Dolichoderus turneri

Dolichoderus turneri
Dolichoderus turneri
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Dolichoderinae
Tribe:	Dolichoderini
Genus:	Dolichoderus
Species group:	scrobiculatus
Species:	D. turneri
Binomial name
Dolichoderus turneri Forel, 1902 Specimen labels

Dolichoderus turneri occurs in dry sclerophyll woodlands along coastal Queensland. It is an uncommon species and has been collected only a handful of times.

Identification

Sculpturing on head consisting of large, shallow to moderately deep fovea; pronotum and propodeum lacking spines; dorsum of pronotum heavily sculptured, the surface dull; posterior face of propodeum strongly concave, separated from the dorsal face by a distinct carina; first gastral tergite with abundant pubescence, the individual hairs overlapping; gaster much lighter in colour (dull yellow) compared to body (dark brown to black).

This species is easily confused with Dolichoderus scrobiculatus but differs in having a distinctively lighter coloured gaster (dull yellow) than the rest of the body (dark brown) whereas the entire body of D. scrobiculatus is uniformly coloured dark brown to black.

Identification Keys including this Taxon

• Key to Australian Dolichoderus Species

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: -13.71667004° to -21.16593°.

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.

Nomenclature

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

• turneri. Dolichoderus turneri Forel, 1902h: 462 (w.) AUSTRALIA. Combination in D. (Hypoclinea): Emery, 1913a: 13. See also: Clark, 1930b: 261.

Type Material

• Syntype, 3 workers, Mackay, Queensland, Australia, 21°9′0″S 149°11′0″E, Turner,G., ANIC32-015064, Australian National Insect Collection.
• Syntype, 1 worker, Mackay, Queensland, Australia, 21°9′0″S 149°11′0″E, Museum of Comparative Zoology.
• Syntype, 15 workers, Mackay, Queensland, Australia, 21°9′0″S 149°11′0″E, Musee d'Histoire Naturelle Genève.
• Syntype, 1 worker, Mackay, Queensland, Australia, 21°9′0″S 149°11′0″E, Naturhistorisches Museum, Basel.

Description

Worker

Clark (1930) - Head triangular or almost cordiform, strongly reduced in front, with strongly convex sides, broadly emarginate behind. Mandibles large, smooth and shining, punctate, armed in front with one large and three small teeth, and a series of very small denticles, about eight or nine. Clypeus impressed longitudinally on its anterior half. Scapes pass the occiput a little. Eyes placed behind the middle, at the posterior two-fifths. Pronotum broad, bluntly produced. Sutures of the thorax strongly impressed; in profile forming three successive convexities of almost equal length, situated on the same horizontal plane, feebly sub-bordered. The basal face of the epinotum almost square, terminated by a sharp ridge overhanging the declivity, the latter high and deeply concave, the superior half of the sides marginate (shape analogous to that of D. taschenbergi, mariae and quadripunctatus). Node very thick, much broader than the epinotum, rounded above, about four times broader than thick. Abdomen large, slightly concave in front.

Head and thorax strongly, coarsely and irregularly reticulate-punctate, node a little more feebly so; bottom of the punctures shining and feebly sculptured. Face of the declivity feebly and transversely striate. Abdomen very finely and densely punctate, subopaque, members less densely punctate, rather shining. An erect pilosity, fine and pointed, spread on the body, shorter and suberect on the antennae and legs. Pubescence greyish yellow, moderately long on the abdomen, node, antennae and legs, partly hiding the sculpture on the abdomen.

Head thorax and anterior legs reddish brown. Mandibles, antennae node, abdomen and the rest of the legs yellow russet or brownish.

The whole insect short and massive.

Shattuck and Marsden (2013) - The known specimens are morphologically uniform and show minimal variation.

Measurements (n=5). CI 95–107; EI 22–26; EL 0.25–0.27; HL 1.05–1.08; HW 1.01–1.15; ML 1.37–1.45; MTL 0.77–0.84; PronI 78.89–89.97; PronW 0.81–1.03; SI 78–97; SL 0.89–0.98.

References

• Clark, J. 1930b. The Australian ants of the genus Dolichoderus (Formicidae). Sugenus Hypoclinea Mayr. Aust. Zool. 6: 252-268 (page 261, see also)
• Emery, C. 1913a [1912]. Hymenoptera. Fam. Formicidae. Subfam. Dolichoderinae. Genera Insectorum 137: 1-50 (page 13, Combination in D. (Hypoclinea))
• Forel, A. 1902i. Fourmis d'Algérie récoltées par M. le Dr. K. Escherich. Ann. Soc. Entomol. Belg. 46: 462-463 (page 462, worker described)
• 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).

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

• Shattuck S. O., and S. Marsden. 2013. Australian species of the ant genus Dolichoderus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zootaxa 3716(2): 101-143.