Camponotus elegans

Camponotus elegans
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Formicinae
Tribe:	Camponotini
Genus:	Camponotus
Species:	C. elegans
Binomial name
Camponotus elegans Forel, 1902 Specimen Labels

Identification

McArthur (2009) - Camponotus elegans has an elongate mesosoma in Camponotus claripes it is higher.

Keys including this Species

• Key to Australian Camponotus species

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: -27.18333333° to -43.15°.

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.

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.

Castes

Worker

Images from AntWeb

Syntype of Camponotus elegans. Worker. Specimen code casent0910372. Photographer Will Ericson, 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.

• elegans. Camponotus claripes r. elegans Forel, 1902h: 496 (s.w.) AUSTRALIA (New South Wales).
  • Combination in C. (Myrmophyma): Emery, 1925b: 110.
  • Subspecies of claripes: Emery, 1914b: 180; Emery, 1925b: 110; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 111; Taylor, 1987a: 11; Bolton, 1995b: 97; McArthur, 2007a: 330; McArthur, 2010: 102.
  • Status as species: McArthur, 2009: 276 (redescription); McArthur, 2014: 84.

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

Description

Worker

Worker Length 5.5 to 8.2mm. The form is exactly like the type Camponotus claripes; the declivity face of the metanotum (= propodeum) is more separate from the basal face. The posterior tibias have on their internal edge, towards the base, little pricks which claripes does not have. Gross punctation of the front of the head is more sparse and almost all of the dimples are rounded (in the case of claripes they are elongated) Cheeks have only a few erect hairs. In the case of the minor worker the indentation of the clypeus is very distinct.

The whole of the body is black,legs pale yellow and antennae brownish yellow. The mandibles are reddish brown in the major worker; in the case of the minor worker the mandibles and clypeus are a yellowish brown.

McArthur (2009) - HL = 0.77 * HW + 0.787 (R2 = 0.98, n = 30); PW = 0.43 HW + 0.55 (R2 = 0.97, n = 30); FCW = 0.31 * HW + 0.08 (R2 = 0.97, n = 30).

Major. Head sides posterior three quarters parallel weakly convex, anterior quarter tapering anteriorly. Vertex straight corners widely rounded. Clypeus anterior margin lateral thirds forming shallow on cavities, median third projecting forward, bounded by two teeth, concave between. Mandibles with 6 teeth. FCW < HW / 3. Integument mainly glossy. Pronotum uniformly convex. Mesonotum feebly inclined anteriorly, otherwise weakly convex. Metanotum a feeble transverse trough. Propodeal dorsum weakly convex. Propodeal angle 135° rounded. Petiolar node summit tending sharp. Erect setae on mesosoma dorsum mostly near angle and on pronotum. Genae and underside of head with plentiful erect setae. Scape and tibiae with short setae raised to 10°. Colour: mostly black or brown, legs lighter.

Minor. Head sides straight, parallel. HL > HL. Vertex convex. Clypeus anterior margin median third projecting with a concavity between two blunt teeth. Mandibles with 5 or 6 teeth. FCW < HW / 3. Integument mainly glossy. Pronotum nearly flat. Mesonotum mostly flat. Propodeal dorsum mostly flat. Propodeal angle 135° rounded. Petiolar node length about half height, anterior and posterior straight summit blunt. Erect setae on mesosoma dorsum sparse. Genae and underside of head with plentiful erect setae. Scape and tibiae with short setae raised to 10°. Colour: mostly black or brown, legs lighter.

Type Material

McArthur (2009) - Three syntypes (Musee d'Histoire Naturelle Genève): 1 major and 2 minor workers “C claripes elegans Froggatt Aust Wallsend Forel”.

• Camponotus claripes elegans Forel, 1902: Syntype, worker(s), Wallsend, New South Wales, Australia, Australian National Insect Collection.
• Camponotus claripes elegans Forel, 1902: Syntype, 3 workers, Wallsend, New South Wales, Australia, Musee d'Histoire Naturelle Genève.

References

• Arnan, X., Angulo, E., Boulay, R., Molowny-Horas, R., Cerdá, X., Retana, J. 2021. Introduced ant species occupy empty climatic niches in Europe. Scientific Reports 11, 3280 (doi:10.1038/s41598-021-82982-y).
• Bracko, G., Wagner, H.C., Schulz, A., Gioahin, E., Maticic, J., Trantnik, A. 2014. New investigation and a revised checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the Republic of Macedonia. North-Western Journal of Zoology 10: 10-24.
• 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).
• Dubovikoff, D.A., Yusupov, Z.M. 2017. Family Formicidae - Ants. In Belokobylskij S. A. and A. S. Lelej: Annotated catalogue of the Hymenoptera of Russia. Proceedingss of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences 6: 197-210.
• 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).
• Jacobs, S. 2020. Population genetic and behavioral aspects of male mating monopolies in Cardiocondyla venustula (Ph.D. thesis).
• McArthur, A. J. 2009. New species, new status and new synonymy for Camponotus from Australia (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Myrmecologische Nachrichten. 12:273-286.
• Salata, S., Borowiec, L., Trichas, A. 2020. Review of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Crete, with keys to species determination and zoogeographical remarks. Monographs of the Upper Silesian Museum No 12: 5–296 (doi:10.5281/ZENODO.3738001).
• Stankovic, B. 2021. Contribution to the knowledge of the myrmecofauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Pomorie, Bulgaria. Ahi Evran International Conference on Scientific Research, pp. 198-204.
• Tseng, S.-P. 2020. Evolutionary history of a global invasive ant, Paratrechina longicornis (Dissertation_全文 ). Ph.D. thesis, Kyoto University.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

• Chong C-S., L. J. Thomson, and A. A. Hoffmann. 2011. High diversity of ants in Australian vineyards. Australian Journal of Entomology 50: 7-21.
• Mann V. 2013. Using insect biodiversity to measure the effectiveness of on-farm restoration plantings. Master of Environmental Management at the School of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Tasmania 111 pages.
• McArthur A. 2010. A guide to Camponotus ants of South Australia. Adelaide: South Australian Museum, IV + 121 pp.
• McArthur A. J. 2009. New species, new status and new synonymy for Camponotus from Australia (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Myrmecological News 12: 273-286.
• Taylor R. W. 1987. A checklist of the ants of Australia, New Caledonia and New Zealand (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization) Division of Entomology Report 41: 1-92.
• Taylor R. W., and D. R. Brown. 1985. Formicoidea. Zoological Catalogue of Australia 2: 1-149.