Romblonella heatwolei

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Romblonella heatwolei
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Tribe: Crematogastrini
Genus: Romblonella
Species: R. heatwolei
Binomial name
Romblonella heatwolei
Taylor, 1991

Nothing is known about the biology of Romblonella heatwolei.

Identification

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: -5.333° to -9.949999809°.

 
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Australasian Region: Australia (type locality).
Indo-Australian Region: 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

Nomenclature

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

  • heatwolei. Romblonella heatwolei Taylor, 1991a: 282, figs. 1-3 (w.m.) AUSTRALIA.

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

Description

Worker

The holotype has the following dimensions (mm): Aggregate Total Length (TL) ca 3.7; Maximum Head Length (HL) 0.80; Head Width (HW) (across eyes) 0.82, (maximum behind eyes) 0.77; Cephalic Index (HW behind eyes )< 100/HL) (CI) 87; Scape Length (SL) 0.53; Scape Index (SL 100/HW behind eyes) (SI) 62; Maximum Pronotum width (PW)0.52; Weber’s Length of mesosoma (WL) 1.00; midline length of petiolar node (dorsal view) 0.32; petiolar node width (dorsal view) 0.36; midline length of postpetiole (dorsal view) 0.32; postpetiole width (dorsal view) 0.41. The paratypes have HW (across eyes) 0.79 or 0.81, with other dimensions proportionate.

General features as in accompanying figures. Similar to Romblonella scrobifera. The two taxa may be distinguished by the following couplet, which adequately characterizes R. heatwolei:

Frons between frontal carinae moderately coarsely reticulate, areas between recticulae distinctly, densely microsculptured; first gastral tergite opaque, with a distinct, fine, dense raised microreticulum, which has a longitudinal trend on the disc of the sclerite R. scrobifera

Frons between frontal carinae with broken, somewhat erratic spaced longitudinal costulae, with little trace of cross-ribbing, and only weak, partly effaced intervening micro-sculpture. First gastral tergite shining, with only faint traces of fine, incised micro-reticulation, which is without a longitudinal trend R. heatwolei

Type Material

Holotype worker, three paratype workers, paratype male, collected together (3 Aug. 1974, H. Heatwole). Deposited in Australian National Insect Collection (type number 7868). The holotype has been gold-palladium coated for scanning electron microscopy; it originally matched the colour of the darkest paratype.

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • CSIRO Collection
  • Sarnat Eli M. 2009. The Ants [Hymenoptera: Formicdiae] of Fiji: Systematics, Biogeography and Conservation of an Island Arc Fauna. 80-252
  • Taylor, R. W. 1991. Notes on the ant genera Romblonella and Willowsiella, with comments on their affinities, and the first descriptions of Australian species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae). Psyche (Cambridge) 97: 281-296.