Leptogenys borivava

Leptogenys borivava
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Ponerinae
Tribe:	Ponerini
Genus:	Leptogenys
Species group:	truncatirostris
Species complex:	arcirostris
Species:	L. borivava
Binomial name
	Leptogenys borivava; Rakotonirina & Fisher, 2014 Specimen Labels

All specimens of L. borivava were collected from the spiny forest/thicket habitats on the Mahafaly Plateau and PN Tsimanampetsotsa in southwest Madagascar. They were found foraging on the ground and nest colonies were recorded from rotten logs.

Identification

A member of the arcirostris complex of the truncatirostris species group. Rakotonirina and Fisher (2014) - Worker. Clypeus with median carina; distance between anterior level of torulus and anteromedial clypeal margin less than maximum width of scape, head approximately longer than broad in full-face view; antennal scape relatively short; long, erect and suberect hairs with few pubescence present on dorsum of head, mesosoma and gaster.

Leptogenys borivava can be separated from Leptogenys alatapia by its elongate head (CI: 92–94). It can be distinguished from Leptogenys arcirostris by the relatively long scape (SI: 115–119), the presence of numerous standing long hairs, and sparse pubescence on the dorsum of the body.

Keys including this Species

Key to Malagasy Leptogenys

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: -24.0472° to -24.0472°.


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.

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

Explore Overview of MalLeptogenys biology

The Leptogenys genus page has more details about the general biology of ants in this genus. The following synopsis provided by Rakotonirina and Fisher (2014) offers an overview of the Malagasy Leptogenys: Recent surveys of arthropods in the Malagasy region uncovered a wealth of new species and showed that Leptogenys is one of the dominant ponerine ants widely distributed across all types of forest habitats. Workers are usually found foraging on the forest floor or in the leaf litter and only rarely on vegetation. They nest terrestrially under the soil, rocks, logs, or rootmat ground layers and in rotten logs, branches, in rotting bamboo, and rotten tree stumps. Most of the Malagasy species are endemic to Madagascar. In all Malagasy species, winged queens are absent, which limits their ability to disperse across the complex topography and various ecological barriers in the region. In the absence of alate queens, reproduction of Leptogenys in the region may be by fission, which enhances population viscosity and may result in important morphological variation across a species' geographic range. Though queens do not fly, males of Leptogenys are alate and are one of the most frequently collected ant genera in Malaise traps throughout Madagascar. Leptogenys exhibits a wide range of phenotypic diversity segregated both among spatially isolated habitats and along continuous environmental gradients.

Castes

Nomenclature

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

borivava. Leptogenys borivava Rakotonirina & Fisher, 2014: 143, figs. 13A, 15B, 161, 170 (w.) MADAGASCAR.

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

Description

Worker

(6 specimens). HW: 0.97–1.01, HL: 1.05–1.10, CI: 92–94, SL: 1.12–1.18, SI: 115–119, PW: 0.68–0.73, WL: 1.77–1.87, PNH: 0.63–0.65, PNL: 0.53–0.60, PNW: 0.58–0.64, DNI: 104–110, LNI: 109–117.

Head elongate with greatest width at bases of mandible; sides slightly convex and diverging anteriorly along their length; posterior margin fairly straight. Eye large and breaking outline of sides of head. Antennal scape relatively long (SI: 115–119). In full-face view, anterior clypeal margin broadly rounded, bordered with wide and white membrane; medial clypeal lobe narrow, its width measured from anterior level of torulus to anteromedian margin of clypeus roughly the same as the greatest width of scape; medial longitudinal carina present on clypeus. With head in full-face view and mandible in full closure, blades laid over each other, with internal surface of first blade placed against clypeus along its length and most of distal portion of the second against external surface of distal portion of the first. With mesosoma in dorsal view, metanotal groove cross-ribbed, very small segment may be present between groove and propodeum. In lateral view, propodeal lobe absent. Petiolar node slightly inclined anteriorly, with shorter anterior face and much longer posterior face, both faces sloped forward; dorsal surface broadly convex. Mandible sculptures longitudinally striate for basal half and smooth and shining for distal half. Dorsum of head densely and finely punctate, punctures becoming sparser on posterior third of head; rugulation present in front of level of eyes. Dorsum of mesosoma and petiolar node densely and finely reticulate-rugose. Third abdominal tergite finely punctate, fourth with shallow, large punctures anteriorly and smooth posteriorly. Body dorsum covered with long standing hairs and little pubescence. Black to dark brown in color, with brown basal portion of appendages and light brown apices and tip of gaster.

Holotype Specimen Labels

Type Material

Holotype worker: Madagascar, Toliara, PN Tsimanampetsotsa, Mitoho Cave, 6.4 km 77° ENE Efoetse, 17.4 km 170° S Beheloka, -24.0472, 43.7532, 40 m, spiny forest/thicket, 18–22 Mar 2002 (Fisher-Griswold Arthropod Team) collection code: BLF06227, specimen code: CASENT0430091 (California Academy of Sciences). Paratypes: 5 workers, with same data as holotype but with the following specimen codes: CASENT0430092, CASENT0196377, CASENT0247216, CASENT0247217, CASENT0247218 (CASC, The Natural History Museum, Musee d'Histoire Naturelle Genève, Parc Botanique et Zoologique de Tsimbazaza).

References

Esteves, F.A., Fisher, B.L. 2021. Corrieopone nouragues gen. nov., sp. nov., a new Ponerinae from French Guiana (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). ZooKeys 1074, 83–173 (doi:10.3897/zookeys.1074.75551).
Rakotonirina, J.C. & Fisher, B.L. 2014. Revision of the Malagasy ponerine ants of the genus Leptogenys

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

Blaimer B. B., S. G. Brady, T. R. Schultz, and B. L. Fisher. 2015. Fucntional and phylogenetic approaches reveal the evolution of diversity in a hyper diverse biota. Ecography 38: 001-012.
Rakotonirina J. C., and B. L. Fisher. 2014. Revision of the Malagasy ponerine ants of the genus Leptogenys Roger (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zootaxa 3836 (1): 001163.