Lioponera punctatissima

Lioponera punctatissima
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Dorylinae
Genus:	Lioponera
Species:	L. punctatissima
Binomial name
	Lioponera punctatissima; (Clark, 1924) Specimen Labels

Many of the Dorylinae species that occur in the SWBP are rare, being represented in the Curtin University ant collection by one or a few specimens. Most frequently, stray workers have been collected by hand or in pitfall traps. They also appear to have been adversely affected by urbanization in the greater Perth area. Lioponera punctatissimus, described from specimens collected from Mundaring, near Perth, is only represented in the Curtin Collection by one specimen from Mt. Edith, in the Pilbara District (Eremaean Botanical Province). (Heterick 2009)

Identification

Keys including this Species

Key to Lioponera of the southwestern Australian Botanical Province

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: -20.8° to -31.9°.


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

Life History Traits

Queen number: monogynous (Wilson, 1958; Mizuno et al., 2021)
Queen type: winged or dealate (Wilson, 1958; Mizuno et al., 2021)
Mean colony size: 35 (Wilson, 1958; Mizuno et al., 2021)

Castes

Nomenclature

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

punctatissima. Phyracaces punctatissima Clark, 1924a: 84, fig. 8 (w.q.) AUSTRALIA (Western Australia).
- Type-material: 160 syntype workers, 4 syntype queens.
- Type-locality: Australia: Western Australia, Mundaring (J. Clark).
- Type-depositories: MVMA, NHMB.
- Combination in Cerapachys: Brown, 1975: 23;
- combination in Lioponera: Borowiec, M.L. 2016: 164.
- Status as species: Brown, 1975: 23, 66; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 27; Taylor, 1987a: 18; Bolton, 1995b: 144; Heterick, 2009: 128.
- Distribution: Australia.

Type Material

Syntype, 3 wokers, Mundaring, Western Australia, Australia, Australian Museum.
Syntype, 5 workers, Mundaring, Western Australia, Australia, Australian National Insect Collection.
Syntype, 7 workers, 1 queen, Mundaring, Western Australia, Australia, Museum of Comparative Zoology.
Syntype, worker, queen, Mundaring, Western Australia, Australia, Museum Victoria, Melbourne.
Syntype, 6 workers, Mundaring, Western Australia, Australia, Western Australian Museum.

Description

References

Borowiec, M.L. 2016. Generic revision of the ant subfamily Dorylinae (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). ZooKeys 608: 1-280 (doi:10.3897/zookeys.608.9427).
Brown, W. L., Jr. 1975. Contributions toward a reclassification of the Formicidae. V. Ponerinae, tribes Platythyreini, Cerapachyini, Cylindromyrmecini, Acanthostichini, and Aenictogitini. Search Agric. (Ithaca N. Y.) 5(1 1: 1-115 (page 23, combination in Cerapachys)
Clark, J. 1924a [1923]. Australian Formicidae. J. Proc. R. Soc. West. Aust. 9: 72-89 (page 84, fig. 8 worker, queen described)
[[Media:Heterick 2009b.pdf|Heterick, B. E. 2009. A guide to the ants of South-western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 76*Heterick, B.E. 2021. A guide to the ants of Western Australia. Part I: Systematics. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 86, 1-245 (doi:10.18195/issn.0313-122x.86.2021.001-245).
Heterick, B.E. 2022. A guide to the ants of Western Australia. Part II: Distribution and biology. Records of the Western Australian Museum, supplement 86: 247-510 (doi:10.18195/issn.0313-122x.86.2022.247-510).
Mizuno, R., Suttiprapan, P., Jaitrong, W., Yamada, A., Ito, F. 2021. Colony composition, phasic reproduction, and queen–worker dimorphism of an oriental non-army ant doryline Cerapachys sulcinodis species complex in northern Thailand. Insectes Sociaux (doi:10.1007/s00040-021-00841-5).

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