Leptothorax oceanicus

Leptothorax oceanicus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmicinae
Tribe:	Crematogastrini
Genus:	Leptothorax
Species:	L. oceanicus
Binomial name
	Leptothorax oceanicus; (Kuznetsov-Ugamsky, 1928)

This species inhabits mainly deciduous forests, but also it was found in meadows near lake shores, nests are built mostly in fallen logs, tree stumps, rarely in soil (Radchenko 2004).

Identification

Radchenko (2004) - L. oceanicus most resembles Leptothorax muscorum but differs from it mainly by the sharply triangular petiolar node with a very narrowly rounded dorsum, (in L. muscorum the petiolar node has a distinct, often rounded, dorsal plate) (for details see Radchenko & Heinze 1987).

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Radchenko (2004) - L. oceanicus seems to be a quite rare species and is known from several localities between 41–53° N and 125–135°E: Russia: Amursky Region, Zeya; Habarovsk; Primorsky Region: Vladivostok; Anisimovka; Borisovskoe plateau; Suputinsky Natural Reserve; North-East China: Jilin Province; North Korea: Ryanggang Province.

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 48.2333° to 48.2333°.


North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Palaearctic Region: China, Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, Russian Federation (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

Queen

Nomenclature

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

oceanicus. Mychothorax muscorum subsp. oceanicum Kuznetsov-Ugamsky, 1928b: 29 (w.) RUSSIA. Kupyanskaya, 1990: 140 (q.). Combination in Leptothorax: Kupyanskaya, 1990: 140. Raised to species: Heinze, Schulz & Radchenko, 1993: 178; Radchenko, 1994d: 147 (in key). See also: Radchenko & Heinze, 1997: 79.

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

Description

Worker

Radchenko and Heinze (1997) – Neotype. Total length appr. 3.1 mm, head length (excluding mandibles) (HL) 0.69, head width (behind eyes) (HW) 0.60, scape length (SL) 0.42, maximum eyes diameter (OL) 0.15, alitrunk length (AL) 0.97 mm.

Head subrectangular [CI = (HW:HL)x 100 = 87], with a straight occipital margin. broadly rounded occipital corners and slightly convex sides. Antenna 11-segmented, with a 3-jointed apical club; scape short, thick, does not reach occipital margin of the head [SI = (SL:HW)x 100 = 70]. Anterior clypeal margin straight, without a notch. Promesonotal suture indistinct from above, mesopropodeal impression shallow. Propodeum with acute triangular spines. Petiole without anterior cylindrical part, its anterior and posterior surfaces straight, petiolar node in profile triangular, acute on the top. Head, alitrunk, petiole and postpetiole densely punctured, dull, frons and pronotum punctured and finely longitudinally striate; sides of clypeus and mandibles not punctured, longitudinally rugulose, shining. Frontal plate and gaster smooth and shining. Legs and scape without erect hairs. Head, alitrunk, petiole and postpetiole with sparse, straight, thick, blunt hairs. Alitrunk, antennae, mandibles and legs brownish-yellow, head and gaster brown.

Queen

Radchenko and Heinze (1997) – Total length appr. 3.9-4.0 mm, HL 0.67-0.69, HW 0.57-0.59, SL 0.45-0.46, OL 0.17-0.18, AL 0.99- 1.03 mm, ailtrunk height (in profile from dorsum to lower base of mesopleurae) (AH) 0.47-0.50; total length of scutum and scutellum from above (SCL) 0.66-0.73, scutum width from above (SCW) 0.43 -0.50 mm; indices: CI and SI are as in workers.

