Lioponera longitarsus

Lioponera longitarsus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Dorylinae
Genus:	Lioponera
Species:	L. longitarsus
Binomial name
Lioponera longitarsus (Mayr, 1879) Specimen Labels
Synonyms
Cerapachys aegyptiacus Brown, 1975 Lioponera alfierii Donisthorpe, 1939 Lioponera bicolor Wheeler, W.M. & Chapman, 1925 Lioponera cooperi Donisthorpe, 1939 Lioponera longitarsus australis Forel, 1895 Phyracaces pygmaeus Clark, 1934

Lioponera longitarsus was originally described from India and subsequently recorded from UAE (Collingwood et al., 2011); Egypt (Sharaf, 2006); Philippines, North Australia, and Taiwan (Terayama et al., 1988). At Rawdhat Khorim, Saudi Arabia, this species is considered rare, with only four specimens. All are alate males, three attracted to a light trap and one collected by a pitfall trap. They were collected in April, October and November (Sharaf et al., 2013).

At a Glance

• Invasive

Photo Gallery

• 

  Lioponera longitarsus worker. Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India. Photo by Yathumon M A.
• 

  Lioponera longitarsus male. Photo by Dulneth Wijewardana

Identification

Keys including this Species

• Key to Lioponera of the southwestern Australian Botanical Province

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 32.7009° to -0.55°.

North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

• Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Afrotropical Region: Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates.
Australasian Region: Australia (type locality).
Indo-Australian Region: New Guinea, Philippines (type locality).
Oriental Region: Bangladesh, India (type locality), Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam.
Palaearctic Region: China, Egypt (type locality), Israel.

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

Heterick (2009) - The existence of this ant in Perth (WA) is interesting, given its tropical distribution elsewhere in Australia and overseas (south and south-east Asia). The species doubtless occurs as a tramp here: I have never seen specimens from outside of the Perth metropolitan area, and it is the only Dorylinae that can be found in built-up suburbs in Perth. Brown (1975) speculated that since it is a hollow twig dweller, L. longitarsus could have been transported across water in floating branches. However, the workers I have seen have all been found crawling on paths or grass.

Castes

Worker

.

Male

Images from AntWeb

Holotype of Lioponera alfierii. Male (alate). Specimen code casent0902739. Photographer Will Ericson, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by NHMUK, London, UK.

Holotype of Cerapachys aegyptiacus. Male (alate). Specimen code casent0902740. Photographer Will Ericson, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by NHMUK, London, UK.

