Colobostruma leae

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Colobostruma leae
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Tribe: Attini
Genus: Colobostruma
Species: C. leae
Binomial name
Colobostruma leae
(Wheeler, W.M., 1927)

Colobostruma leae side (MCZC).jpg

Colobostruma leae top (MCZC).jpg

Specimen labels

This rare tropical species is found in rainforest and is likely arboreal (although nests have yet to be found).

At a Glance • Phragmotic  

Identification

This rare species is the only member of the genus with a phragmotic head (although Colobostruma lacuna, and to a lesser extent Colobostruma bicorna and Colobostruma unicorna, are subphragmotic). This distinctive head shape will readily separate this species from all others in the genus (Shattuck 2000).

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: -16.58333° to -18.60000038°.

 
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Australasian Region: Australia (type locality).

Distribution based on AntMaps

AntMapLegend.png

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.
pChart

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.
pChart

Elevation Range

Occurrence at collecting sites during elevational surveys of rainforest in the Eungella region, Queensland, Australia (Burwell et al., 2020).
Species Elevation (m asl)
200 400 600 800 1000 1200
Colobostruma leae 60-70
Shading indicates the bands of elevation where species was recorded.
Numbers are the percentage of total samples containing this species.

Biology

Explore-icon.png Explore Overview of Colobostruma biology 
Beyond what is stated in the introduction at the top of this page, little is know about the biology of Colobostruma leae. Until further studies reveal more about this species we can infer that its natural history and biology should be similar to other species in this genus. In general Colobostruma can be locally common although they are often overlooked. Most species have small colonies with less than 100 workers, and workers will lie motionless when disturbed. Nests can occur in soil usually under rocks, in cracks in rocks or in rotten logs. Only a single rainforest species is known to nest arboreally. Foraging is usually on the ground at night but occasionally they are found foraging on mallee. They are also commonly found in leaf litter.

Castes

MCZ-21127 Colobostruma leae holotype head.jpgMCZ-21127 Colobostruma leae holotype head2.jpgMCZ-21127 Colobostruma leae holotype labels.JPGMCZ-21127 Colobostruma leae holotype side.jpgMCZ-21127 Colobostruma leae holotype top.jpgMCZ-21127 Colobostruma leae holotype wing.jpg
Holotype of Colobostruma leaeQueen. . Owned by Museum of Comparative Zoology.

Nomenclature

The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.

  • leae. Epopostruma (Colobostruma) leae Wheeler, W.M. 1927f: 32, fig. 40 (q.) AUSTRALIA (Queensland).
    • Type-material: holotype queen.
    • Type-locality: Australia: Queensland, Cairns district (A.M. Lea).
    • Type-depository: MCZC.
    • Combination in Colobostruma: Brown, 1948e: 118.
    • Status as species: Brown, 1948e: 118; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 60; Taylor, 1987a: 22; Bolton, 1995b: 146; Shattuck, in Bolton, 2000: 44 (redescription).
    • Distribution: Australia.

Type Material

  • Epopostruma (Colobostruma) leae Wheeler, 1927: Holotype, queen, Cairns district, Queensland, Australia, A. M. Lea, Museum of Comparative Zoology.

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

Description

Worker

Shattuck (2000) - Anterior region of head extremely flattened and disc-like, the clypeus and frontal lobes expanded laterally into thin, sharply-edged flanges, the anterior sections of head separated from posterior sections by an angle at about the level of the eyes. Frontal lobes and lateral margins of clypeus smooth relative to the surrounding surface of the head. Mandibles broadly triangular. Hairs absent from dorsum of head. Posterior margin of head uniformly concave. Antenna with 6 segments, the scape weakly elbowed and without a subbasal lobe. Propodeum high, its posterior face approximately the same height as the petiolar node and with broad, thin lamellae. Lateral postpetiole drawn outwards into thin flange-like wings, the wings with translucent windows along both their anterior and posterior margins, the windows separated by a band of thickened integument and the anterior windows always smaller than the posterior windows. First gastral tergite very weakly and delicately sculptured , superimposed with low, closely spaced carinae on the anterior one-quarter. Body colour yellow, the gaster with an indistinct, broad medial band.

Etymology

Named for the collector of the type specimens.

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • 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.