Head subrectangular (CI 85-87), with slightly concave occipital margin, broadly rounded occipital corners and parallel sides. Antenna 11-segmented, with a 3-jointed apical club; scape short, thick, does not reach occipital margin of head, but somewhat longer than in the workers (SI 77-79). Anterior clypeal margin slightly convex, without a notch. Shape of a litrunk similar to that of queens of other Leptothorax (s. str.) species. Propodeal spines acute, triangular, longer than in workers. Shape of petiole and postpetiole as in workers. Head, alitrunk, petiole and postpetiole densely punctured, dull, frons and scutum punctured and finely longitudinally striate; frontal plate and clypeus with very fine, superficial punctures, gaster smooth and shining. Legs and scapes without erect hairs, only with decumbent pubescence. Erect pilosity on head, alitrunk, petiole and postpetiole similar to that in workers, but more abundant. Alitrunk, sides of the head, a nte nnae, mandibles and legs ochreous-brown, frons, occiput and gaster brown.

Type Material

Radchenko (2004) - Russia, Primorsky Region, Ussuri Distr., station Okeanskaya. Neotype worker: Suputinsky Natural Reserve, valley of the riv. Maykha, 25.v.1967, leg. A. Tichomirova (Zoological Museum of the Moscow State University); non-type material: 16 workers.

References

Dubovikoff, D.A., Yusupov, Z.M. 2017. Family Formicidae - Ants. In Belokobylskij S. A. and A. S. Lelej: Annotated catalogue of the Hymenoptera of Russia. Proceedingss of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences 6: 197-210.
Heinze, J.; Schulz, A.; Radchenko, A. G. 1993. Redescription of the ant Leptothorax (s. str.) scamni Ruzsky, 1905. Psyche (Camb.) 100: 177-183 (page 178, Raised to species)
Kupyanskaya, A. N. 1990a. Ants of the Far Eastern USSR. Vladivostok: Akademiya Nauk SSSR, 258 pp. (page 140, queen described; Combination in Leptothorax)
Kuznetsov-Ugamsky, N. N. 1928b. Ants of the South Ussuri Region. Zap. Vladivost. Otd. Gos. Rus. Geogr. Obshch. 1(1 18: 1-47 (page 29, worker described)
Qian, Y.-H., Xu, Z.-H. 2024. Taxonomy of the ant genera Leptothorax Mayr, 1855 and Temnothorax Mayr, 1861 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of China with descriptions of twenty-eight new species and a key to the known Chinese species. European Journal of Taxonomy 936, 1-97 (doi:10.5852/ejt.2024.936.2569).
Radchenko, A. 2004. A review of the ant genera Leptothorax Mayr and Temnothorax Mayr (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of the Eastern Palaearctic. Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 50(2): 109-137 (page 131, fig. 41 see also)
Radchenko, A. G. 1994e. Identification table for ants of the genus Leptothorax (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from central and eastern Palearctic. Zool. Zh. 73(7-8 8: 146-158 (page 147, Raised to species in key)
Radchenko, A. G.; Heinze, J. 1997. A redescription of the ant Leptothorax oceanicus (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Vestn. Zool. 31(4): 78-81.
Seifert, B. 2023. Two new species of Formicoxenus Mayr 1855 and Leptothorax Mayr 1855 from Tibet (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Soil Organisms 95(2), 129-142 (doi:10.25674/SO95ISS2ID315).
Yusupov, Z.M. 2014. Two ant species (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from the Northern Caucasus, new to the fauna of Russia. Entomological Review 94, 286–287 (doi:10.1134/s0013873814020195).

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

Lelej A. S. 2012. Annotated catalogue of the Insects of Russian Far East. Volume 1. Hymenoptera. Dalnauka: Vladivostok. 635 p.
Radchenko A. 2004. A review of the ant genera Leptothorax Mayr and Temnothorax Mayr (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of the eastern Palaearctic. Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 50:109-137.
Radchenko A.G., and J. Heinze. 1997. A redescription of the ant Leptothorax oceanicus (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Vestnik Zoologii. 31(4): 78-81.
Radchenko, A. 2005. Monographic revision of the ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of North Korea. Annales Zoologici 55(2): 127-221.