.jpg){kind=logo}
Colobopsis conithorax
| Colobopsis conithorax | |
|---|---|
| |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Formicinae |
| Tribe: | Camponotini |
| Genus: | Colobopsis |
| Species: | C. conithorax |
| Binomial name | |
| Colobopsis conithorax (Emery, 1914)
| |
B.P.M. Hyland collected specimens nesting in a hollow twig of Endospermum at Bamaga, Queensland.
Identification
A member of the Camponotus macrocephalus species-group. This group has the following characters:
- Fore femurs swollen, much greater in diameter than middle and hind femurs, generally more swollen than in most other Camponotus species.
- Spines or bristles on the lower surfaces of the tibiae lacking, or at most, only one or two (most Camponotus species possess two rows of 5 to 10 spines).
- Major workers and queens with the anterior of the head is truncated and flattened (phragmotic).
- Major and minor workers present, but not intermediate-sized workers (worker caste dimorphic).
Within this group, this species can be diangosed as follows:
Propodeum appears conical when viewed from side, upper and posterior surfaces straight and separated by an angle just greater than 90°. Scapes and tibiae with plentiful short fine setae, raised to an angle of about 10°. Very few erect setae on the outer surface of the head and none on the under side.
Keys including this Species
Distribution
Latitudinal Distribution Pattern
Latitudinal Range: -4.583330154° to -14.295°.
| North Temperate |
North Subtropical |
Tropical | South Subtropical |
South Temperate |
- Source: AntMaps
Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Australasian Region: Australia.
Indo-Australian Region: New Guinea, Vanuatu (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. |
|
Biology
Castes
Images from AntWeb
   
| |
| Worker. Specimen code casent0280183. Photographer Will Ericson, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. | Owned by PSWC, Philip S. Ward Collection. |
   
| |
| Worker. Specimen code casent0280184. Photographer Will Ericson, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. | Owned by PSWC, Philip S. Ward Collection. |
   
