Monomorium mictilis

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Monomorium mictilis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Tribe: Solenopsidini
Genus: Monomorium
Species: M. mictilis
Binomial name
Monomorium mictilis
Forel, 1910

Monomorium mictilis casent0010759 p 1 high.jpg

Monomorium mictilis casent0010759 d 1 high.jpg

Specimen Labels

Seemingly rare but widespread across African savannah areas (open woodland and shrub habitats). In Benin, Taylor et al. (2018) found it on mango (Mangifera indica) trees.

Identification

Heterick (2006) - A member of the M. exiguum complex in the M. monomorium species group.

Bolton (1987) - As presently constituted (a wide distribution in the Afrotropical region; perhaps more than one species is present) this minute species is identified by its size, arrangement of alitrunk pilosity and flattened head, in combination with the 11-segmented antennae.

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: -0.317° to -29.76667°.

   
North
Temperate 		North
Subtropical 		Tropical South
Subtropical 		South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Afrotropical Region: Angola, Benin, Eritrea, Ethiopia (type locality), Gambia, Guinea, Kenya, Mali, Namibia, Sudan, Zimbabwe.

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

Castes

Queen

Images from AntWeb

Monomorium mictilis casent0010760 h 1 high.jpgMonomorium mictilis casent0010760 p 1 high.jpgMonomorium mictilis casent0010760 d 1 high.jpgMonomorium mictilis casent0010760 l 1 high.jpg
Queen (alate/dealate). Specimen code casent0010760. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by MHNG, Geneva, Switzerland.

Nomenclature

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

  • mictilis. Monomorium (Martia) atomus subsp. mictilis Forel, 1910c: 252 (w.q.) ERITREA.
    • Type-material: syntype workers, syntype queens (numbers not stated).
    • Type-localities: Eritrea: Ghinda, 1906 (K. Escherich), Nefassit, 1906 (K. Escherich).
    • Type-depository: MHNG.
    • Combination in M. (Lampromyrmex): Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 876.
    • Subspecies of atomum: Forel, 1913d: 438; Forel, 1914d: 248; Santschi, 1914d: 354; Arnold, 1916: 239; Emery, 1922e: 183; Ettershank, 1966: 90.
    • Subspecies of exiguum: Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 876; Santschi, 1930a: 67; Finzi, 1939a: 165.
    • Status as species: Bolton, 1987: 401 (redescription); Bolton, 1995b: 264; Hita Garcia, et al. 2013: 212; Borowiec, L. 2014: 122; Madl, 2019: 15.
    • Material of the unavailable name sudanicum referred here by Bolton, 1987: 401.
    • Distribution: Angola, Egypt, Eritrea, Kenya, Mali, Namibia, South Africa, Sudan, Zimbabwe.

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

Description

Worker

Bolton (1987) - TL 1.2-1.3, HL 0.36-0.40, HW 0.26-0.30, CI 72-76, SL 0.20-0.26, SI 77-86, PW 0.16-0.19, AL 0.32-0.36 (10 measured).

Median portion of clypeus distinctly prominent and its anterior margin transverse to shallowly convex, sometimes with a minute indentation at the site of the median seta. Clypeal carinae weakly developed but present. Maximum diameter of eye 0.20-0.22 x HW. In general the eye when viewed in profile consisting of an outer ring of ommatidia encircling a single longitudinal row of only 2-3 ommatidia, but in some individuals one or two extra ommatidia may also be enclosed in the ring. Eye always distinctly longer than high and situated well in front of the midlength of the sides of the head. Antennae with 11 segments; the scape, when laid straight back from its insertion, conspicuously failing to reach the occipital margin. Head capsule in profile dorsoventrally flattened, the ventral surface approximately flat and not more convex than the dorsum. Promesonotal dorsum in profile flat or only extremely shallowly convex anteriorly, the metanotal groove only very weakly impressed. Propodeal dorsum convex and sloping posteriorly, the dorsum and declivity forming a single broadly convex surface. Propodeal spiracle small. Petiolar peduncle short and stout, subtended by a narrow strip-like and inconspicuous ventral process. Petiole node low and bluntly triangular in profile, distinctly larger than the much more broadly rounded postpetiole. Standing hairs present on all dorsal surfaces of the head and body, the promesonotal dorsum with only 3 pairs. Anterior margin of pronotum without a pair of elongate standing hairs between the distinctive pair at the pronotal humeri. Sculpture absent except for short metanotal cross-ribs. Colour dull yellow.