Nomenclature

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

• longitarsus. Lioponera longitarsus Mayr, 1879: 667 (w.q.) INDIA (West Bengal).
  • Type-material: 2 syntype workers, 1 syntype queen.
  • Type-locality: India: Calcutta (= Kolkata) (Rothney).
  • Type-depositories: BMNH, MHNW.
  • Forel, 1900d: 329 (m.).
  • Combination in Cerapachys: Brown, 1975: 23;
  • combination in Lioponera: Borowiec, M.L. 2016: 164.
  • Status as species: Emery, 1887b: 444; Dalla Torre, 1893: 17; Forel, 1895f: 422; Forel, 1900d: 329; Emery, 1902c: 24; Rothney, 1903: 97; Bingham, 1903: 27; Emery, 1911d: 12; Forel, 1913f: 187; Wheeler, W.M. 1929g: 58; Donisthorpe, 1939a: 253; Chapman & Capco, 1951: 21; Brown, 1975: 23, 63; Collingwood, 1985: 237; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 26; Taylor, 1987a: 18; Kugler, J. 1988: 256; Terayama, et al. 1988: 38; Bolton, 1995b: 143; Tang, J., Li, et al. 1995: 26; Wu, J. & Wang, 1995: 48; Collingwood & Agosti, 1996: 312; Tiwari, 1999: 33; Mathew & Tiwari, 2000: 269; Lin & Wu, 2003: 60; Jaitrong & Nabhitabhata, 2005: 18; Framenau & Thomas, 2008: 58; Heterick, 2009: 127; Terayama, 2009: 121; Vonshak, et al. 2009: 38; Collingwood, et al. 2011: 408; Guénard & Dunn, 2012: 24; Sharaf, Abdel-Dayem, et al. 2013: 570; Bharti & Akbar, 2013a: 83 (in key); Bharti & Wachkoo, 2013d: 1192 (in key); Borowiec, L. 2014: 62; Bharti, Guénard, et al. 2016: 22; Chen, Shi & Zhou, 2016: 9 (in key); Rasheed, et al. 2019: 428.
  • Senior synonym of aegyptiacus: Bolton, 1995b: 143.
  • Senior synonym of alfierii: Bolton, 1995b: 143.
  • Senior synonym of australis Forel, 1895f: 422; Brown, 1975: 23; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 26; Taylor, 1987a: 18; Bolton, 1995b: 143.
  • Senior synonym of bicolor: Brown, 1975: 23; Bolton, 1995b: 143.
  • Senior synonym of cooperi: Bolton, 1995b: 143.
  • Senior synonym of pygmaeus: Brown, 1975: 23; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 26; Taylor, 1987a: 18; Bolton, 1995b: 143.
  • Distribution: Australia, China, Christmas I., Egypt, India, Israel, Myanmar, Pakistan, Philippines (Luzon), Saudi Arabia, Taiwan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, Yemen.
• aegyptiacus. Cerapachys aegyptiacus Brown, 1975: 22.
  • Replacement name for Lioponera cooperi Donisthorpe, 1939a: 255. [Junior secondary homonym of Phyracaces cooperi Arnold, 1915: 18.]
  • Combination in Lioponera: Borowiec, M.L. 2016: 164 (by implication).
  • Junior synonym of longitarsus: Bolton, 1995b: 142.
• alfierii. Lioponera alfierii Donisthorpe, 1939a: 256 (m.) EGYPT.
  • Type-material: holotype male.
  • Type-locality: Egypt: Wadi Digla, 23.viii.1925 (Alfieri).
  • Type-depository: BMNH.
  • Combination in Cerapachys: Brown, 1975: 22.
  • Status as species: Brown, 1975: 22.
  • Junior synonym of longitarsus: Bolton, 1995b: 142.
• australis. Lioponera longitarsus var. australis Forel, 1895f: 422 (w.) AUSTRALIA.
  • Type-material: holotype (?) worker.
  • [Note: no indication of number of specimens is given; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 26, suspect a syntype series.]
  • Type-locality: Australia: Queensland, Mackay (G. Turner).
  • Type-depository: MHNG.
  • Subspecies of longitarsus: Emery, 1911d: 12; Donisthorpe, 1939a: 254.
  • Status as species: Wheeler, W.M. 1918a: 264.
  • Junior synonym of longitarsus: Forel, 1895f: 422; Brown, 1975: 23; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 26; Taylor, 1987a: 18; Bolton, 1995b: 142.
• bicolor. Lioponera bicolor Wheeler, W.M. & Chapman, 1925: 54, pl. 1, figs. 15, 16 (w.q.m.) PHILIPPINES (Luzon I.).
  • Type-material: syntype workers, syntype queens, syntype males (numbers not stated, “several”).
  • Type-locality: Philippines: Luzon, Laguna Prov., Los Baños (Willliams).
  • Type-depository: MCZC.
  • [Unresolved junior secondary homonym of Phyracaces bicolor Clark, 1924b: 77 (Bolton, 1995b: 142).]
  • Status as species: Donisthorpe, 1939a: 255; Baltazar, 1966: 233.
  • Junior synonym of longitarsus: Brown, 1975: 23; Bolton, 1995b: 142.
• cooperi. Lioponera cooperi Donisthorpe, 1939a: 255 (m.) EGYPT.
  • Type-material: 2 syntype males.
  • Type-localities: Egypt: Siwa, 30.vi.1935 (J.O. Cooper), and Egypt: Marayi, 26.iii.1935 (J.O. Cooper).
  • Type-depository: BMNH.
  • [Junior secondary homonym of Cerapachys cooperi Arnold, 1915: 14 (at the time of Brown, 1975: 22), and of Phyracaces cooperi Arnold, 1915: 18.]
  • Status as species: Donisthorpe, 1942a: 27.
  • Replacement name: Cerapachys aegyptiacus Brown, 1975: 22.
• pygmaeus. Phyracaces pygmaeus Clark, 1934b: 26, pl. 2, fig. 7 (w.) AUSTRALIA.
  • Type-material: syntype workers (number not stated).
  • Type-locality: Australia: N Queensland, Kuranda (F.P. Dodd).
  • Type-depository: MVMA.
  • Junior synonym of longitarsus: Brown, 1975: 23; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 26; Taylor, 1987a: 18; Bolton, 1995b: 144.

Type Material

• Lioponera longitarsus australis: Syntype, worker(s) (probable), Mackay, Queensland, Australia, Musee d'Histoire Naturelle Genève.
• Lioponera longitarsus: Syntype, worker(s), queen(s), Calcutta, India, Naturhistorisches Museum Wien, Vienna.
• Phyracaces pygmaeus: Syntype, worker(s) (probable), Kuranda, Queensland, Australia, Museum Victoria, Melbourne.
• Lioponera longitarsus parva: Syntype, worker(s), male(s), India.
• Lioponera bicolor: Syntype, worker(s), queen(s), male(s), Philippines.
• Lioponera alfierii: Syntype, male(s), Egypt.
• Lioponera cooperi: Syntype, male(s), Egypt.

Description

Worker

Bingham (1903): Head and abdomen black, shining; antennae, mandibles, thorax, pedicel and legs red. Head, thorax and abdomen above with scattered minute punctures and sparse, very short, erect black hairs. Antennae with the subapical joint of the flagellum longer than broad, the apical joint more than twice as long as broad. For the rest the characters of the genus.

Length: 4 mm

Queen

Bingham (1903): Similar to worker, larger. colour as in the worker.

Length: 4 mm

Male

Bingham (1903): The characters of the genus. Colour as in the worker Wings subhyaline, nervures very pale, stigma brown. Pygidium without point. Hypopygium with a narrow, deep, angular emargination.

Length: 3.5 mm

References

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