Odontoponera denticulata

Odontoponera denticulata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Ponerinae
Tribe:	Ponerini
Genus:	Odontoponera
Species:	O. denticulata
Binomial name
Odontoponera denticulata (Smith, F., 1858) Specimen Labels

Odontoponera denticulata occurs in wooded habitats including forest edges and disturbed areas, and usually nests in soil and forages on the ground surface. (Eguchi et al. 2014)

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 32.9141° to -7.807608°.

North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

• Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Indo-Australian Region: Borneo, Indonesia, Krakatau Islands, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore (type locality).
Oriental Region: Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Laos, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand, Vietnam.

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

Yamane (2009) - Odontoponera denticulata prefers disturbed areas, often bare ground. This contrasts with Odontoponera transversa, a similar species with an overlapping range, that lives in fairly good forests. In Lambir Hills National Park, Sarawak, Borneo, these two ants never coexist in one place. Odontoponera transversa occurs in primary forest and O. transversa inhabits the grounds of the park headquarters. In Bogor Botanical Gardens, West Java, where both species are very common (Ito et al., 2001), their habitat preference are different but less distinct. Odontoponera transversa is typically found in wetter and darker places while O. denticulata is collected around buildings.

Specimens from Taiwan (Leong et al. 2017) were collected in a forest near the coast. The collection site an abandoned house garden with many trees and thick leaf litter.

Castes

.	Owned by Museum of Comparative Zoology.

Images from AntWeb

Holotype of Odontoponera denticulata. Queen (alate/dealate). Specimen code casent0900664. Photographer Ryan Perry, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by NHMUK, London, UK.

Nomenclature

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

• denticulata. Ponera denticulata Smith, F. 1858b: 90, pl. 6, figs. 13, 14 (q.) South Africa (error).
  • Type-material: holotype queen.
  • Type-locality: South Africa: Cape of Good Hope, “?C.G.Hope” on label. Locality in error (Donisthorpe, 1943f: 677), specimen mislabelled.
  • Type-depository: BMNH.
  • Roger, 1861a: 12 (w.).
  • Combination in Odontoponera: Mayr, 1862: 717.
  • Junior synonym of transversa: Dalla Torre, 1893: 30; Forel, 1900d: 314; Emery, 1911d: 60; Wheeler, W.M. 1911f: 166; Wheeler, W.M. 1919e: 52; Creighton, 1929: 152; Donisthorpe, 1943f: 677; Bolton, 1995b: 298; Zhou, 2001b: 47.
  • Status as species: Roger, 1861a: 12; Mayr, 1862: 717; Roger, 1863b: 18; Mayr, 1863: 437; Mayr, 1865: 65; Mayr, 1867a: 82 (redescription); Mayr, 1872: 149; Forel, 1886d: 246; Emery, 1887b: 435; Emery, 1889b: 497; Baltazar, 1966: 245; Jaitrong & Nabhitabhata, 2005: 30; Yamane, 2009: 5 (redescription); Pfeiffer, et al. 2011: 57; Liu, C., Guénard, et al. 2015: 42; Bharti, Guénard, et al. 2016: 53; Jaitrong, Guénard, et al. 2016: 42; Rasheed, et al. 2019: 435.
  • Senior synonym of reticulata: Yamane, 2009: 7 (in text).
  • Distribution: Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia (Java), Laos, Malaysia (Sabah, Sarawak), Myanmar, Pakistan Philippines (Basilan, Luzon, Negros, Panay, Romblon), Thailand, Vietnam.
  • [Note: distribution probably inaccurate because of confusion of denticulata and transversa in the past.]
• reticulata. Ponera reticulata Smith, F. 1858b: 85 (m.) MYANMAR.
  • Type-material: holotype male.
  • Type-locality: Myanmar: “Birmah. 57/16” (Waring).
  • Type-depository: BMNH.
  • Status as species: Mayr, 1863: 450; Smith, F. 1871a: 320; Dalla Torre, 1893: 42; Emery, 1911d: 116; Chapman & Capco, 1951: 72.
  • Junior synonym of transversa: Donisthorpe, 1932c: 474; Bolton, 1995b: 298; Zhou, 2001b: 47.
  • Junior synonym of denticulata: Yamane, 2009: 7 (in text).

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

Description

Worker

Leong et al. (2017) - HL 2.38–2.50 mm; HW 2.17–2.29 mm; SL 1.83–1.88 mm; TL 9.05–9.61 mm; PrW 1.50–1.73 mm; WL 3.38–3.46 mm; CI 91–94, SI 82–84. (n = 3 from Taiwan)

Head. In full-face view, rectangular with lateral sides slightly convex and occipital margin very weakly concave. Anterior margin of clypeus with eight teeth. Mandible strong and triangle, with five teeth. Eye large and circular, with ca. 25 ommatidia along long axis. Vertex with poorly developed raised area near occipital margin. Antenna with 12 segments; antennal scape only slightly exceeding the occipital margin.

Mesosoma. In lateral view, dorsum of mesosoma slightly convex, with distinct promesonotal suture and metanotal groove so that mesonotum sharply defined. In dorsal view, mesosoma narrowing from pronotum to propodeum. Shoulders of pronotum with a pair of blunt spines; anterior margin of pronotum convex. Posterodorsal corner of propodeum rounded, forming blunt angle, with some pairs of denticles.

Petiole. In dorsal view, petiole broader than long. Petiolar node in frontal view slightly concave apically, in lateral view narrowly triangular with straight anterior and posterior margins. With petiole in profile subpetiolar process trapezoidal, narrowed behind, with anterovental corner rightangled and posterovental corner more acute.

Sculpture. Head and mesosoma with deep rugae; pronotum with deep and regular transverse rugae; lateral pronotal profile with curved rugae, mesonotum and propodeum also with transverse but weakly curved rugae. Clypeus with fine longitudinal striae. Propodeal declivity with a few superficial transverse striae. Mandible, subpetiolar process and gaster smooth. Rugae on petiole almost obliterated. Pilosity. Sides of head, anterior margin of clypeus, sides of mandible, dorsum of mesosoma, petiolar node, and gaster with standing hairs of various lengths. Antennae, legs, propodeal dorsum, petiolar node and gaster densely with appressued pubescence.

Color. Body color blackish brown, sometimes with reddish tinge; antennae and legs reddish brown.

Type Material

The following notes on F. Smith type specimens have been provided by Barry Bolton (details):

Ponera denticulata

Holotype alate queen in The Natural History Museum. Labelled “Ponera denticulata Sm. ?C.G. Hope.” Type-locality of Cape of Good Hope (South Africa) in error. Locality = Singapore, see Donisthorpe, 1943f: 677.

References

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