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Aphomomyrmex afer
| Aphomomyrmex afer | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Formicinae |
| Tribe: | Plagiolepidini |
| Genus: | Aphomomyrmex |
| Species: | A. afer |
| Binomial name | |
| Aphomomyrmex afer Emery, 1899
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| Synonyms | |
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Nothing is known about the biology of Aphomomyrmex afer.
Identification
Snelling (1979) - Worker: Polymorphic; head rectangular; antenna nine-segmented, without distinct apical club; ocelli well below occipital margin. Queen: Antenna ten-segmented, without distinct apical club; head about one-third longer than wide, parallel-sided; frontal carinae separated by more than their length; atria of propodeal spiracle and metapleural gland large, nearly circular, latter without conspicuous guard hairs. Male: Antenna ten-segmented, without distinct apical club; eye large, occupying most of side of head; ocelli large; frontal carinae obsolete; pygostyles present; mandible tridentate.
Distribution
Known from Cameroun, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon and South Africa.
Latitudinal Distribution Pattern
Latitudinal Range: 5.00899° to 5°.
| North Temperate |
North Subtropical |
Tropical | South Subtropical |
South Temperate |
- Source: AntMaps
Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Afrotropical Region: Cameroun (type locality), Mozambique, South Africa.
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
Castes
Worker
Images from AntWeb
   
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| Worker. Specimen code casent0102087. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. | Owned by MSNG, Genoa, Italy. |
  
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| Worker. Specimen code casent0101882. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. | Owned by MHNG, Geneva, Switzerland. |
Queen
Images from AntWeb
    
