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Bothroponera escherichi
| Bothroponera escherichi | |
|---|---|
| |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Ponerinae |
| Tribe: | Ponerini |
| Genus: | Bothroponera |
| Species group: | sulcata |
| Species: | B. escherichi |
| Binomial name | |
| Bothroponera escherichi (Forel, 1910)
| |
Identification
Keys including this Species
Distribution
Latitudinal Distribution Pattern
Latitudinal Range: 13.38675° to 13.38675°.
| North Temperate |
North Subtropical |
Tropical | South Subtropical |
South Temperate |
- Source: AntMaps
Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Afrotropical Region: Eritrea, Ethiopia (type locality), Gambia.
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
Nomenclature
The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.
- escherichi. Pachycondyla (Bothroponera) escherichi Forel, 1910c: 244 (w.) ERITREA.
- Type-material: holotype worker.
- Type-locality: Eritrea: Nefasit (K. Escherich).
- Type-depository: MHNG.
- Combination in Euponera (Mesoponera): Emery, 1911d: 82.
- Combination in Pachycondyla: Brown, in Bolton, 1995b: 305.
- Combination in Mesoponera: Schmidt, C.A. & Shattuck, 2014: 110.
- Combination in Bothroponera: Esteves & Fisher (2021): 109.
- Status as species: Emery, 1911d: 82; Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 776; Santschi, 1935b: 260 (in key); Finzi, 1939a: 161; Bolton, 1995b: 305; Madl, 2019: 17.
- Distribution: Eritrea.
Taxonomic Notes
Esteves & Fisher (2021): The species originally described as Pachycondyla (Bothroponera) escherichi Forel, 1910, based on one worker collected in Eritrea (Fig. 16), was recently combined in Mesoponera by Schmidt and Shattuck (2014). However, the species is clearly misassigned. Mesoponera escherichi presents every character that sets Bothroponera and Mesoponera apart from the remaining Ponerinae genera in the Afrotropics, including the absence of a basolateral or dorsal pit on the mandibles (Forel 1910). The shape of the propodeal dorsal face corresponds to that of the B. sulcata group. The propodeal spiracle is slit-shaped. The petiolar tergite is unaligned in the image we evaluated; even so, it shows a somewhat nodiform petiole (clearly not cuneiform) that is reasonably accommodated by the variation seen in the Bothroponera. Moreover, Forel (1910) stated that the anterior and posterior faces of the petiole are vertical surfaces. The metanotal sulcus is present but weakly impressed, and does not interrupt the dorsal outline of the mesosoma in profile. The presclerites and postsclerites of abdominal segment IV are separated by a moderately impressed constriction. The torular lobes are not hypertrophied. Sculpture is not strongly impressed: most of the head and the dorsal face of the mesosoma is densely foveolate (i.e., covered by small pits that are wider than punctures); the lateral face of the mesosoma is mostly costulate; the petiole is somewhat shiny; the gaster is slightly punctate, and is shinier than the head and mesosoma. Therefore, M. escherichi becomes Bothroponera escherichi (Forel, 1910), comb. nov., a member of the B. sulcata species group.
Description
References
- Brown, W. L., Jr. 1995a. [Untitled. Taxonomic changes in Pachycondyla attributed to Brown.] Pp. 302-311 in: Bolton, B. A new general catalogue of the ants of the world. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 504 pp. (page 305, Combination in Pachycondyla)
- Emery, C. 1911e. Hymenoptera. Fam. Formicidae. Subfam. Ponerinae. Genera Insectorum 118: 1-125 (page 82, Combination in Euponera (Mesoponera))
- Esteves, F.A., Fisher, B.L. 2021. Corrieopone nouragues gen. nov., sp. nov., a new Ponerinae from French Guiana (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). ZooKeys 1074, 83–173 (doi:10.3897/zookeys.1074.75551).
- Forel, A. 1910c. Ameisen aus der Kolonie Erythräa. Gesammelt von Prof. Dr. K. Escherich (nebst einigen in West-Abessinien von Herrn A. Ilg gesammelten Ameisen). Zool. Jahrb. Abt. Syst. Geogr. Biol. Tiere 29: 243-274 (page 244, worker described)
- Schmidt, C.A. & Shattuck, S.O. 2014. The higher classification of the ant subfamily Ponerinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), with a review of ponerine ecology and behavior. Zootaxa 3817, 1–242 (doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3817.1.1).
References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics
- Borowiec L., and S. Salata. 2018. Notes on ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Gambia (Western Africa). Annals of the Upper Silesian Museum in Bytom Entomology 26: 1-13.
- Finzi B. 1939. Materiali zoologici dell'Eritrea raccolti da G. Müller durante la spedizione dell'Istituto Sieroterapico Milanese e conservati al Museo di Trieste. Parte III. Hymenoptera: Formicidae. Atti del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Trieste 14: 153-168.
- Forel A. 1910. Ameisen aus der Kolonie Erythräa. Gesammelt von Prof. Dr. K. Escherich (nebst einigen in West-Abessinien von Herrn A. Ilg gesammelten Ameisen). Zoologische Jahrbücher. Abteilung für Systematik, Geographie und Biologie der Tiere 29: 243-274.
- Lévieux J. 1972. Les fourmis de la savane de Lamto (Côte d'Ivoire): éléments de taxonomie. Bulletin de l'Institut Fondamental d'Afrique Noire. Série A. Sciences Naturelles 34: 611-654.
- Madl M. 2019. Notes on the ant fauna of Eritrea (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae): type specimens deposited in the Natural History Museum Vienna (Austria) and a preliminary checklist. Ann. Naturhist. Mus. Wien, B 121: 9-18.