Technomyrmex elatior

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Technomyrmex elatior
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Dolichoderinae
Genus: Technomyrmex
Species: T. elatior
Binomial name
Technomyrmex elatior
Forel, 1902

Technomyrmex elatior casent0249783 p 1 high.jpg

Technomyrmex elatior casent0249783 d 1 high.jpg

Specimen Labels

Synonyms

Found on trees and nests in rotten parts of the trunk.

Identification

Bolton (2007) - A member of the T. modiglianii complex in the Technomyrmex albipes group. Superficially similar to Technomyrmex albipes and Technomyrmex vitiensis but with a broader head that is much more extensively and deeply emarginate posteriorly, more like the shape of Technomyrmex modiglianii. The anterior clypeal margin has a small but distinct shallow semicircular notch and the eyes are farther removed from the outline of the sides of the head in full-face view. The metathoracic spiracle, usually on a small but prominent tubercle, projects more dorsally than in either albipes or vitiensis and is conspicuous in profile in most samples.

T. elatior is probably most closely related to, and has also been confused with modiglianii because of its head shape and median clypeal notch, but elatior always lacks setae on the dorsum of the head behind the level of the posterior margin of the eye and has the main setae on the first gastral tergite distinctly much shorter than the maximum diameter of the eye.

This widely distributed taxon is size-variable as thus defined and may contain more than one species. In particular specimens from Sarawak tend to be larger (the largest - HL 0.84 - 0.88, HW 0.84 - 0.93), have the shortest scapes (SI 84 - 86) and have the eyes located more anteriorly (EPI 50 - 57) than the other populations. The last ratio is particularly striking as the other material in combination has EPI 63 - 73. However, because of shortage of examples and their otherwise similar morphology all are currently being retained as a single species.

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 32.0744° to -0.1875°.

   
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Indo-Australian Region: Borneo, Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore.
Oriental Region: Cambodia, India (type locality), Nepal, Sri Lanka, Vietnam.
Palaearctic Region: China, Italy.

Distribution based on AntMaps

AntMapLegend.png

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.
pChart

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.
pChart

Biology

Castes

Nomenclature

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

  • elatior. Technomyrmex modiglianii r. elatior Forel, 1902d: 293 (w.) INDIA. Forel, 1908a: 3 (m.). Subspecies of modiglianii: Forel, 1905c: 23; Wheeler, W.M. 1921c: 541. Raised to species: Bingham, 1903: 302; Mukerjee, 1930: 155. Senior synonym of cordiformis: Bolton, 2007a: 79.
  • cordiformis. Technomyrmex albipes var. cordiformis Viehmeyer, 1916a: 143 (w.) SINGAPORE. Junior synonym of elatior: Bolton, 2007a: 79.

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

Description

Worker

Bolton (2007) - TL 2.9 - 3.7, HL 0.65 - 0.88, HW 0.62 - 0.93, SL 0.59 - 0.78, PW 0.41 - 0.56, WL 0.78 - 1.00 (20 measured). Indices: CI 95 - 106, SI 84 - 98, OI 20 - 26, EPI 50 -73, DTI 112 - 128.

Frontal carina with 2 (rarely 3) setae. Dorsum of head behind level of eye entirely lacks setae. Anterior clypeal margin with a small but incised and sharply defined shallow semicircular median notch; inner margin of notch does not meet the anterior clypeal margin in an acute angle or tooth. Posterior margin of head in full-face view is broadly emarginate across its width, not merely with a median impression; depth and intensity of emargination increases with size, being most pronounced in the largest individuals. Sides of head convex and the outer margins of the eyes are set well in from the outline of the sides in full-face view. With mesosoma in profile the mesonotal outline is evenly curved, without a distinct step or angle in the outline that defines conspicuous dorsal and declivitous faces. Propodeal dorsum short, in profile the straight-line length of the dorsum less than the depth of the declivity to the spiracle; dorsum and declivity meet in an angle. Number of setal pairs on mesosoma: pronotum 2 - 3; mesonotum usually 1, located quite close to the metathoracic spiracle, but rarely a more anterior pair may also be present; propodeal dorsum 0; lateral margins of propodeal declivity 2 - 3. Gastral tergites 1 - 4 each with numerous setae all over the sclerites; these setae relatively short, the longest on the first gastral tergite only about 0.50 x the maximum diameter of the eye. Head, mesosoma, petiole and gaster dark brown to black; leg segments approximately the same colour as head and body except for the tarsi, which are yellowish.

