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Anonychomyrma itinerans
| Anonychomyrma itinerans | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Dolichoderinae |
| Tribe: | Leptomyrmecini |
| Genus: | Anonychomyrma |
| Species: | A. itinerans |
| Binomial name | |
| Anonychomyrma itinerans (Lowne, 1865)
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| Subspecies | |
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Identification
Distribution
Latitudinal Distribution Pattern
Latitudinal Range: -23.378941° to -41.1°.
| North Temperate |
North Subtropical |
Tropical | South Subtropical |
South Temperate |
- Source: AntMaps
Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Australasian Region: Australia (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. |
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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
Anonychomyrma species are common in moist to semi-arid forested areas (and are less common in rain forests). They nest either in soil with or without coverings, or arboreally in living or dead wood. Workers forage in conspicuous trails on the ground and on tree trunks. Although not studied in detail, they seem to be general predators and also collect plant juices. Some species are associated with the caterpillars of selected butterflies. Nest sizes are moderate to large, ranging from 500 to tens of thousands of workers. When disturbed, most species elevate their gasters and release strong, acrid smelling chemicals as a defensive measure. While similar to Iridomyrmex in general habitat preferences and ecology, most Anonychomyrma prefer moister sites and are predominately arboreal. Iridomyrmex species occur in drier sites and are predominantly terrestrial.
Castes
Worker
Images from AntWeb
   
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| Worker. Specimen code casent0249512. Photographer Will Ericson, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. | Owned by PSWC, Philip S. Ward Collection. |
   
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| Syntype of Anonychomyrma itinerans. Worker. Specimen code casent0902994. Photographer Z. Lieberman, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. | Owned by NHMUK, London, UK. |
   
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| Syntype of Anonychomyrma itinerans ballaratensis. Worker. Specimen code casent0909541. Photographer Z. Lieberman, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. | Owned by MHNG, Geneva, Switzerland. |
   
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| Syntype of Anonychomyrma itinerans depilis. Worker. Specimen code casent0909542. Photographer Z. Lieberman, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. | Owned by MHNG, Geneva, Switzerland. |
   
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| Syntype of Anonychomyrma itinerans perthensis. Worker. Specimen code casent0909544. Photographer Z. Lieberman, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. | Owned by MHNG, Geneva, Switzerland. |
Nomenclature
The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.
- itinerans. Formica itinerans Lowne, 1865a: 278 (w.) AUSTRALIA (New South Wales).
- Type-material: syntype workers (number not stated).
- [Note: Shattuck, 1994: 5, cites 10w syntypes BMNH, but “without locality data”.]
- Type-locality: Australia: New South Wales, vic. Sydney, ix.-xi.1862 (B.T. Lowne).
- Type-depository: BMNH.
- Forel, 1913g: 189 (m.); Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1966: 729 (l.); Crozier, 1969: 249 (k.).
- Combination in Hypoclinea: Mayr, 1870b: 955;
- combination in Iridomyrmex: Emery, 1887a: 249;
- combination in Anonychomyrma: Shattuck, 1992a: 13.
- Status as species: Mayr, 1870b: 958 (in key); Mayr, 1876: 79 (in key); Dalla Torre, 1893: 169; André, 1896b: 260 (in key); Forel, 1902h: 471; Forel, 1907a: 27; Emery, 1913a: 25; Forel, 1913g: 189; Emery, 1914b: 180; Forel, 1915b: 79; Clark, 1934c: 63; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 100; Taylor, 1987a: 32; Shattuck, 1994: 5; Bolton, 1995b: 66; Heterick, 2009: 43.
- Distribution: Australia.
- Current subspecies: nominal plus ballaratensis, depilis, perthensis.
Type Material
- Formica itinerans Lowne, 1865: Syntype, 10 workers, unspecified, Australia, The Natural History Museum.
- Formica itinerans Lowne, 1865: Syntype, workers, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
Description
Karyotype
- See additional details at the Ant Chromosome Database.
Explore: Show all Karyotype data or Search these data. See also a list of all data tables or learn how data is managed.
- n = 8, 2n = 16 (Australia) (Crozier, 1968a) (as Iridomyrmex itinerans).
References
- Cantone S. 2018. Winged Ants, The queen. Dichotomous key to genera of winged female ants in the World. The Wings of Ants: morphological and systematic relationships (self-published).
- Crozier, R. H. 1969a [1968]. Cytotaxonomic studies on some Australian dolichoderine ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Caryologia 21: 241-259 (page 249, karyotype described)
- Emery, C. 1887b [1886]. Catalogo delle formiche esistenti nelle collezioni del Museo Civico di Genova. Parte terza. Formiche della regione Indo-Malese e dell'Australia. [part]. Ann. Mus. Civ. Stor. Nat. 24[=(2)(4): 241-256 (page 249, combination in Iridomyrmex)
- Flanders, B.J., McKillup, S.C. & McKillup, R.V. 2013. Temporal stability of a mosaic of two competitively exclusive arboreal ants in a tropical mangrove forest. Insectes Sociaux 60, 173-178.
- Forel, A. 1913h. Fourmis de Tasmanie et d'Australie récoltées par MM. Lae, Froggatt etc. Bull. Soc. Vaudoise Sci. Nat. 49: 173-195 (page 189, male described)
- Heterick, B.E. 2021. A guide to the ants of Western Australia. Part I: Systematics. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 86, 1-245 (doi:10.18195/issn.0313-122x.86.2021.001-245).
- Heterick, B.E. 2022. A guide to the ants of Western Australia. Part II: Distribution and biology. Records of the Western Australian Museum, supplement 86: 247-510 (doi:10.18195/issn.0313-122x.86.2022.247-510).
- Lowne, B. T. 1865a. Contributions to the natural history of Australian ants. Entomologist 2: 275-280 (page 278, worker described)
- Mayr, G. 1870b. Neue Formiciden. Verh. K-K. Zool.-Bot. Ges. Wien 20: 939-996 (page 955, combination in Hypoclinea)
- Shattuck, S. O. 1992a. Review of the dolichoderine ant genus Iridomyrmex Mayr with descriptions of three new genera (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). J. Aust. Entomol. Soc. 31: 13-18 (page 13, combination in Anonychomyrma)
- Wheeler, G. C.; Wheeler, J. 1966. Ant larva of the subfamily Dolichoderinae: supplement. Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 59: 726-732 (page 729, larva described)
References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics
- CSIRO Collection
- Emery, C. "Catalogo delle formiche esistenti nelle collezioni del Museo Civico di Genova. Parte terza. Formiche della regione Indo-Malese e dell'Australia." Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale Giacomo Doria (Genova) (2) 4, no. 24 (1887): 209-258.
- Forel A. 1913. Fourmis de Tasmanie et d'Australie récoltées par MM. Lae, Froggatt etc. Bull. Soc. Vaudoise Sci. Nat. 49: 173-195
- Lowery B. B., and R. J. Taylor. 1994. Occurrence of ant species in a range of sclerophyll forest communities at Old Chum Dam, north-eastern Tasmania. Australian Entomologist 21: 11-14.