Myopias conicara

Myopias conicara
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Ponerinae
Tribe:	Ponerini
Genus:	Myopias
Species:	M. conicara
Binomial name
	Myopias conicara; Xu, Z., 1998 Holotype Label

M. conicara is distributed in the hot tropical and subtropical forested regions of southern Yunnan Province, China (Xu and Liu 2012) as well as northern Vietnam (Ito et al. 2020). This rare species is a specialized ground predator on xystodesmid millipedes (Ito et al. 2020).

Identification

According to the character of petiolar node, this new species is close to Myopias levigata from Papua New Guinea, but in profile view, subpetiolar process has a pair of posteriorly pointed small denticles at posteroventral corner; in dorsal view, lateral sides of petiolar node convex, anterolateral corners rounded. The new species is also close to Myopias loriai from Papua New Guinea, but in profile view, subpetiolar process has a triangular posteroventrally pointed denticle at anteroventral corner, and has a pair of small posteriorly pointed denticles at posteroventral corner; in dorsal view, petiolar node about as long as broad.

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 29.566° to 29.566°.


North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Palaearctic Region: China (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

Ito et al. (2020) collected a queenright colony (1 dealate queen, 41 workers and 38 larvae) in Vietnam, under a stone in evergreen forest. Both the queen and workers fed on xystodesmid millipedes. After paralyzing a millipede and retrieving it to the nest, its head was first removed by the workers, and then the larvae were put on the anteriormost ring of the trunk. After the inner tissue of this ring was consumed, the exoskeleton was discarded, and the feeding sequence was repeated on the following rings of the trunk, until the entire prey was consumed. The ring-shaped exoskeletons of the prey were discarded next to the nest entrance.

Castes

Queen-worker dimorphism is only slight. The head width of the queen (1.16 mm) was smaller than the mean head width of workers (1.19±0.05 mm, N = 25), however, the abdomen width of the queen (1.26 mm) was remarkably larger than that of workers (1.06±0.03 mm, N = 25). The queen had three ocelli, and a fully segmented flight thorax with tegulae, indicating she had wings previously. Both the queen and the workers (n = 10) had six (3–3) ovarioles and a spermatheca.

Worker


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Nomenclature

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

conicara. Myopias conicara Xu, 1998a: 123, figs. 5, 7 (w.) CHINA (Yunnan).
- Type-material: holotype worker, 2 paratype queens.
- Type-locality: holotype China: Yunnan Prov., Mengla County, Longlin Village, 1090 m., 5.iii.1997, no. A97-186 (S. Dai); paratypes: 1 queen with same data, 1 queen Yunnan Prov., Jinghong County, Sanchahe, 950 m., 28.ii.1997, no. A97-73 (Y. Lai).
- Type-depository: SFCY.
- Xu & Liu, 2012: 830 (q.).
- Status as species: Zhou & Ran, 2010: 106; Guénard & Dunn, 2012: 60; Xu & Liu, 2012: 822 (in key); Xu, Burwell & Nakamura, 2014b: 166 (in key); Probst, Guénard & Boudinot, 2015: 205 (in key).
- Distribution: China.

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

Description

Worker

Holotype: TL 7.5, HL 1.50, HW 1.40, CI 93, SL 1.33, SI 96, PW 1.00, AL 2.20, ED 0.25, ML 1.35, MI 90, PNL 0.37. Head slightly longer than broad, broadest in front, narrowed posteriorly; in full face view, occipital margin nearly straight, occipital corners roundly prominent. Eyes placed on lateral sides, close to the bases of mandibles. Mandibles long and slender, slightly curved inward; inner margin with a blunt tooth near the center; masticatory margin narrow, oblique and slightly concave, with a very small denticle at basal 1/3, apical tooth acute, basal tooth triangular. Middle part of clypeus triangular, anterior margin roundly concave, anterolateral corners protruding and dentiform. Frontal lobes large, laterally expanded. Frontal furrow reached to midline of head. Antennal scapes surpass occipital corners by about 1/8 of its length; flagella incrassate towards apex, apical segment slightly longer than the preceding 2 segments combined. Ventral face of head with a conical tubercle in the middle and close to the anterior margin. In profile view, dorsum of alitrunk at the same level, promesonotal suture distinct and depressed, metanotal groove slightly depressed. Mesonotum short, crescent in dorsal view. Dorsum of propodeum slightly convex, rounded into declivity, the latter nearly truncate, about as long as dorsum. In profile view, petiolar node quadrate, slightly higher than long; anterior face very weakly concave; posterior face truncate, each side with a vertical narrow depression close to the lateral margin; dorsal face roundly convex, anterodorsal angle and posterodorsal angle rounded , at the same height. In dorsal view, petiolar node about as long as broad, narrowing forwards, anterior margin slightly convex, anterolateral corners rounded, posterior margin straight. Subpetiolar process with a posteroventrally pointed triangular denticle at anteroventral corner, and with a pair of small posteriorly pointed denticles at posteroventral corner. Anterior face of gaster truncate, constriction between the basal two segments distinct. Mandibles sparsely punctate , interspace smooth and shining. Head with abundant moderate large punctures , distance between punctures about equal to diameter of one puncture, interspace smooth and shining; punctures on central dorsum of head sparse. Dorsum of alitrunk, dorsum of petiolar node and first gastral segment with sparse large, elliptic punctures, interspace finely longitudinally rugulose, less shining; a longitudinal central strip on dorsa of pronotum and mesonotum without punctures; lateral sides of pronotum, and of petiolar node sparsely punctate; lateral sides of alitrunk finely longitudinally rugulose, opaque; declivity and posterior face of petiolar node surperficially transversely rugulose, less shining. Gastral segments 2-6 smooth and shining, but anterior half of 2nd segment sparsely punctate. Head and body with abundant erect or suberect hairs and abundant decumbent pubescences. Antenna1 scapes with sparse suberect hairs and dense decumbent pubescences ; hind tibiae with sparse decumbent hairs and dense depressed pubescences. Body in colour black; mandibles, antennae, legs, and apex of gaster reddish brown; hairs and pubescences light yellow.

