Metapone jacobsoni

Metapone jacobsoni
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmicinae
Tribe:	Crematogastrini
Genus:	Metapone
Species:	M. jacobsoni
Binomial name
	Metapone jacobsoni; Crawley, 1924
Synonyms
	Metapone nicobarensis Tiwari and Jonathan, 1986;

Nothing is known about the biology of Metapone jacobsoni.

Identification

Keys including this Species

Key to Metapone of Asia

Distribution

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Indo-Australian Region: Indonesia (type locality).
Oriental Region: India, Nicobar Island (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

Taylor and Alpert (2016) - M. jacobsoni seems more likely to be introduced than native on Great Nicobar Island, and Sumatra is the most likely ancestral source for the island population. The two lands are separated by less than 200km of open ocean, across which there must have been much past human passage in small boats, perhaps often carrying unmilled (fire)wood, possibly facilitating introduction.

Castes

Nomenclature

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

jacobsoni. Metapone jacobsoni Crawley, 1924: 389 (q.) INDONESIA (Sumatra).
- Type-material: holotype queen, 1 paratype queen.
- Type-locality: holotype Indonesia: Sumatra, Fort de Kock, 920 m., x.1914, no. 153 (E. Jacobson); paratype Fort de Kock, iv.1914, no. 1223 (E. Jacobson).
- Type-depository: BMNH.
- [Misspelled as jakobsoni by Kusnezov, 1960a: 126.]
- Status as species: Chapman & Capco, 1951: 114; Gregg, R.E. 1958: 119; Kusnezov, 1960a: 126; Bolton, 1995b: 258; Taylor & Alpert, 2016: 518 (redescription).
- Senior synonym of nicobarensis: Taylor & Alpert, 2016: 518.
- Distribution: India (Nicobar Is), Indonesia (Sumatra).
nicobarensis. Metapone nicobarensis Tiwari & Jonathan, 1986b: 150, fig. 1 (w.q.) INDIA (Nicobar Is).
- Type-material: holotype worker, 2 paratype queens.
- Type-locality: holotype India: Nicobar Is, Rajendra Nagar, 30.xii.1975 (P.K. Maity and party); paratypes with same data.
- Type-depository: NZSI.
- [Note: Taylor & Alpert, 2016: 518, say that the type-material could not be found in NZSI.]
- Status as species: Bolton, 1995b: 258; Mohanraj, et al. 2010: 6; Bharti, Guénard, et al. 2016: 39.
- Junior synonym of jacobsoni: Taylor & Alpert, 2016: 518.

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

Description

Queen

Taylor and Alpert (2016) - (holotype, paratype): TL: 8.5, 8.75; HL: 1.48, 1.44; HW (across eyes): 1.00, 1.04; Maximum eye length: 0.42, 0.38; CI: 68, 72; MSL: 2.26, 2.30; PMW: 0.92, 0.94; PDW: 0.70, 0.72; PetL: 0.56, 0.60; PetW: 0.44, 0.46; PetH: 0.72, - ; PpetL: 0.44, - ; PpetW: 0.58, 0.58.

General features as in original description (Crawley, 1924), the key to Asian Metapone species and the relevant figures. Posterior face of subpetiolar process in oblique view relatively large, triangular; subpetiolar angle in side view approximately a right angle, not spinose; subpetiolar lamella opaque, approximately equilaterally triangular (note that the petiole could not be viewed unobstructed in true profile for illustration; its somewhat obscure outline is highlighted in figure). Other features are adequately illustrated.

Crawley (1924): Black; mandibles dark red-brown, funiculus, extremities of scapes, the tibia and tarsi, parts of femora, and the apex of gaster castaneous. Gaster very dark brown, almost black. Body moderately provided with a short pilosity inter spersed with a few longer hairs, most abundant at apex of gaster. The gaster in addition has a sparse pubescence. Mandibles short and broad, the internal and external borders almost straight and subparallel, armed with five teeth, the apical long and pointed, the two following shorter and less pointed, the two basal ones blunt and indistinct.

Head long and narrow, nearly 1 as long as broad, the sides parallel, feebly contracted in front of eyes, the occipital border shallowly emarginate. The clypeus slightly depressed in the centre of the anterior border, which is produced in a short, feebly emarginate lobe; the posterior suture almost effaced. Antennal club 3-jointed, the apical not quite equalling the two preceding. Eyes large and flat, behind the middle line. There is a slight depression representing the frontal area, but no indication of a frontal groove.

Sides of pronotum submargined, the shoulders feebly angular. Declivity of epinotum short and vertical. From above the epinotum is widest in front, nearly as broad as long, narrowing behind to half this width. Node of petiole from above nearly 1-3 as long as broad, very slightly wider behind, where it is widely emarginate, with blunt angles; the sides subparallel and sub-bordered. In profile it is vertical in front, feebly convex along the top, behind with a blunt triangular tooth on each side (seen as a blunt angle from above). Stalk about half as long as the node. Under neath is a flat lamella ending in a small tooth in front. Postpetiole from above about as broad as long, straight in front, the sides convex, behind with blunt lateral angles. In profile it is vertical in front and convex above, beneath with an anterior transverse ridge bearing several long hairs. Gaster long and narrow, sting exserted.

Shining; mandibles with a series of coarse elongate punctures along the masticatory border, the rest with a few smaller circular punctures. Whole of head finely and longitudinally striate, the strim regular, here and there interspersed with small points. Scrobe more finely and regularly striate than the rest of head. Scapes smooth with a few small points. Whole of thorax and epinotum striate in a similar manner to the head; the node has irregular strie curving round its anterior border, and is interspersed with points. Postpetiole and gaster finely shagreened. Legs smooth, with traces of ground reticulation.

Type Material

Taylor and Alpert (2016) - Gyne; Type locality: Fort de Kok (now Bukittingii—0°18′20″S, 100°22′9″E), Sumatra, Indonesia.

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

Chapman, J. W., and Capco, S. R. 1951. Check list of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Asia. Monogr. Inst. Sci. Technol. Manila 1: 1-327
Crawley W.C. 1924. Ants from Sumatra, with biological notes by Edward Jacobson. Annals and Magazine of Natural History (9)13: 380-409
Gregg R. E. 1958. Two new species of Metapone from Madagascar (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 60: 111-121.
Kusnezov N. 1960. La posición sistemática del género Metapone Forel (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Acta Zoologica Lilloana 18: 119-126.
Mohanraj P., M. Ali, and K. Veerakumari. 2010. Formicidae of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Indian Ocean: Bay of Bengal). Journal of Insect Science 10: Article 172
Mohanraj, P., M. Ali and K. Veenakumari. 2010. Formicidae of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Indian Ocean: Bay Of Bengal). Journal of Insect Science 10:172.
Smith M. R. 1947. A new species of Metapone Forel from New Guinea (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 49: 75-77.
Taylor R. W., and G. D. Alpert. 2016. The myrmicine ant genus Metapone Forel (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): a global taxonomic review with descriptions of twelve new species. Zootaxa 4105(6): 501-545.
Tiwari R. N., and J. K. Jonathan. 1986. A new species of Metapone Forel from Nicobar Islands (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae). Records of the Zoological Survey of India 83: 149-153.