Leptogenys mangabe

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

Foraging activity by individual workers is usually on the ground surface and rarely in leaf litter. Colonies have been recorded from rotten logs.

Identification

A member of the attenuata species group. Rakotonirina and Fisher (2014) - Worker. Third antennal segment of normal length, less than twice the length of the second; eye breaking outline of side of head; mandible smooth and shining apart from scattered piligerous punctures; in profile, lower half of propodeum from level of metathoracic spiracle and level of propodeal spiracle generally smooth; with petiole in profile, posterodorsal angle of node not projecting posteriorly nor overhanging posterior margin of node; in dorsal view, node much longer, roughly twice as long as wide.

Leptogenys mangabe can be separated from Leptogenys johary by its shorter third antennal segment, which is less than twice the length of the second segment; and from Leptogenys variabilis and Leptogenys fasika by its much longer petiolar node, which is twice as long as broad in dorsal view.

Keys including this Species

• Key to Malagasy Leptogenys

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: -18.26667° to -18.26667°.

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.

Habitat

Ant surveys conducted on Madagascar indicate that L. mangabe has a discontinuous spatial distribution across forest habitats on the island. It has been collected from the lowland rainforests of Ambanitaza in northeastern Madagascar, the montane rainforest of the RS Ambohijanahary in the mid-west and the dry transitional forest of the PN Zombitse in the southwest of the island.

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

Worker

Images from AntWeb

Holotype of Leptogenys mangabe. Worker. Specimen code casent0196537. Photographer Estella Ortega, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by CAS, San Francisco, CA, USA.

Male

Images from AntWeb

Male (alate). Specimen code casent0496777. Photographer April Nobile, 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.

• mangabe. Leptogenys mangabe Rakotonirina & Fisher, 2014: 57, figs. 10B, 20D, 30A, 69, 82 (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

(7 specimens). HW: 1.07–1.17, HL: 1.55–1.66, CI: 69–71, SL: 1.50–1.69, SI: 140–146, PW: 0.85–0.97, WL: 2.41–2.59, PNH: 0.65–0.73, PNL: 0.81–0.87, PNW: 0.51–0.57, DNI: 61–67, LNI: 77–90.

Head longer than broad; maximum width of head at about level of eyes; side very weakly convex posteriorly rounding to medially slightly concave posterior margin. Eye medium, maximum diameter about one-fourth the length of lateral cephalic border; in cephalic full-face view, small portion of eye extending beyond side line of head. Antennal scape long, more than one-third of its apical section surpassing posterior margin of head. Length of third antennal segment regular, less than twice the length of the second. Propodeal lobe vestigial or absent. In dorsal view, petiolar node relatively long, about twice as long as broad; anterior portion slightly compressed laterally. With petiole in profile, node inclined anteriorly, anterior margin shorter and posteriorly sloped compared to the relatively vertical posterior margin; dorsal outline broadly convex and rounding to both margins. Mandible with surface smooth and shiny, interspersed by few punctures. Body dorsum generally smooth and glossy apart from scattered piligerous small punctures. Lateral portion of mesosoma smooth and shining; declivitous surface smooth, without transverse striation. Dorsum of head and body covered with whitish-yellow erect hairs and pubescence. Body black with bluish reflection; appendages dark brown, with light brown apices; tip of gaster of much lighter color.

Type Material

Holotype worker: Madagascar, Toliara, RS Ambohijanahary, Forêt d'Ankazotsihitafototra, 35.2 km 312° NW Ambaravaranala, -18.26667, 45.40667, 1050 m, montane rainforest, ex rotten log, 13–17 Jan 2003 (Fisher, Griswold et al.) collection code: BLF07090, specimen code: CASENT0196537 (California Academy of Sciences). Paratype worker: with same data as holotype but specimen coded as: CASENT0496843 (CASC).

References

• Rakotonirina, J.C. & Fisher, B.L. 2014. Revision of the Malagasy ponerine ants of the genus Leptogenys Roger (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zootaxa 3836, 1-163.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

• Rakotonirina J. C., and B. L. Fisher. 2014. Revision of the Malagasy ponerine ants of the genus Leptogenys Roger (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zootaxa 3836 (1): 001–163.