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| Queen (alate/dealate). Specimen code casent0101213. Photographer April Nobile, 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.
- afer. Aphomomyrmex afer Emery, 1899e: 494, fig. (w.q.m.) CAMEROON.
- Type-material: 1 syntype queen, 1 syntype male.
- [Note: Emery, 1899e: 496, excluded the workers from the type-series, saying, “I consider the queen and the male as type of the species and genus, in case the worker could be something separate”.]
- Type-locality: Cameroon: (no further data) (L. Conradt).
- Type-depository: MSNG.
- Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1986d: 332 (l.).
- Status as species: Forel, 1910e: 449; Forel, 1910f: 25; Wheeler, W.M. 1910c: 132; Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 940; Emery, 1925b: 45; Snelling, R.R. 1979b: 4; Bolton, 1995b: 74.
- Senior synonym of muralti: Snelling, R.R. 1979b: 4 (in text); Bolton, 1995b: 74.
- Distribution: Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon.
- muralti. Aphomomyrmex muralti Forel, 1910e: 449 (w.) SOUTH AFRICA.
- Type-material: holotype worker.
- Type-locality: South Africa: Natal (L. von Muralt).
- [Note: Snelling, R.R. 1979b: 4, suspected that “Natal” was a mislabelling, and that the correct type-locality of muralti was Cameroon. Because of this South Africa is not included in the distribution data for afer.]
- Type-depository: MHNG.
- Status as species: Arnold, 1920a: 553; Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 940; Emery, 1925b: 45.
- Junior synonym of afer: Snelling, R.R. 1979b: 4 (in text); Bolton, 1995b: 74.
Unless otherwise noted the text for the remainder of this section is reported from the publication that includes the original description.
Description
Worker
Noire, antennes, trochanters, genoux et tarses roussatres, scape plus clair; tres luisante et lisse sur les cotes de la tete, du corselet et de l'abdomen, moins luisante et finement pointillee sur le vertex, ainsi que sur le dos du corselet et du gastre qui sont couverts d'une pubescence grisatre, fine, naissant des points; il y a, en outre, des poils dresses, fins, sur tout le corps, y compris le scape et les pattes. — Tete subcarree, un peu plus etroite devant, a angles posterieurs arrondis, les yeux s peu pres a la moitie de la longueur des cotes, les ocelles formant un large triangle. L'epistome est convexe, son bord anterieur arque au milieu, faiblement sinue de chaque cote; la suture entre l'epistome et le front tres faible; l'epistome et les joues sont finement strioles avec de gros points. Les mandibules sont fortement striees, armees de 3 dents. Les articulations des antennes sont separees l'une de l'autre par une distance un peu moindre que celle quiles separe des cotes de la tete. Les antennes ont 9 articles: le scape n'atteint pas le bord posterieur de la tete; le funicule s'epaissit graduellement vers l'extremite, le dernier article est presque aussi long que les trois precedents reunis. Le corselet est trapu, le pronotum et le mesonotnum forment ensemble une masse globuleuse, derriere laquelle le metanotum (post scutellum) forme, au fond de la depression qui separe le mesonotum de l'epinotum, un bourrelet transversal portant les stigmates. L'epinotum forme sur le profil une courbe continue, sa face declive est concave au milieu, tres polie et luisante. L'ecaille est haute et mince, plus etroite vers le haut, ou elle est incisee.
L. 3-3 1/3 mill.
Queen
Couleur et sculpture comme chez la worker, la ponctuation en general plus forte, les stries des mandibules, les fines rides de l'epistome et les points de cette piece ainsi que des joues plus forts. Tete en rectangle allonge, a peine plus etroite devant que derriere, a bord posterieur droit et angles etroitement arrondis; les yeux sont places a peu pres a la moitie des cotes de la tete dont ils occupent moins que le tiers; le sillon frontal est bien marque, mais il n'atteint pas l'ocelle anterieur. L'epistome offre, en arriere de son bord anterieur, une depression transversale qui se prolonge de chaque cote obliquement en arriere, vers la fossette clypeale qui est unie a la fossette antennaire; cette depression separe plus nettement que chez la worker la portion mediane bombee de l'epistome des parties laterales. Les mandibules sont plus larges que chez la worker, armees de 5 dents. Les antennes ant 10 articles, le scape ramene en arriere atteint presque le niveau de l'ocelle impair, le funicule est un peu moins epais que chez la worker. Le dos du corselet est notablement deprime, mesonotum, scutellum et postscutellum se trouvant presque a un meme niveau, l'epinotum a peine plus bas, la face basale de celui-ci presque deux fois aussi longue que la face descendante. Le petiole constitue une ecaille tres epaisse, fortement inclinee, moins haute que longue, de sorte que sa face anterieure est presque verticale, la posterieure en pente douce, l'angle dorsal comme obtusement tronque, formant une surface convexe en ovale transversal lorsqu'on la regarde par-dessus. Ailes fortement rembrunies a nervures et stigma bruns.
L. 6 mill.
Male
Male. Luisant, brun, abdomen plus clair, mandibules, antennes, pattes et armure genitale jaune pale; pubescence comme la queen. La tete est plus large que longue, avec les yeux grands, hemispheriques; l'epistome est convexe, son bord anterieur bisinue, un peu avance en arc au milieu, les mandibules dentees, a bord exterieur arque. Les antennes ont 10 articles; le scape ramene en arriere atteint les ocelles posterieurs, le funicule est plus grele que chez la queen, ses articles les plus courts a peu pres aussi longs qu'epais. Le corselet est ovale, fortement deprime, son dos formant sur le profil une courbe continue avec une impression derriere le scutellum. L'ecaille du petiole est tout a fait nodiforme. Ailes un peu plus pales que chez la femelle.
L . 3 mill.
Type Material
Snelling (1979) - It is possible that the type of Aphomomyrmex muralti (=Aphomomyrmex afer) is from Cameroon and not from Natal as stated by Forel. In the Forel collection are the two Cameroon workers collected by von Muralt. The type of A. muralti has the notation "Natal (v. Muralt)." but only on the identification label. That notation appears to have been made at a different time and with a different pen than the identification. It is not inconceivable that "Natal" is an error.
References
- Bolton, B. 1995b. A new general catalogue of the ants of the world. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 504 pp. (page 74, catalogue)
- Emery, C. 1899d. Fourmis d'Afrique. Ann. Soc. Entomol. Belg. 43: 459-504 (page 494, fig. worker, queen, male described)
- Meunier, L.; Dalecky, A.; Berticat, C.; Gaume, L.; McKey, D. 1999. Worker size variation and the evolution of an ant-plant mutualism: comparative morphometrics of workers of two closely related plant-ants, Petalomyrmex phylax and Aphomomyrmex afer (Formi (page 171, morphology)
- Park, J., Park, J. 2021. Complete mitochondrial genome of the gate-keeper ant Colobopsis nipponica (Wheeler, W.M., 1928) (Formicidae: Hymenoptera). Mitochondrial DNA Part B 6, 86–88 (doi:10.1080/23802359.2020.1845581).
- Snelling, R. R. 1979b. Aphomomyrmex and a related new genus of arboreal African ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Contr. Sci. (Los Angel.) 316: 1-8 (page 4, senior synonym of muraalti (in text))
- Wheeler, G. C.; Wheeler, J. 1986d. Supplementary studies on ant larvae: Formicinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). J. N. Y. Entomol. Soc. 94: 331-341 (page 332, larva described)
References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics
- Arnold G. 1920. A monograph of the Formicidae of South Africa. Part IV. Myrmicinae. Annals of the South African Museum. 14: 403-578.
- Forel A. 1910. Note sur quelques fourmis d'Afrique. Annales de la Société Entomologique de Belgique 54: 421-458.
- Snelling R. R. 1979. Aphomomyrmex and a related new genus of arboreal African ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Contributions in Science (Los Angeles) 316: 1-8.
- Wheeler W. M. 1922. Ants of the American Museum Congo expedition. A contribution to the myrmecology of Africa. VIII. A synonymic list of the ants of the Ethiopian region. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 45: 711-1004