Myrmecia forceps

Myrmecia forceps
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmeciinae
Tribe:	Myrmeciini
Genus:	Myrmecia
Species group:	gulosa
Species:	M. forceps
Binomial name
Myrmecia forceps Roger, 1861 Specimen Labels
Synonyms
Myrmecia forceps obscuriceps Viehmeyer, 1924 Myrmecia singularis Clark, 1951

Myrmecia forceps has been collected rarely in WA, mainly from the wheatbelt. (Heterick 2009)

Identification

Keys including this Species

• Key to Australian Myrmecia Species
• Key to Myrmecia of the southwestern Australian Botanical Province

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: -28.66666667° to -37.68333333°.

North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

• Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Australasian Region: Australia (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.

Phylogeny

Myrmecia

gulosa group Myrmecia esuriens Myrmecia midas Myrmecia pulchra Myrmecia mjobergi Myrmecia regularis Myrmecia forficata Myrmecia brevinoda Myrmecia erecta Myrmecia pyriformis Myrmecia browningi Myrmecia sp. Myrmecia analis Myrmecia minuscula Myrmecia comata Myrmecia rowlandi Myrmecia flavicoma Myrmecia tarsata Myrmecia tridentata Myrmecia eungellensis Myrmecia fabricii Myrmecia athertonensis Myrmecia auriventris Myrmecia borealis Myrmecia gulosa Myrmecia forceps Myrmecia simillima Myrmecia arnoldi Myrmecia fulgida Myrmecia pavida Myrmecia vindex Myrmecia fuscipes Myrmecia (near nigriceps) Myrmecia desertorum Myrmecia nigriceps Myrmecia nigriceps Myrmecia inquilina nigrocincta group Myrmecia flammicollis Myrmecia petiolata Myrmecia nigrocincta picta group Myrmecia fucosa Myrmecia picta Myrmecia infima Myrmecia urens apicalis group Myrmecia apicalis pilosula group Myrmecia testaceipes Myrmecia acuta Myrmecia chasei Myrmecia clarki Myrmecia dispar Myrmecia occidentalis Myrmecia tepperi Myrmecia elegans Myrmecia varians Myrmecia banksi Myrmecia croslandi Myrmecia impaternata Myrmecia haskinsorum Myrmecia pilosula Myrmecia pilosula Myrmecia (near pilosula)

Based on Mera-Rodríguez et al. (2023).

Nomenclature

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

• forceps. Myrmecia forceps Roger, 1861a: 34 (w.) AUSTRALIA (no state data).
  • Type-material: holotype worker.
  • Type-locality: Australia (“New Holland”): (no further data).
  • Type-depository: MNHU.
  • Clark, 1951: 25 (q.); Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1971d: 248 (l.).
  • Status as species: Mayr, 1862: 724 (in key); Roger, 1863b: 22; Mayr, 1863: 430; Dalla Torre, 1893: 19; Emery, 1911d: 20; Forel, 1911e: 252; Viehmeyer, 1924a: 221; Wheeler, W.M. 1933i: 47; Clark, 1951: 24 (redescription); Brown, 1953j: 7; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 9; Taylor, 1987a: 43; Ogata, 1991a: 358; Ogata & Taylor, 1991: 1633 (in key); Bolton, 1995b: 271;
  • Heterick, 2009: 120.
  • Senior synonym of obscuriceps: Clark, 1951: 24; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 9; Taylor, 1987a: 43; Ogata & Taylor, 1991: 1629; Bolton, 1995b: 271.
  • Senior synonym of singularis: Brown, 1953j: 7; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 9; Taylor, 1987a: 43; Ogata & Taylor, 1991: 1629; Bolton, 1995b: 271.
  • Distribution: Australia.
• obscuriceps. Myrmecia forceps var. obscuriceps Viehmeyer, 1924a: 222 (w.) AUSTRALIA (New South Wales).
  • Type-material: holotype (?) worker.
  • [Note: no indication of number of specimens is given.]
  • Type-locality: Australia: New South Wales, Liverpool (H. Overbeck).
  • Type-depository: MNHU.
  • Junior synonym of forceps: Clark, 1951: 24; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 9; Taylor, 1987a: 43; Ogata & Taylor, 1991: 1629; Bolton, 1995b: 272.
• singularis. Myrmecia singularis Clark, 1951: 26, fig. 5 (w.) AUSTRALIA (South Australia: Kangaroo I.).
  • Type-material: holotype worker.
  • Type-locality: Australia: South Australia, Kangaroo I. (no collector’s name).
  • Type-depository: ANIC.
  • Junior synonym of forceps: Brown, 1953j: 7; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 9; Taylor, 1987a: 43; Ogata & Taylor, 1991: 1629; Bolton, 1995b: 273.

Type Material

• Myrmecia forceps: Syntype, worker(s), Australia (as New Holland), Australia, The Natural History Museum.
• Myrmecia forceps: Syntype, worker(s), Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia, Berlin Museum für Naturkunde der Humboldt-Universität.
• Myrmecia singularis: Holotype, worker, Kangaroo Island, South Australia, Australia, <collector unknown>, ANIC32-011550, Australian National Insect Collection.
• Myrmecia singularis: Paratype, 1 worker, Kangaroo Island, South Australia, Australia, <collector unknown>, ANIC32-011549, Australian National Insect Collection.

References

• Brown, W. L., Jr. 1953j. Revisionary notes on the ant genus Myrmecia of Australia. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 111: 1-35 (page 7, Senior synonym of singularis)
• Clark, J. 1951. The Formicidae of Australia. 1. Subfamily Myrmeciinae: 230 pp. CSIRO, Melbourne. [(31.xii).1951.]
• Heterick, B. E. 2009a. A guide to the ants of South-western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 76: 1-206. Part 2.
• Heterick, B.E. 2021. A guide to the ants of Western Australia. Part I: Systematics. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 86, 1-245 (doi:10.18195/issn.0313-122x.86.2021.001-245).
• Heterick, B.E. 2022. A guide to the ants of Western Australia. Part II: Distribution and biology. Records of the Western Australian Museum, supplement 86: 247-510 (doi:10.18195/issn.0313-122x.86.2022.247-510).
• Mera-Rodríguez, D., Jourdan, H., Ward, P.S., Shattuck, S., Cover, S.P., Wilson, E.O., Rabeling, C. 2023. Biogeography and evolution of social parasitism in Australian Myrmecia bulldog ants revealed by phylogenomics. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 186, 107825 (doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2023.107825).
• Roger, J. 1861a. Die Ponera-artigen Ameisen (Schluss). Berl. Entomol. Z. 5: 1-54 (page 34, worker described)
• Wheeler, G. C.; Wheeler, J. 1971d. Ant larvae of the subfamily Myrmeciinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Pan-Pac. Entomol. 47: 245-256 (page 248, larva described)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

• Brown W. L., Jr. 1953. Revisionary notes on the ant genus Myrmecia of Australia. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology

111: 1-35.

• Heterick B. E. 2009. A guide to the ants of south-western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum Supplement 76: 1-206. 
• Taylor R. W. 1987. A checklist of the ants of Australia, New Caledonia and New Zealand (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization) Division of Entomology Report 41: 1-92.
• Viehmeyer H. 1924. Formiciden der australischen Faunenregion. Entomologische Mitteilungen. Berlin-Dahlem 13: 219-229.