Metapone tecklini

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Metapone tecklini
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Tribe: Crematogastrini
Genus: Metapone
Species: M. tecklini
Binomial name
Metapone tecklini
Taylor & Alpert, 2016

Taylor, Alpert 2016 Metapone-43 163hal.jpg

Taylor, Alpert 2016 Metapone-43 161had.jpg

Habitat is not indicated on labels, but all records are from known rain forested sites. (Taylor and Alpert 2016)

Identification

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Australasian Region: Australia (type locality).

Distribution based on AntMaps

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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

Sympatric with Metapone mjobergi on Mt Sampson and Windsor Tableland, and with Metapone hoelldobleri at Mossman Bluff.

Castes

Nomenclature

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

  • tecklini. Metapone tecklini Taylor & Alpert, 2016: 543, figs. 160-164 (q.) AUSTRALIA (Queensland).
    • Type-material: holotype queen, 2 paratype queens.
    • Type-locality: holotype Australia: NE Queensland, Mt Sampson, 480 m., 27.xii.1990-18.i.1991, 5-10 km. W Mossman, flight intercept trap (no collector’s name); paratypes: 1 queen Queensland, Mossman Bluff Track, 5-10 km. W Mossman, 480 m., 1-16.i.1989, ANZSES site 3 (G.B. Monteith & G.I. Thompson), 1 queen Queensland, Windsor Tableland, 27.xii.1988-10.i.1989, ANZSES site 2 (F. Schmidt).
    • Type-depository: ANIC.
    • Distribution: Australia.

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

Description

Queen

(holotype, paratype (Windsor Tableland) TL: ca 6.1, 6.7; HL: 1.08, 1.22; HW: 0.84, 0.92, CI: 77, 75; CpL: 0.41, 0.45; CpI: 38, 37; MSL: 1.74, 2.00; ScW: 0.75, 0.80; PetL: 0.38, 0.42; PetW: 0.36, 0.43; PetH: 0.59, 0.65; PpetL: 0.36, 0.47; PpetW: 0.50, 0.58; PpetH: 0.53, 0.59; GW: 0.89, 0.99.

Gyne. General features as illustrated and in the key to Australian Metapone species above. Somewhat similar to Metapone tricolor, with the following salient differences: (1) Head relatively short (CI 75–77 vs 66–68); (2) Mesosoma more robust (MSL 1.74–2.00, ScW 0.75–0.80 vs 2.16–2.33 and 0.74–0.79); (3) Petiole in dorsal view approximately as long as wide vs petiole clearly over 1.5x as long as wide; (4) subpetiolar extension a low triangle, smaller than the larger structure in M. tricolor; (5) less intense sculpturation, as illustrated.

Type Material

Mt Sampson (15°48'S, 145°02'E,) northeast Queensland. Australian National Insect Collection (Type No. 32-069962).

Etymology

Named with pleasure for Jerry E. Tecklin of the University of California, Davis and Nevada City California.

References