| |
| Syntype of Camponotus conithorax. Worker. Specimen code casent0913713. Photographer Z. Lieberman, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. | Owned by MNHN, Paris, France. |
Nomenclature
The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.
- conithorax. Camponotus (Colobopsis) conithorax Emery, 1914f: 430, pl. 13, fig. 18 (w.q.m.) VANUATU.
- Type-material: 5 syntype minor workers, 1 syntype queen, 6 syntype males.
- Type-localities: 1 worker Vanuatu (“New Hebrides”): Vaté I., Port Havannah, 1903 (Joly), 4 workers, 1 queen, 6 males Vanuatu: Mallicolo I., Port Sandwich, 1903 (Joly).
- Type-depository: MSNG.
- Combination in C. (Myrmotemnus): Emery, 1920b: 258;
- combination in C. (Colobopsis): Emery, 1925b: 148;
- combination in Colobopsis: Ward, Blaimer & Fisher, 2016: 350.
- Status as species: Emery, 1925b: 148; Wheeler, W.M. 1935g: 42; Bolton, 1995b: 93; McArthur & Shattuck, 2001: 30 (redescription); McArthur, 2007a: 304; McArthur, 2012: 22; McArthur, 2014: 42, 205.
- Distribution: Vanuatu.
Type Material
- Camponotus (Colobopsis) conithorax Emery, 1914: Holotype, male, Port Sandwich, Vanuatu, Museo Civico di Storia Naturale, Genoa.
Description
Major worker
In lateral view. Pronotum, anterior mesonotum, limbs and gaster brown, posterior mesonotum, propodeum and node darker brown, nearly black. Head: Dark brown, lighter in front; side glossy, smoothly reticulate with very sparse flatlying short setae; scape dark brown like posterior head; funiculus lighter like anterior head; vertex with one or two erect setae; underside of head without erect setae, with few very short adpressed setae. Pronotum: Glossy, flatly convex, dorsum with one or two long setae, without pubescence. Mesonotum: Glossy, evenly convex without setae or pubescence. Metanotum: Separated from mesonotum and propodeum by deep transverse cuts raised up in centre; spiracles placed well below dorsum, slightly protruding upward. Propodeum: Posterior dorsum inclined upward, conical, glossy, with few short adpressed setae; angle approximately 90°, sharply rounded; declivity mostly straight; ratio dorsum/declivity approximately 1; spiracle protruding to rear, surrounded by glossy integument with a few short indistinct Flat-lying setae. Node: Glossy with sparse flat-lying and sparse erect, short setae; anterior face convex above; summit blunt; posterior face straight. Gaster: Dark brown, lighter posteriorly; glossy. Fore femur: Swollen. Mid tibia: Plentiful short, decumbent setae, without bristles inside. In dorsal view. Head: Sides straight, parallel; vertex straight; scape with sparse, short Flat-lying setae; frontal carinae wide, diverging strongly then converging slightly at posterior; frontal area diamond shaped with an anterior pit; max HW at eye centre. Truncation: Near posterior clypeus. Clypeus: Sides mostly parallel, long, diverging anteriorly, with few feeble striations and punctations, without furrows, glossy, with few very sparse, flat-lying setae, anterior margin projecting, mostly straight with weak median concavity, with few long setae; without carina. In front or rear view. Node: Narrow, summit straight with few short setae.
Minor worker
In lateral view. Pronotum, anterior mesonotum and gaster brown; posterior mesonotum, propodeum and node darker brown, limbs a little lighter coloured than mesosoma. Head: Dark brown, grading to yellowish brown anteriorly; side with sparse flat-lying short setae; glossy, smoothly reticulate; scape dark brown, like posterior head; funiculus lighter, like anterior head, vertex with sparse, short, flat-lying setae; underside of head without erect setae, with few very short, adpressed setae. Pronotum: Anterior third convex, otherwise straight without setae or pubescence. Mesonotum: Evenly flatly convex, dorsum without setae or pubescence. Metanotum: Separated from mesonotum and propodeum by deep transverse cuts, raised in the centre; spiracles placed well below dorsum, slightly protruding up. Propodeum: Dark brown with few short adpressed setae; dorsum slightly convex, slightly inclined upward; angle blunt 90'; declivity very straight; ratio dorsum/ declivity near 1; spiracle protruding to rear surrounded by glossy integument with few short, sparse setae. Node: Glossy with few very short, erect setae; petiole with ventral protuberance; lower half of anterior face of node straight, otherwise convex; summit blunt; posterior face mostly straight. Gaster: Glossy. Fore femur: Swollen. Mid tibia: With short decumbent setae, lacking bristles inside. In dorsal view. Head: Sides flatly convex, tapering to front; vertex convex; scape with sparse, short, flat-lying setae; frontal carinae wide, nearly parallel; frontal area diamond shaped, indistinct; max HW at eye centre. Clypeus: Glossy with few sparse flat-lying and erect setae, without canna; anterior margin wide, mostly straight, projecting but not beyond cheeks. In front or rear view. Node: Narrow, summit rounded with few erect long setae.
Measurements
HW 1.5-2.1 mm, HL 1.6-2.3 mm, PW 1.1-1.3 mm, FIT 1.2-1.6 mm, EL 0.4-0.5 mm,TL 1.6-1.9 mm.
References
- Bolton, B. 1995b. A new general catalogue of the ants of the world. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 504 pp. (page 93, catalogue)
- Emery, C. 1914f. Les fourmis de la Nouvelle-Calédonie et des îles Loyalty. Nova Caled. A Zool. 1: 393-437 (page 430, pl. 13, fig. 18 worker, queen, male described)
- Emery, C. 1920b. Le genre Camponotus Mayr. Nouvel essai de la subdivision en sous-genres. Rev. Zool. Afr. (Bruss.) 8: 229-260 (page 258, combination in C. (Myrmotemnus))
- Emery, C. 1925d. Hymenoptera. Fam. Formicidae. Subfam. Formicinae. Genera Insectorum 183: 1-302 (page 148, combination in C. (Colobopsis))
- Klimeš, P., Drescher, J., Buchori, D., Hidayat, P., Nazarreta, R., Potocký, P., Rimandai, M., Scheu, S., Matos-Maraví, P. 2022. Uncovering cryptic diversity in the enigmatic ant genus Overbeckia and insights into the phylogeny of Camponotini (Hymenoptera:Formicidae:Formicinae). Invertebrate Systematics, 36(6), 557-579 (doi:10.1071/is21067).
- McArthur, A.J. ; Shattuck, S. O. 2001. A taxonomic revision of the Camponotus macrocephalus species group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Australia. Trans. R. Soc. S. Aust. 125: 25-43.
- Ward, P.S., Blaimer, B.B., Fisher, B.L. 2016. A revised phylogenetic classification of the ant subfamily Formicinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), with resurrection of the genera Colobopsis and Dinomyrmex. Zootaxa 4072 (3): 343–357 (doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4072.3.4).
References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics
- CSIRO Collection
- Kami K.S., and S. E. Miller. 1998. Samoan insects and related arthropods: checklist and bibliography. Bishop Museum Technical Report 13, pp 121.
- Kami KS & Miller SE. 1998. Samoan insects and related arthropods: checklist and bibliography. Bishop Museum Technical Report No. 13.
- Room P. M. 1975. Diversity and organization of the ground foraging ant faunas of forest, grassland and tree crops in Papua Nez Guinea. Aust. J. Zool. 23: 71-89.
- Wetterer, James K. and Vargo, Donald Vargo L. 2003. Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Samoa. Pacific Science. 57(4):409-419.
- Wheeler W.M. 1935. Check list of the ants of Oceania. Occasional Papers of the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum 11(11):1-56.