Strumigenys mayri

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Strumigenys mayri
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Tribe: Attini
Genus: Strumigenys
Species: S. mayri
Binomial name
Strumigenys mayri
Emery, 1897

Strumigenys mayri casent0173561 profile 1.jpg

Strumigenys mayri casent0173561 dorsal 1.jpg

Specimen labels

Synonyms

On New Guinea, all of the records from lower elevations are based on collections of strays made in rain forest leaf litter, or nests and nest fragments taken from rotten logs. At middle altitudes (1300 m: Bandong and Yunzain to Joangeng) nests were taken under moss-covered rocks in moist soil; both of these montane samples included winged forms (IV-V. 1955). At the highest elevations (2000 m and over), strays were taken in forest litter berlesate. (Brown 1973)

Identification

Bolton (2000) - A member of the mayri complex in the Strumigenys mayri-group. See notes under Strumigenys akhtoi. Most of the variation in pilosity and postpetiole disc sculpture noted above was recorded by Brown (1973c). Beside this, separate populations currently assigned to mayri show some changes in width and degree of curvature of the mandibles. These variations may suggest that more than one species resides under the name. For the present I regard all as variations within a single species, but recommend a more detailed analysis when more material is present.

Brown (1973) - Distinctive characters are the moderate size (samples from the New Guinea highlands are largest in body size), only moderately long mandibles and antennae, and short propodeal teeth (not longer than the distance between the centers of their bases). Sides of trunk reticulate-punctulate, but the sculpture tends to be effaced on much of the mesopleura, and usually also on part of the metapleura; these surfaces consequently smooth and shining. Postpetiolar node finely reticulate and opaque in some samples, but in others, it is obscurely, finely longitudinally costulate or with sculpture effaced discad and smooth. Reclinate ground pilosity more abundant and widespread than in Strumigenys hoplites, Strumigenys ferocior or the szalayi-group species, at least on head and pronotum, but still not very conspicuous. The specialized erect hairs are very fine and vary considerably in length from one series to the next; some samples from the highlands of New Guinea and from near Lae have these hairs moderate in length and blunt-tipped, while examples from Papua and Cape York usually have some or all of the hairs long, fine and flagelliform. Prevailing color is light to medium ferruginous, with gaster either concolored or brownish to piceous. Some highland series are concolorous dark reddish brown. The sample from Benaga is exceptionally large and dark-colored, and has unusually long mandibles, and although it approaches the S. ferocior types in some respects, I consider it as an ecotype of S. mayri.

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 7.51486° to -8.949999809°.

 
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Australasian Region: Australia.
Indo-Australian Region: Indonesia, Micronesia (Federated States of), 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

Bolton (2000) - The species has been recorded once from Bogor Botanical Gardens, Java, where it was probably an introduction.

Castes

Images from AntWeb

Strumigenys mayri casent0173561 profile 2.jpgStrumigenys mayri casent0173561 dorsal 2.jpg
Worker. Specimen code casent0173561. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by BNM, Koror, Palau.

Nomenclature

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

  • mayri. Strumigenys mayri Emery, 1897c: 579, pl. 14, fig. 12 (w.q.) NEW GUINEA. Brown, 1973c: 265. Senior synonym of bismarckensis: Brown, 1973c: 264. See also: Bolton, 2000: 887.
  • bismarckensis. Strumigenys mayri var. bismarckensis Forel, 1901b: 10 (w.) NEW GUINEA (Bismarck Archipelago). Junior synonym of mayri: Brown, 1973c: 264.

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

Description

Worker

Bolton (2000) - TL 1.7-1.8, HL 0.52-0.60, HW 0.37-0.41, CI 68-73, ML 0.25-0.30, MI 47-53, SL 0.32-0.38, SI 85-93, PW 0.23-0.25, AL 0.50-0.56 (25 measured).

Characters of the mayri-complex. Preapical tooth spiniform, its length usually slightly greater than maximum width of mandible. Apicoscrobal hair present, without similar long projecting hairs on upper scrobe margin anterior to it. Cephalic dorsum with 4-6 erect simple hairs along the occipital margin and a similar pair at level of highest point of vertex. With head in full-face view most or all of the eye visible, the upper scrobe margin above the eye not so broadly expanded as to obscure most of the eye. Preocular notch present, variable in width and depth between populations but always disinct; ventral surface of head with preocular transverse impression short, may be shallow but usually conspicuous. Pronotal humeral hair usually flagellate, apparently simple and sinuous in some but this may the result of damage. Pronotum otherwise without erect hairs; mesonotum with one pair of erect simple to flagellate hairs. Dorsal alitrunk evenly reticulate-punctate. Dorsal surfaces of waist segments and gastral tergites with hairs that are fine and simple to flagellate. Pleurae and side of propodeum mostly to entirely smooth. Propodeum armed with a pair of short spines, length of spine equal to or slightly greater than distance separating their bases but less than dorsal width of petiole node. Dorsal (outer) surface of hind basitarsus without long fine erect hairs. Petiole in profile with anterior face of node not markedly less than length of dorsum, in dorsal view petiole node broader than long. Disc of postpetiole varying from finely and densely reticulate-punctate to almost entirely smooth.

