Myrmecia tepperi

Myrmecia tepperi
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmeciinae
Tribe:	Myrmeciini
Genus:	Myrmecia
Species group:	pilosula
Species:	M. tepperi
Binomial name
Myrmecia tepperi Emery, 1898 Specimen Labels

Photo Gallery

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  This Myrmecia tepperi worker was encountered on a cold night near Kalamunda, Perth, Western Australia. It was suprisingly alert and seemed to be taking shelter under a large piece of loose bark, which was strange given the time of night. It would be expected that most workers would have returned to their nest by now, but it may be that this species is nocturnal, or even noctidiurnal. Photo by Farhan Bokhari, 11 July 2009.
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  Myrmecia tepperi worker, Kalamunda, Perth, Western Australia. Photo by Farhan Bokhari, 11 July 2009.
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  Myrmecia tepperi worker, Kalamunda, Perth, Western Australia. Photo by Farhan Bokhari, 11 July 2009.

Identification

Heterick (2009) - Myrmecia tepperi is quite similar to Myrmecia michaelseni and Myrmecia rugosa, but can be distinguished by its reduced mandibular dentition (a characteristic of this and the Myrmecia mandibularis species-groups) and the absence of yellow pubescence from the first gastral tergite (present on the second and subsequent tergites).

Keys including this Species

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

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: -30.16666667° to -36.91667175°.

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.

• tepperi. Myrmecia tepperi Emery, 1898b: 231, fig. 1 (q.m.) AUSTRALIA (South Australia).
  • Type-material: 1 syntype queen, 1 syntype male.
  • Type-locality: Australia: South Australia (J.G.O. Tepper).
  • Type-depository: MSNG.
  • Clark, 1943: 130 (w.); Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1971d: 253 (l.).
  • Combination in Promyrmecia: Clark, 1943: 130;
  • combination in Myrmecia: Taylor & Brown, 1985: 17.
  • Status as species: Emery, 1911d: 21; Clark, 1943: 130 (redescription); Clark, 1951: 172 (redescription); Taylor & Brown, 1985: 17; Taylor, 1987a: 46; Ogata, 1991a: 362; Ogata & Taylor, 1991: 1642 (in key); Bolton, 1995b: 273; Heterick, 2009: 123.
  • Distribution: Australia.

Type Material

• Syntype, 2 workers, Mt. Lofty Ranges, South Australia, Australia, Harvey,R., ANIC32-017885, Australian National Insect Collection.
• Syntype, queen(s), male(s), South Australia, Australia.

Description

Karyotype

• 2n = 70 (Australia) (Browning, 1987).

References

• Emery, C. 1898b. Descrizioni di formiche nuove malesi e australiane. Note sinonimiche. Rend. Sess. R. Accad. Sci. Ist. Bologna (n.s.) 2: 231-245.
• Clark, J. 1943. A revision of the genus Promyrmecia Emery (Formicidae). Mem. Natl. Mus. Vic. 13: 83-149 (page 130, Combination in Promyrmecia)
• Clark, J. 1951. The Formicidae of Australia. 1. Subfamily Myrmeciinae: 230 pp. CSIRO, Melbourne. [(31.xii).1951.]
• Heterick, B. E. 2009. A guide to the ants of South-western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 76:1-206.
• 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).
• Ogata, K. 1991a. Ants of the genus Myrmecia Fabricius: a review of the species groups and their phylogenetic relationships (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmeciinae). Syst. Entomol. 16: 353-381 (page 361, see also)
• Taylor, R. W.; Brown, D. R. 1985. Formicoidea. Zool. Cat. Aust. 2:1- 149: 1-149, 30 (page 17, Combination in Myrmecia)
• Wheeler, G. C.; Wheeler, J. 1971d. Ant larvae of the subfamily Myrmeciinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Pan-Pac. Entomol. 47: 245-256 (page 253, larva described)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

• Taylor R. W., and D. R. Brown. 1985. Formicoidea. Zoological Catalogue of Australia 2: 1-149.