Type Material

Bolton (2007) - Syntype workers, India: Assam, LXXIX/I6 (Long) (Musee d'Histoire Naturelle Genève) [examined].

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • Bolton B. 2007. Taxonomy of the dolichoderine ant genus Technomyrmex Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) based on the worker caste. Contributions of the American Entomological Institute 35(1): 1-150.
  • Bolton, B. "Taxonomy of the dolichoderine ant genus Technomyrmex Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) based on the worker caste." Contributions of the American Entomological Institute 35, no. 1 (2007): 1-149.
  • 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
  • Dias R. K. S. 2006. Current taxonomic status of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Sri Lanka. The Fauna of Sri Lanka: 43-52. Bambaradeniya, C.N.B. (Editor), 2006. Fauna of Sri Lanka: Status of Taxonomy, Research and Conservation. The World Conservation Union, Colombo, Sri Lanka & Government of Sri Lanka. viii + 308pp.
  • Dias R. K. S., K. R. K. A. Kosgamage, and H. A. W. S. Peiris. 2012. The Taxonomy and Conservation Status of Ants (Order: Hymenoptera, Family: Formicidae) in Sri Lanka. In: The National Red List 2012 of Sri Lanka; Conservation Status of the Fauna and Flora. Weerakoon, D.K. & S. Wijesundara Eds., Ministry of Environment, Colombo, Sri Lanka. p11-19.
  • Dias, R.K.S. 2006. Overview of ant research in Sri Lanka: 2000-2004. ANeT Newsletter 8:7-10
  • Emery C. 1913. Hymenoptera. Fam. Formicidae. Subfam. Dolichoderinae. Genera Insectorum 137: 1-50.
  • Fontanilla A. M., A. Nakamura, Z. Xu, M. Cao, R. L. Kitching, Y. Tang, and C. J. Burwell. 2019. Taxonomic and functional ant diversity along tropical, subtropical, and subalpine elevational transects in southwest China. Insects 10, 128; doi:10.3390/insects10050128
  • Forel A. 1909. Études myrmécologiques en 1909. Fourmis de Barbarie et de Ceylan. Nidification des Polyrhachis. Bull. Soc. Vaudoise Sci. Nat. 45: 369-407.
  • Forel, A. 1908. Fourmis de Ceylan et d'Égypte récoltées par le Prof. E. Bugnion. Lasius carniolicus. Fourmis de Kerguelen. Pseudandrie? Strongylognathus testaceus. Bull. Soc. Vaudoise Sci. Nat. 44: 1-22
  • Guénard B., and R. R. Dunn. 2012. A checklist of the ants of China. Zootaxa 3558: 1-77.
  • Hua Li-zhong. 2006. List of Chinese insects Vol. IV. Pages 262-273. Sun Yat-sen university Press, Guangzhou. 539 pages.
  • Karmaly K. A.; S. Sumesh, T. P. Rabeesh, and L. Kishore. 2010. A checklist of ants of Thirunelli in Wayanad, Kerala. J. of the Bombay Natural History Society 107(1): 64-67.
  • Katayama M., K. Kishimoto-Yamada, H. O. Tanaka, T. Endo, Y. Hashimoto, Sk. Yamane, and T. Itioka. 2015. Negative correlation between ant and spider abundances in the canopy of a Bornean tropical rain forest. Biotropica (in press).
  • Li Z.h. 2006. List of Chinese Insects. Volume 4. Sun Yat-sen University Press
  • Liu H., X.Z. Yuan, C.D. Zhang. 2002. Community structure and species diversity of ant in Qufu, Shandong province. Biodiversity Science 10(3): 298-304.
  • Mukerjee D. 1930. Report on a collection of ants in the Indian Museum, Calcutta. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 34: 149-163.
  • Pfeiffer M.; Mezger, D.; Hosoishi, S.; Bakhtiar, E. Y.; Kohout, R. J. 2011. The Formicidae of Borneo (Insecta: Hymenoptera): a preliminary species list. Asian Myrmecology 4:9-58
  • Tang J., Li S., Huang E., Zhang B. and Chen Y. 1995. Hymenoptera: Formicidae (1). Economic Insect Fauna of China 47: 1-133.
  • Tiwari R.N., B.G. Kundu, S. Sheela, and S. N. Ghosh. 2004. Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae. Alfred, J.R.B. [Ed.], Fauna of Manipur, part - 2 (insects). State fauna series 10. Zool.Surv.India.i-v, 1-625. Chapter pagination: 605-625.
  • Wheeler W. M. 1921. Chinese ants. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 64: 529-547.