Dolichoderus clusor

Dolichoderus clusor
	Dolichoderus clusor
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Dolichoderinae
Tribe:	Dolichoderini
Genus:	Dolichoderus
Species group:	scrobiculatus
Species:	D. clusor
Binomial name
	Dolichoderus clusor; Forel, 1907 Specimen labels

Dolichoderus clusor has been collected in Banksia woodlands (Heterick, 2009) and dry sclerophyll where it forages on tree trunks. It is currently known from two widely disjunct populations, one near Perth, Western Australia and the other in the general vicinity of Adelaide, South Australia.

Photo Gallery

A worker making her way up the trunk of a tree, Doodenanning, Western Australia. Photo by Farhan Bokhari, 4 August 2009.
A Dolichoderus clusor worker from Lupton Conservation Reserve, Wandering,Western Australia. Photo by Farhan Bokhari, 24 July 2011.

Identification

Sculpturing on head consisting of large, shallow to moderately deep fovea; dorsum of pronotum essentially smooth and shiny, the sculpturing at most very fine; pronotum and propodeum lacking spines; posterior face of propodeum separated from the dorsal face by a distinct carina, posterior face deeply concave; pubescence on first gastral tergite abundant, the individual hairs overlapping.

This species most closely resembles Dolichoderus scrobiculatus and Dolichoderus turneri; however the smooth sculpturing and shiny surface of the pronotum will distinguish D. clusor from both of these. Additionally, D. clusor is currently only known from South Australia and Western Australia while D. scrobiculatus and D. turneri occur in northeastern New South Wales and Queensland.

Identification Keys including this Taxon

Key to Australian Dolichoderus Species

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: -29.88333333° to -34.06666667°.


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.

Biology

Wheeler (1934), Rottnest Island: Numerous workers taken by Dr. Darlington, Dr. Dixson and myself near Government House (X.22.'31) and at Longreach Bay (X.24.'31). In the former locality they were nesting in a mass of dead, compressed grass under a stone.

Castes

Nomenclature

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

clusor. Dolichoderus clusor Forel, 1907h: 285 (w.) AUSTRALIA. Combination in D. (Hypoclinea): Emery, 1913a: 12. See also: Clark, 1930b: 262.

Type Material

Neotype (designated by Shattuck & Marsden, 2013: 112), worker, Perth, Western Australia, Australia, ANIC32-061187, Australian National Insect Collection; (original holotype (Forel 1907:286) apparently destroyed in Berlin Museum für Naturkunde der Humboldt-Universität in WW II).

Description

Worker

Clark (1930) - Brownish-red. Head, except the clypeus, darker; mandibles and legs more yellowish-red, gaster black.

Subopaque, gaster shining. Head punctate-reticulate, the punctures large, shallow and scattered. Pronotum finely reticulate, with large shallow punctures. Mesonotum more coarsely punctate-reticulate. Epinotum finely rugose. Gaster microscopically reticulate.

Hair yellow, long and erect, abundant throughout, shorter and suberect on the antennae and legs.

Head longer than broad, the occipital border short and straight, the sides and angles strongly convex. Frontal carinae diverging slightly behind, as long as their distance apart. Clypeus convex above, the anterior border convex, with a distinct concave excision in the middle. Eyes large and convex, placed at the middle of the sides. Scapes extending beyond the occipital border by one-third of their length; first segment of the funiculus one-fourth longer than the second, third slightly shorter than the second. Mandibles smooth, with shallow scattered punctures, the masticatory with feeble denticles; the terminal border with ten to twelve sharp teeth. Thorax one and three-quarter times longer than broad, convex in front and on the sides, the angles bluntly rounded; flattened or feebly concave above. Mesonotum convex above. Epinotum one-third longer than broad, convex laterally, the posterior border convex; in profile strongly convex above, very slightly overhanging the declivity, the latter concave, margined on the sides and above. Node three times broader than long, feebly concave in front, convex behind and above. Gaster longer than broad, concave in front below. Legs robust.

Shattuck and Marsden (2013) - Pilosity on first gastral tergite varying from fairly thin to quite abundant and thick. Otherwise all specimens similar.

Measurements (n=5). CI 83–88; EI 29–35; EL 0.26–0.29; HL 0.94–1.04; HW 0.78–0.91; ML 1.25–1.46; MTL 0.69–0.75; PronI 63.77–68.87; PronW 0.53–0.63; SI 108–118; SL 0.89–1.00.

There is some variation in the abundance of pilosity on the first gastral tergite, which varies from fairly thin to quite abundant and thick. In general South Australian material is hairier than specimens found in Western Australia. However, this variation is continuous and shows a geographic pattern, suggesting that it is intraspecific rather than interspecific.

References

Clark, J. 1930b. The Australian ants of the genus Dolichoderus (Formicidae). Sugenus Hypoclinea Mayr. Aust. Zool. 6: 252-268 (page 262, see also)
Emery, C. 1913a [1912]. Hymenoptera. Fam. Formicidae. Subfam. Dolichoderinae. Genera Insectorum 137: 1-50 (page 12, Combination in D. (Hypoclinea))
Forel, A. 1907j. Formicidae. In: Michaelsen, W., Hartmeyer, R. (eds.) Die Fauna Südwest-Australiens. Band I, Lieferung 7. Jena: Gustav Fischer, pp. 263-310. (page 285, worker described)
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).
Shattuck, S.O. & Marsden, S. 2013. Australian species of the ant genus Dolichoderus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zootaxa 3716, 101–143 (doi 10.11646/zootaxa.3716.2.1).
Wheeler, W. M. 1934d. Contributions to the fauna of Rottnest Island, Western Australia. No. IX. The ants. J. R. Soc. West. Aust. 20: 137-163.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

Clark J. 1930. The Australian ants of the genus Dolichoderus (Formicidae). Sugenus Hypoclinea Mayr. Australian Zoologist 6: 252-268.
Heterick B. E. 2009. A guide to the ants of south-western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum Supplement 76: 1-206.
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.