazine of Natural History (12)1: 131-143.
  • Donisthorpe H. 1949. A fifth instalment of the Ross Collection of ants from New Guinea. Annals and Magazine of Natural History (12)1: 487-506.
  • Donisthorpe, Horace. 1943. The Ants of Waigeu Island, North Dutch New Guinea. The Annals and Magazine of Natural History 11 (10): 433-475.
  • Emery C. 1887. Catalogo delle formiche esistenti nelle collezioni del Museo Civico di Genova. Parte terza. Formiche della regione Indo-Malese e dell'Australia (continuazione e fine). [concl.]. Ann. Mus. Civ. Stor. Nat. 25(5): 427-473.
  • Emery C. 1911. Formicidae. Résultats de l'expédition scientifique néerlandaise à la Nouvelle-Guinée en 1903 sous les auspices de Arthur Wichmann. Nova Guinea 5: 531-539.
  • Emery, C. "Catalogo delle formiche esistenti nelle collezioni del Museo Civico di Genova. Parte terza. Formiche della regione Indo-Malese e dell'Australia (continuazione e fine)." Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale Giacomo Doria (Genova) (2) 5, no. 25 (1887): 427-473.
  • Gullan P. J., R. C. Buckley, and P. S. Ward. 1993. Ant-tended scale insects (Hemiptera: Coccidae: Myzolecanium) within lowland rainf forest trees in Papua New Guinea. Journal of Tropical Ecology 9(1): 81-91.
  • Janda M., G. D. Alpert, M. L. Borowiec, E. P. Economo, P. Klimes, E. Sarnat, and S. O. Shattuck. 2011. Cheklist of ants described and recorded from New Guinea and associated islands. Available on http://www.newguineants.org/. Accessed on 24th Feb. 2011.
  • Karavaiev V. 1935. Neue Ameisen aus dem Indo-Australischen Gebiet, nebst Revision einiger Formen. Treubia 15: 57-118.
  • Stitz H. 1938. Neue Ameisen aus dem indo-malayischen Gebiet. Sitzungsber. Ges. Naturforsch. Freunde Berl. 1938: 99-122.
  • 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.
  • Taylor R. W. 1999. Nomenclatural changes in the Australasian ant genus Podomyrma Fredrick Smith (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae). Sociobiology 34: 173-174.
  • Viehmeyer H. 1912. Ameisen aus Deutsch Neuguinea gesammelt von Dr. O. Schlaginhaufen. Nebst einem Verzeichnisse der papuanischen Arten. Abhandlungen und Berichte des Königlichen Zoologischen und Anthropologische-Ethnographischen Museums zu Dresden 14: 1-26.