Queen

Paratype dealate females: TL 8.5-9.4, HL 1.55-1.70, HW 1.40-1.65, CI 90-97, SL 1.30-1.50, SI 91-13, PW 1.23-1.33, AL 2.63-2.88, ED 0.33-0.38, ML 1.30-1.50, MI 84-88, PNL 0.80 (n=2). Similar to holotype, but body larger; head with 3 ocelli, conic tubercle on ventral face of head large and low; mesonotum large, with tegulae, transverse sutures and longitudinal furrows; dorsum of propodeum shorter than declivity.

Type Material

Holotype: Worker, Longlin Village, 1 090 m, Mengla County, Yunnan Province, Mar. 5, 1997, No. A97-186 (Seping Dai). Paratypes: 1 dealate female, with same data as holotype; 1 dealate female, Sanchahe, 950 m, Jinghong County, Yunnan Province, Feb. 28, 1997, No. A97-73 (Yuchu Lai). The type specimens are deposited in the Insect Collection, Department of Forest Protection, Southwest Forestry College, Kunming, Yunnan, China.

References

Ito F, Nguyen DA, Eguchi K, Toyota A & Billen J. 2020. Colony composition, queen behavior, specialized predation on millipedes, and exocrine glands in the ponerine ant Myopias conicara Xu, 1998 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Entomological Science doi: 10.1111/ens.12406 PDF
Ito, F., Nguyen, D.A., Eguchi, K., Toyota, A., Billen, J. 2020. Colony composition, queen behavior, specialized predation on millipedes, and exocrine glands in the ponerine ant Myopias conicara Xu, 1998 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Entomological Science 23, 142–151 (doi:10.1111/ens.12406).
Liu, C., Fischer, G., Hita Garcia, F., Yamane, S., Liu, Q., Peng, Y.Q., Economo, E.P., Guénard, B., Pierce, N.E. 2020. Ants of the Hengduan Mountains: a new altitudinal survey and updated checklist for Yunnan Province highlight an understudied insect biodiversity hotspot. ZooKeys 978, 1–171 (doi:10.3897/zookeys.978.55767).
Xu, Z. 1998a. Two new record genera and three new species of Formicidae from China. Entomologica Sinica. 5:121-127. [1998.]
Xu, Z.-H. and X. Liu. 2012. Three new species of the ant genus Myopias (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from China with a key to the known Chinese species. Sociobiology 58: 819-834.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

Fontanilla A. M., A. Nakamura, Z. Xu, M. Cao, R. L. Kitching, Y. Tang, and C. J. Burwell. 2019. Taxonomic and functional ant diversity along tropical, subtropical, and subalpine elevational transects in southwest China. Insects 10, 128; doi:10.3390/insects10050128
Guénard B., and R. R. Dunn. 2012. A checklist of the ants of China. Zootaxa 3558: 1-77.
Liu X. 2012. Taxonomy, diversity and spatial distribution characters of the ant family Formicidae (Insecta: Hymenoptera) in southeastern Tibet. PhD Thesis 139 pages
Liu X., Z. Xu, N. Yu, and C. Zhang. 2016. Distribution patterns of ant species ( Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Galongla Mountains and Medog Valley of Southeastern Tibet. Scientia Silvae Sinicae 52(11): 88-95.
Song Y., Z. Xu, C. Li, N. Zhang, L. Zhang, H. Jiang, and F. Mo. 2013. An Analysis on the Ant Fauna of the Nangun river Nature Reserve in Yunnan, China. Forest Research 26(6): 773-780.
Xu Z. 1998. Two new record genera and three new species of Formicidae (Hymenoptera) from China. Entomologia Sinica 5: 121-127.
Xu Z., Zeng G., Liu T.-Y. and He Y.-F. 1999. [A study on communities of Formicidae ants in different subtypes of vegetation in Xishuangbanna District of China.] Zoological Research 20: 118-125
Xu Z.-H., and X. Liu. 2011. Three new species of the ant genus Myopias (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from China with a key to the known Chinese species. Sociobiology 59: 819-834.
Xu Z.-H.; C. J. Burwell., and A. Nakamura. 2014. A new species of the ponerine ant genus Myopias Roger from Yunnan, China, with a key to the known Oriental species. Sociobiology 61(2): 164-170.