Notoncus capitatus

Notoncus capitatus
Notoncus capitatus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Formicinae
Tribe:	Melophorini
Genus:	Notoncus
Species:	N. capitatus
Binomial name
Notoncus capitatus Forel, 1915 Specimen labels
Synonyms
Notoncus capitatus minor Viehmeyer, 1925 Notoncus mjobergi Forel, 1915

Identification

• Scutellum in the form of a thick, rounded tumulus or oval process.
• Propodeum distinctly, widely and rather coarsely striate, and largely subopaque throughout; dorsum of gaster generally densely punctulate (weakly so in some individuals) and with dense appressed pubescence; mandibles largely smooth and shining above, with coarse punctures.
• Smaller species, maximum head width less than 1.6 mm; appressed pubescence present on all body tagmata, almost as thick on propodeum as on gaster, with density otherwise diminishing cephalad; head and mesosoma relatively finely sculptured, individual cephalic striae narrower than the diameter of an eye facet; propodeum rounded, not angular.

Keys including this Species

• Key to Notoncus Species

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: -15.75° to -37.07500076°.

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.

Biology

Association with Other Organisms

 Explore: Show all Associate data or Search these data. See also a list of all data tables or learn how data is managed.

• This species is a mutualist for the aphid Aphis clerodendri (a trophobiont) (Carver et al., 2003; Saddiqui et al., 2019).

Castes

Images from AntWeb

Worker. Specimen code casent0106015. Photographer Michael Branstetter, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by UCDC, Davis, CA, USA.

Specimen code CAS0172025-Antwiki.jpg. .

Specimen code CAS0172031-Antwiki.jpg. .

Nomenclature

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

• capitatus. Notoncus capitatus Forel, 1915b: 90, pl. 1, fig. 8 (w.) AUSTRALIA. Junior synonym of enormis: Brown, 1955d: 489. Revived from synonymy and senior synonym of minor, mjobergi: Taylor, 1992a: 61.
• mjobergi. Notoncus mjobergi Forel, 1915b: 91 (w.) AUSTRALIA. Junior synonym of enormis: Brown, 1955d: 489; of capitatus: Taylor, 1992a: 61.
• minor. Notoncus capitatus var. minor Viehmeyer, 1925b: 139 (w.q.) AUSTRALIA. Junior synonym of enormis: Brown, 1955d: 489; of capitatus: Taylor, 1992a: 61.

Type Material

• Notoncus capitatus: Syntype, 1 worker, Tamborine Mt. [as Mt. Tambourine], Queensland, Australia, Australian National Insect Collection.
• Notoncus capitatus: Syntype, 1 worker, Tamborine Mt. [as Mt. Tambourine], Queensland, Australia, Musee d'Histoire Naturelle Genève.
• Notoncus capitatus: Syntype, worker(s), probably Liverpool or Trial Bay, New South Wales, Australia, Berlin Museum für Naturkunde der Humboldt-Universität.
• Notoncus mjobergi Forel, 1915: Holotype, worker, Colosseum, Queensland, Australia, probably in Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet.
• Notoncus capitatus minor: Syntype, worker(s), probably Liverpool or Trial Bay, New South Wales, Australia, Berlin Museum für Naturkunde der Humboldt-Universität.

References

• Brown, W. L., Jr. (1955). A revision of the Australian ant genus Notoncus Emery, with notes on the other genera of Melophorini. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 113: 471–494.
• Cantone S. 2017. Winged Ants, The Male, Dichotomous key to genera of winged male ants in the World, Behavioral ecology of mating flight (self-published).
• Cantone S. 2018. Winged Ants, The queen. Dichotomous key to genera of winged female ants in the World. The Wings of Ants: morphological and systematic relationships (self-published).
• Forel, A. (1915). Results of Dr. E. Mjöbergs Swedish Scientific Expeditions to Australia 1910-13. 2. Ameisen. Arkiv för Zoologi, 9(16): 1–119.
• 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).
• Siddiqui, J. A., Li, J., Zou, X., Bodlah, I., Huang, X. 2019. Meta-analysis of the global diversity and spatial patterns of aphid-ant mutualistic relationships. Applied Ecology and Environmental Research 17: 5471-5524 (doi:10.15666/aeer/1703_54715524).
• Taylor, R. W. (1992). Nomenclature and distribution of some Australian and New Guinean ants of the subfamily Formicinae. Journal of the Australian Entomological Society 31: 57–69.
• Viehmeyer, H. (1925). Formiciden der australischen Faunenregion. (Schluss.). Entomologische Mitteilungen. Berlin-Dahlem, 14: 139–149.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

• Janda M., G. D. Alpert, M. L. Borowiec, E. P. Economo, P. Klimes, E. Sarnat, and S. O. Shattuck. 2011. Cheklist of ants described and recorded from New Guinea and associated islands. Available on http://www.newguineants.org/. Accessed on 24th Feb. 2011.