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Euponera nosy
| Euponera nosy | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Ponerinae |
| Tribe: | Ponerini |
| Genus: | Euponera |
| Species complex: | sikorae |
| Species: | E. nosy |
| Binomial name | |
| Euponera nosy (Rakotonirina & Fisher, 2013)
| |
Euponera nosy is known from northeastern Madagascar, where a colony nest was found in a rotten log in Makirovana Forest. The species also occurs in the disjunct montane rainforests of the PN Montagne d’Ambre and the PN Andasibe, where two alate queens were recorded from malaise traps.
Identification
Rakotonirina and Fisher (2013) - Worker. Anterior margin of clypeus wide and straight, weakly medially notched; eyes medium, with 14 ommatidia; metanotal groove an incomplete dotted line; numerous slender erect hairs lacking and pubescence reduced from posterior face of petiole node; anterior surface of third abdominal segment straight, not forming a shallow impression; antennal scape and outer surface of each tibia covered with long, erect hairs.
Keys including this Species
Distribution
Latitudinal Distribution Pattern
Latitudinal Range: -14.1707° to -14.1707°.
| North Temperate |
North Subtropical |
Tropical | South Subtropical |
South Temperate |
- Source: AntMaps
Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Malagasy Region: Madagascar (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. |
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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. |
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Biology
Castes
Images from AntWeb
 
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| Queen (alate/dealate). Specimen code casent0082630. Photographer Jean Claude Rakotonirina, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. | Owned by CAS, San Francisco, CA, USA. |
   
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| Holotype of Euponera nosy. Worker. Specimen code casent0231239. Photographer Estella Ortega, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. | Owned by CAS, San Francisco, CA, USA. |
Nomenclature
The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.
- nosy. Pachycondyla nosy Rakotonirina & Fisher, 2013: 471, figs. 5, 15, 52, 53, 54, 76 (w.q.) MADAGASCAR. Combination in Euponera: Schmidt & Shattuck, 2014: 87.
Unless otherwise noted the text for the remainder of this section is reported from the publication that includes the original description.
Description
Worker
(1 specimen): HW: 1.44, HL: 1.62, CI: 89, SL: 1.25, SI: 87, PW: 1.09, WL: 2.34, NH: 0.76, NL: 0.58, NW: 0.80, DNI: 138, LNI: 131.
Head rectangular, broadest at midlength; posterior cephalic margin more or less straight. Head dorsum densely and finely reticulate-punctate; lateral section generally punctate and sparsely punctulate toward lateroventral angle. Eyes medium, with 14 ommatidia, and located at anterior fourth of head when viewed from the front. Antennal scape short, not reaching posterior cephalic margin; scape with long, erect hairs roughly equal in length to its maximum diameter. Anterior clypeal margin broadly straight, with weak median notch. Mandibles sparsely punctate with a smooth and shiny surface.
With mesosoma in dorsal view, metanotal groove a simple, shallowly dotted line; in lateral view, dorsal outline roughly a continuous line; mesopleural suture obsolete; posterior margin of propodeum narrowly lamellate and projecting into a blunt angle near midlength. In dorsal view, promesonotum with reticulate-punctulate sculpture close to dorsolateral angles and punctate towards the midline; propodeum punctulate. Petiole nodiform, with convex posterior margin in lateral view; in dorsal view, posterior margin slightly convex, anterior margin broadly rounded; sculpture coarsely punctate. Anterior face of first gastral segment straight, not forming a shallow cavity. First two gastral tergites rugulose punctate, with smooth and shiny spaces between coarse punctures.
Erect standing hairs present; pubescence abundant on head dorsum and promesonotum and sparse on the rest of body dorsum. Body color dark red, with brown tip of gaster and appendages.
Queen
(2 specimens): HW: 1.65–1.68, HL: 1.74–1.75, CI: 95–96, SL: 1.35–1.36, SI: 80– 83, PW: 1.35–1.38, WL: 2.56, NH: 0.80–0.88, NL: 0.55–0.60, NW: 0.86–0.89, DNI: 147–155, LNI: 144–146. Two winged queens were captured using malaise traps from the montane humid forests in the north and in the central eastern Madagascar. They have the usual characteristics of alate queens, including three ocelli, developed thoracic sclerites, more abundant standing slender hairs; much broader head, and a wider, more anteroposteriorly flattened petiolar node.
Type Material
Holotype worker: Madagascar, Antsiranana, Makirovana Forest, -14.1707, 49.9541, 415 m, 28 Apr 2011, ex rotten log (B.L. Fisher et al.) collection code: BLF26582, specimen code: CASENT0231239 (California Academy of Sciences).
References
- Rakotonirina, J.C. & Fisher, B.L. 2013. Revision of the Pachycondyla sikorae species-group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Madagascar. Zootaxa 3683, 447-485.
- Schmidt, C.A. & Shattuck, S.O. 2014. The higher classification of the ant subfamily Ponerinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), with a review of ponerine ecology and behavior. Zootaxa 3817, 1–242 (doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3817.1.1).
References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics
- Rakotonirina J. C., and B. L. Fisher. 2013. Revision of the Pachycondyla sikorae species-group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Madagascar. Zootaxa 3683 (4): 447-485.