Type Material

Bolton (1987) - Syntype workers, females, Ethiopia: Ghinda, Nefassit (K. Escherich) (Musee d'Histoire Naturelle Genève) [examined].

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • Arnold G. 1916. A monograph of the Formicidae of South Africa. Part II. Ponerinae, Dorylinae. Annals of the South African Museum. 14: 159-270.
  • Bolton B. 1987. A review of the Solenopsis genus-group and revision of Afrotropical Monomorium Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History). Entomology 54: 263-452.
  • Borowiec L. 2014. Catalogue of ants of Europe, the Mediterranean Basin and adjacent regions (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Genus (Wroclaw) 25(1-2): 1-340.
  • Borowiec L., and S. Salata. 2018. Notes on ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Gambia (Western Africa). Annals of the Upper Silesian Museum in Bytom Entomology 26: 1-13.
  • Emery C. 1915. Formiche raccolte nell'Eritrea dal Prof. F. Silvestri. Bollettino del Laboratorio di Zoologia Generale e Agraria della Reale Scuola Superiore d'Agricoltura. Portici 10: 3-26.
  • Ettershank G. 1966. A generic revision of the world Myrmicinae related to Solenopsis and Pheidologeton (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Aust. J. Zool. 14: 73-171.
  • Finzi B. 1939. Materiali zoologici dell'Eritrea raccolti da G. Müller durante la spedizione dell'Istituto Sieroterapico Milanese e conservati al Museo di Trieste. Parte III. Hymenoptera: Formicidae. Atti del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Trieste 14: 153-168.
  • Forel A. 1910. Ameisen aus der Kolonie Erythräa. Gesammelt von Prof. Dr. K. Escherich (nebst einigen in West-Abessinien von Herrn A. Ilg gesammelten Ameisen). Zoologische Jahrbücher. Abteilung für Systematik, Geographie und Biologie der Tiere 29: 243-274.
  • Forel A. 1914. Formicides d'Afrique et d'Amérique nouveaux ou peu connus. Bulletin de la Société Vaudoise des Sciences Naturelles 50: 211-288.
  • Garcia F.H., Wiesel E. and Fischer G. 2013.The Ants of Kenya (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)—Faunal Overview, First Species Checklist, Bibliography, Accounts for All Genera, and Discussion on Taxonomy and Zoogeography. Journal of East African Natural History, 101(2): 127-222
  • IZIKO South Africa Museum Collection
  • Madl M. 2019. Notes on the ant fauna of Eritrea (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae): type specimens deposited in the Natural History Museum Vienna (Austria) and a preliminary checklist. Ann. Naturhist. Mus. Wien, B 121: 9-18.
  • Santschi F. 1914. Formicides de l'Afrique occidentale et australe du voyage de Mr. le Professeur F. Silvestri. Bollettino del Laboratorio di Zoologia Generale e Agraria della Reale Scuola Superiore d'Agricoltura. Portici 8: 309-385.
  • Taylor B., N. Agoinon, A. Sinzogan, A. Adandonon, Y. N'Da Kouagou, S. Bello, R. Wargui, F. Anato, I. Ouagoussounon, H. Houngbo, S. Tchibozo, R. Todjhounde, and J. F. Vayssieres. 2018. Records of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from the Republic of Benin, with particular reference to the mango farm ecosystem. Journal of Insect Biodiversity 8(1): 006–029.
  • Wheeler W. M. 1922. Ants of the American Museum Congo expedition. A contribution to the myrmecology of Africa. VIII. A synonymic list of the ants of the Ethiopian region. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 45: 711-1004
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