Brown (1973) - TL 2.1-2.5, HL 0.55-0.65, ML 0.26-0.32, WL 0.55-0.66 mm; CI 70-76, MI 44-50.

Male

Brown (1973) - (Bandong, New Guinea): TL 2.4, HL 0.46, greatest diameter of compound eye 0.17, WL 0.73, forewing L about 2.4 mm. Head without depressed occipital portion seen in Strumigenys szalayi; males. Mandibles curved, falcate, edentate, tapered to acute apices and apparently not opposable. Notauli obliterated except for their anterior extremities. Propodeal teeth broad, subrectangular. Petiolar peduncle rising gradually to nodal summit. Spongiform processes obsolete, represented by a thin transparent rim on caudal margin of postpetiole. Body finely reticulate-punctulate, opaque; mesepisterna and gaster smooth and shining. Both surfaces of head and gaster, and dorsa of trunk and nodes, with a few long, fine hairs, mostly paired bilaterally. Color blackish-brown, trunk more brownish; appendages and gastric apex sordid yellowish-brown. Forewing veins (in both sexes) reduced to the costal-subcostal elements plus only the basal vein, M+ CuA, CuA and the radial crossvein (2r). Hind wing with 4 submedian hamuli.

Type Material

Bolton (2000) - Syntype workers and queen, PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Madang ( = Friedrich-Wilhelmshafen), and Aitape ( = Berlinhafen) (L. Biro) (Hungarian Natural History Museum, Naturhistorisches Museum Wien, Vienna) [examined].

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • Bolton, B. 2000. The Ant Tribe Dacetini. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute 65
  • Brown W. L., Jr. 1973. The Indo-Australian species of the ant genus Strumigenys: groups of horvathi, mayri and wallacei. Pac. Insects 15: 259-269.
  • Brown W. L., Jr. 1973. The Indo-Australian species of the ant genus Strumigenys: groups of horvathi, mayri and wallacei. Pacific Insects 15: 259-269.
  • CSIRO Collection
  • Chapman, J. W., and Capco, S. R. 1951. Check list of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Asia. Monogr. Inst. Sci. Technol. Manila 1: 1-327
  • Clouse R. M. 2007. The ants of Micronesia (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Micronesica. 39: 171-295.
  • Clouse, R.M. 2007. The ants of Micronesia (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), Micronesica 39(2): 171-295.
  • Dahl F. 1901. Das Leben der Ameisen im Bismarck-Archipel, nach eigenen Beobachtungen vergleichend dargestellt. Mitt. Zool. Mus. Berl. 2: 1-70.
  • Emery C. 1897. Formicidarum species novae vel minus cognitae in collectione Musaei Nationalis Hungarici quas in Nova-Guinea, colonia germanica, collegit L. Biró. Természetrajzi Füzetek 20: 571-599.
  • Field Museum Collection, Chicago, Illinois (C. Moreau)
  • Forel A. 1901. Formiciden aus dem Bismarck-Archipel, auf Grundlage des von Prof. Dr. F. Dahl gesammelten Materials. Mitt. Zool. Mus. Berl. 2: 4-37.
  • 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.
  • Lucky A., L. E. Alonso, E. Sarnat, and J. Hulr. 2015. Ants and scolytine beetles. In: Richards, S.J. and N. Whitmore (editors) 2015. A rapid biodiversity assessment of Papua New Guinea's Hindenburg Wall region. Wildlife Conservation Society Papua New Guinea Program. Goroka, PNG.
  • Room P. M. 1975. Diversity and organization of the ground foraging ant faunas of forest, grassland and tree crops in Papua Nez Guinea. Aust. J. Zool. 23: 71-89.
  • Snelling R. R. 1998. Insect Part 1: The social Hymenoptera. In Mack A. L. (Ed.) A Biological Assessment of the Lakekamu Basin, Papua New Guinea, RAP 9. 189 ppages
  • Snelling R. R. 2000. Ants of the Wapoga river area, Irian Jaya, Indonesia. In Mack, Andrew L. and Leeanne E. Alonso (eds.). 2000. A Biological Assessment of the Wapoga River Area of Northwestern Irian Jaya, Indonesia. RAP Bulletin of Biological Assessment 14, Conservation International, Washington, DC.
  • 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., and D. R. Brown. 1985. Formicoidea. Zoological Catalogue of Australia 2: 1-149. 
  • 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.
  • Wheeler W.M. 1935. Check list of the ants of Oceania. Occasional Papers of the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum 11(11):1-56.
  • Wheeler, William Morton.1935.Checklist of the Ants of Oceania.Occasional Papers 11(11): 3-56
  • Wilson E. O. 1959. Some ecological characteristics of ants in New Guinea rain forests. Ecology 40: 437-447.