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Loweriella boltoni
| Loweriella boltoni | |
|---|---|
| |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Dolichoderinae |
| Genus: | Loweriella |
| Species: | L. boltoni |
| Binomial name | |
| Loweriella boltoni Shattuck, 1992
| |
Known from a few collections this ant has been found in rainforests. Most samples are from litter samples with the exception of a collection from the base of a tree. Heterick & Kitching (2022) collected this species in a pitfall trap within a lowland dipterocarp forest in Brunei. Nothing else is known of its biology.
Identification
The only member of the genus. The worker is similar to Bothriomyrmex in having a broadly convex anterior clypeal margin, elongate anterior clypeal setae, an anteriorly-placed posterior clypeal margin, relatively small compound eyes, and in the overall shapes of the mesosomal profile, petiole and first gastral segment. However, Loweriella differs from Bothriomyrmex in having well developed frontal carina; the medial hypostoma notched rather than completely absent; the mandible with a greater number of teeth, a relatively larger apical tooth and a more poorly defined basal mandibular angle; a 6:4 palp formula; and having a keel-shaped fourth gastral sternite. These differences allow ready separation of Loweriella and Bothriomyrmex and suggest that each is distinct from the other.
Distribution
Known only from northwestern Borneo (northern Sarawak, Malaysia and Brunei).
Latitudinal Distribution Pattern
Latitudinal Range: 4.966666667° to 3.738055556°.
| North Temperate |
North Subtropical |
Tropical | South Subtropical |
South Temperate |
- Source: AntMaps
Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Indo-Australian Region: Borneo, Brunei Darussalam (type locality), Indonesia, Malaysia (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. |
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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. |
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Biology
Castes
Queens, males and larvae have not been collected.
Worker
Images from AntWeb
   
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| Paratype of Loweriella boltoni. Worker. Specimen code casent0178492. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. | Owned by MCZ, Cambridge, MA, USA. |
  
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| Paratype of Loweriella boltoni. Worker. Specimen code casent0172291. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. | Owned by ANIC, Canberra, Australia. |
Nomenclature
The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.
- boltoni. Loweriella boltoni Shattuck, 1992c: 129, figs. 118-120 (w.) BORNEO.
Type Material
- Holotype, worker, Long Pala, Gunung Mulu National Park, 4th Division, Sarawak, Malaysia, 19 October 1977, R. G. S. Expedition, The Natural History Museum; base of tree, lowland rainforest.
- Paratype, 11 workers, Long Pala, Gunung Mulu National Park, 4th Division, Sarawak, Malaysia, 19 October 1977, R. G. S. Expedition, The Natural History Museum; base of tree, lowland rainforest.
- Paratype, 3 workers, Long Pala, Gunung Mulu National Park, 4th Division, Sarawak, Malaysia, 19 October 1977, R. G. S. Expedition, Museum of Comparative Zoology; base of tree, lowland rainforest.
- Paratype, 2 workers, Long Pala, Gunung Mulu National Park, 4th Division, Sarawak, Malaysia, 29 October 1977, R. G. S. Expedition, The Natural History Museum; leaf litter.
- Paratype, 5 workers, Kuala Belalong, UBD Field Centre, Brunei Darussalam, 4°33′N 115°8′E / 4.55°N 115.133°E, November, 1991, A.N. Andersen, Tropical Ecology Research Centre; rainforest.
Unless otherwise noted the text for the remainder of this section is reported from the publication that includes the original description.
Description
Worker
Measurements (holotype followed by the range for 11 paratype workers, in mm; see Shattuck (1990) for details of measurement methods and abbreviations): LES 0.04 (0.04-0.05), EW 0.06 (0.05-0.07), ES 0.29 (0.28-0.31), HW 0.49 (0.48-0.51), 000 0.29 (0.28-0.30), EL 0.11 (0.10-0.12), OCD 0.09 (0.08-0.1 0), CL 0.10 (0.1 0-0.12), HL 0.59 (0.57-0.61), SL 0.55 (0.52-0.55), PnL 0.27 (0.25-0.28) ML 0.19 (0.16-0.20), PpL 0.27 (0.24- 0.28) CI 0.83 (0.82-0.85), 01 0.54 (0.49-0.62), SI 1.11 (1.06-1.11).
The following characters are in addition to those of the genus. Posterior regions of head, dorsum of pronotum and entire mesothorax and propodeum very weakly coriarious, anterior regions of head and ventrolateral area of pronotum smooth. Entire body except ventrolateral pronotum covered with course, suberect to decumbent hairs. Color light yellowish-brown.
See Loweriella for additional details.
References
- Heterick, B.E., Kitching, R.L. 2022. The ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of a one-hectare plot of lowland dipterocarp forest. Entomologist’s Monthly Magazine 158(4), 261–272 (doi:10.31184/m00138908.1584.4153).
- Shattuck, S. O. 1992c. Generic revision of the ant subfamily Dolichoderinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Sociobiology 21: 1-181 (page 129, figs. 118-120 worker described)
References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics
- CSIRO Collection
- Kishimoto-Yamata K., F. Hyodo, M. Matsuoka, Y. Hashimoto, M. Kon, T. Ochi, S. Yamane, R. Ishii, and T. Itioka. 2012. Effects of remnant primary forests on ant and dung beetle species diversity in a secondary forest in Sarawak, Malaysia. Journal of Insect Conservation DOI 10.1007/s10841-012-9544-6
- Pfeiffer M.; Mezger, D.; Hosoishi, S.; Bakhtiar, E. Y.; Kohout, R. J. 2011. The Formicidae of Borneo (Insecta: Hymenoptera): a preliminary species list. Asian Myrmecology 4:9-58
- 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.
- Woodcock P., D. P. Edwards, T. M. Fayle, R. J. Newton, C. Vun Khen, S. H. Bottrell, and K. C. Hamer. 2011. The conservation value of South East Asia's highly degraded forests: evidence from leaf-litter ants. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B. 366: 3256-3264.