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Aenictus boltoni
| Aenictus boltoni | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Dorylinae |
| Genus: | Aenictus |
| Species group: | rotundatus |
| Species complex: | mariae |
| Species: | A. boltoni |
| Binomial name | |
| Aenictus boltoni Gomez, 2022 | |
Identification
This species can be separated from the rest of the mariae complex species as dorsopropeum is mainly smooth (reticulated in Aenictus hitai) and does not present the lateropropodeal pubescence characteristic of Aenictus steindachneri.
Separation from A. mariae minors as in the following table.
| Postpetiolar shape | PPI | Metapropodeal suture | |
|---|---|---|---|
| A. boltoni | Low, semispherical | 113 [107–127] | Visible, both laterally and dorsally |
| A. mariae | High, subquadrate with straight parallel anterior and posterior sides | 138 [130–150] | Faint and not discernible in minors |
This species does not present a marked allometry (CSR 114) as the other three species (CSR 131 for A. mariae and >170 for A. hitai and A. steindachneri) and seems to have a smaller maximum size (HW < 0.42 against 0.52 for mariae or 0.69 for steindachneri), though this can be due to a lack of material as the four species have similar minimum sizes (HW> 0.28 for hitai and >0.36 for the rest).
Also, this species seems to be distributed in West Africa, while the other three inhabit Southern and Western Africa and their distribution don’t seem to overlap.
Keys including this Species
Distribution
Latitudinal Distribution Pattern
Latitudinal Range: 9° to 6°.
| North Temperate |
North Subtropical |
Tropical | South Subtropical |
South Temperate |
- Source: Gomez, 2022
Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Afrotropical Region: Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria (type locality).
Distribution based on AntMaps
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. |
|
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.
- boltoni. Aenictus boltoni Gómez, 2022: 49, figs. 32A-D, 33 (w.) NIGERIA.
Type Material
- Holotype worker: NIGERIA: • Gambari 14/08/1969 (Bolton, B.) (1w) [NHMUK012849298] The Natural History Museum.
- Paratype workers: • same data, (2w each) [NHMUK012849294 to NHMUK012849297] The Natural History Museum; same data (1w) [NHMUK012849327] The Natural History Museum.