Leptomyrmex unicolor
Leptomyrmex unicolor | |
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Leptomyrmex unicolor | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Hymenoptera |
Family: | Formicidae |
Subfamily: | Dolichoderinae |
Tribe: | Leptomyrmecini |
Genus: | Leptomyrmex |
Species: | L. unicolor |
Binomial name | |
Leptomyrmex unicolor Emery, 1895 |
L. unicolor has been recorded in rainforest and wet sclerophyll. Nests occur in soil, in or under logs, and in leaf litter at base of live trees.
At a Glance | • Replete Workers |
Photo Gallery
Identification
This species is restricted to the Australian Wet Tropics, where it can be easily distinguished from its sympatric congeners (Leptomyrmex rufipes, Leptomyrmex ruficeps and Leptomyrmex mjobergi) by its large body and broad head, which are covered with dense pubescence. The eyes are distinctly hairy, and the coloration is uniformly black, with contrasting white tarsi. (Lucky and Ward 2010)
Identification Keys including this Taxon
Distribution
Latitudinal Distribution Pattern
Latitudinal Range: -15.0666666° to -37.3666687°.
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
Castes
Queens have yet to be collected.
Worker
Images from AntWeb
Worker. Specimen code casent0069956. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. | Owned by CAS, San Francisco, CA, USA. |
Worker. Specimen code casent0127081. Photographer Andrea Lucky, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. | Owned by PSWC, Philip S. Ward Collection. |
Phylogeny
Leptomyrmex |
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Based on Barden et al., 2017. Note only selected Leptomyrmex species are included.
Nomenclature
The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.
- unicolor. Leptomyrmex unicolor Emery, 1895g: 352, figs. 3, 4 (w.) AUSTRALIA. Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1951: 180 (l.); ; Lucky & Ward, 2010: 58 (m.). See also: Wheeler, W.M. 1915d: 261; Wheeler, W.M. 1934c: 108.
Type Material
- Syntype, 2 workers, Cairns (as Cairus), Queensland, Australia, Museo Civico di Storia Naturale, Genoa.
Unless otherwise noted the text for the remainder of this section is reported from the publication that includes the original description.
Description
Worker
Lucky and Ward (2010) - measurements (n = 10) HL 1.79–1.99, HW 1.37–1.51, MFC 0.25–0.31, IOD 0.67–0.77, SL 3.54–3.91, EL 0.39–0.44, WL 3.27–3.73, PW 1.05–1.21, DPW 0.34–0.40, HTL 3.99–4.84, HTWmin 0.12–0.17, HTWmax 0.23–0.27, CI 0.72–0.80, SI 2.58–2.74, OI 0.08–0.10, HTC 0.45–0.70.
Large species (HL 1.79–1.99; HW 1.37–1.51) with broad head (, CI 0.72–0.80), excluding mandibles head width 3/4 of length. Head widest at eye level, sides of head broadly convex with concave genae. Postocular margin broadly rounded. Masticatory margin of mandible with approximately 7 large teeth interspersed with 10 denticles. Anterior clypeal margin concave. Eyes positioned posterior to midline of head, small, not surpassing margin of head. Pilosity on eyes distinct. Antennal scapes somewhat flattened, extending beyond posterior margin nearly 3/5 of their length.
Pronotum rather short, less than 1.5 times as long as broad. Dorsal face and declivity of propodeum subequal in length, dorsal face convex in profile, angle broadly rounded. Petiole narrow, with low rounded node, posterior and anterior slopes subequal, ventral surface of petiole feebly convex. Gaster slender, more than three times as long as broad. Legs slender, tibiae very slightly flattened.
Surface subopaque, finely and densely shagreened. Mandibles smooth and shining along apical borders and at tips, with a few coarse punctures. Pilosity mostly on clypeus, mandibles and venter, prominent black hairs on coxae, abundant minute oblique black hairs on scapes and legs. Eyes distinctly hairy. Body, femora and tibiae black, with bluish-green reflections. Mandibles and labium brownish yellow, antennal scapes black, with apical 1/4th brown. Metatarsi white, remaining tarsal joints, tibial spurs and funiculi yellowed.
Male
Lucky and Ward (2010) - HL 1.67–1.68, HW 1.03–1.09, SL 0.41–0.43, EL 0.69–0.71, HTL 3.98–4.07, CI 0.62–0.65, SI 0.39–0.40, SI2 1.07–1.08.
References
- Emery, C. 1895h. Descriptions de quelques fourmis nouvelles d'Australie. Ann. Soc. Entomol. Belg. 39: 345-358 (page 352, figs. 3, 4 worker described)
- Lucky, A. 2011. Molecular phylogeny and biogeography of the spider ants, genus Leptomyrmex Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 59: 281-292. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2011.03.004
- Lucky, A. & Ward, P.S. 2010. Taxonomic revision of the ant genus Leptomyrmex Mayr. Zootaxa 2688: 1-67. PDF
- Wheeler, G. C.; Wheeler, J. 1951. The ant larvae of the subfamily Dolichoderinae. Proc. Entomol. Soc. Wash. 53: 169-210 (page 180, larva described)
- Wheeler, W. M. 1915e. The Australian honey-ants of the genus Leptomyrmex Mayr. Proc. Am. Acad. Arts Sci. 51: 255-286 (page 261, see also)
- Wheeler, W. M. 1934c. A second revision of the ants of the genus Leptomyrmex Mayr. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 77: 69-118 (page 108, see also)
References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics
- Bluthgen N., G. Gebauer, and K. Fiedler. 2003. Disentangling a rainforest food web using stable isotopes: dietary diversity in a species-rich ant community. Oecologia 137: 426-435.
- Bluthgen N., and N. E. Stork. 2007. Ant mosaics in a tropical rainforest in Australia and elsewhere: a critical review. Austral Ecology 32: 93-104.
- Chiotis M., L. S. Jermiin, and R. H. Crozier. 2000. A molecular framework for the phylogeny of the ant subfamily Dolichoderinae. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 17: 108-116.
- Lucky A., and P. S. Ward. 2010. Taxonomic revision of the ant genus Leptomyrmex Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zootaxa 2688: 1-67.
- Shattuck S. O. 1994. Taxonomic catalog of the ant subfamilies Aneuretinae and Dolichoderinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). University of California Publications in Entomology 112: i-xix, 1-241.
- 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.
- Wheeler W. M. 1934. A second revision of the ants of the genus Leptomyrmex Mayr. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 77: 69-118.