Paraparatrechina umbranatis

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Paraparatrechina umbranatis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Formicinae
Tribe: Lasiini
Genus: Paraparatrechina
Species: P. umbranatis
Binomial name
Paraparatrechina umbranatis
LaPolla & Cheng, 2010

Paraparatrechina umbranatis casent0178764 profile 1.jpg

Paraparatrechina umbranatis casent0178764 dorsal 1.jpg

Specimen Label

Paraparatrechina umbranatis has been collected from a variety of forest habitats.

Identification

LaPolla et al. (2010) - Body distinctly bicolored, with gaster much darker than head and mesosoma.

Compare with: Paraparatrechina oreias and Paraparatrechina subtilis. This species is easily recognizable by the distinctly darker gaster (brown) contrasting with the yellow-brown head and mesosoma. While many Paraparatrechina species display various coloration patterns between the different tagmata this is the only species that could be considered truly bicolored.

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 0.6° to -11.485767°.

 
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Afrotropical Region: Angola, Gabon (type locality), Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda.

Distribution based on AntMaps

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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.
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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.
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Biology

Castes

Known only from the worker caste.

Nomenclature

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

  • umbranatis. Paraparatrechina umbranatis LaPolla & Cheng, in LaPolla, Cheng & Fisher, 2010: 15, figs. 9,16,17 (w.) GABON.

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

Description

Worker

(n=12): TL: 1.19–1.57; HW: 0.34–0.36; HL: 0.38–0.41; EL: 0.098–0.112; SL: 0.38–0.43; PW: 0.21–0.27; WL: 0.42–0.49; PDH: 0.18–0.23; PrFL: 0.31–0.34; PrFW: 0.098–0.112; GL: 0.39–0.7. Indices: CI: 87–92; REL: 25–29; SI: 108–120; FI: 30–36.

Head yellowish-brown to light brown, with antennae mandibles, and medial area between antennae slightly lighter; head slightly longer than broad. A dense layer of fine, short, slightly decumbent pubescence covers head. Scapes surpass posterior margin by about the length of the first funicular segment; scape with a dense, slightly decumbent pubescence. Mesosoma yellowish-brown to light brown; fine pubescence covers entire mesosomal dorsum; lateral portions of the mesosoma are distinctly shinier than the dorsum. Pronotum rises steeply from anterior margin to dorsum. Propodeum possesses a short, angular dorsal face, with a long declivitous face. Legs generally lighter colored than mesosoma, becoming whitish towards last tarsal segments. Procoxae usually darker brown than meso/metacoxae; gaster conspicuously darker than head and mesosoma and is covered in a dense layer of pubescence.

Type Material

Holotype worker, GABON: Prov. Ogooue-Martime; Res. Monts Doudou; 24.5 km 303° WNW Doussala; 2°14.0’S, 10°23.9’E; 18.iii.2000; elev. 630 m (B.L. Fisher #2276) (California Academy of Sciences); 8 paratype workers, same locality as holotype (CASC, National Museum of Natural History).

Etymology

The species epithet is a Latin noun in apposition, a compound of umbra (=shade) and natis (=rump), in reference to the fact that the gaster is much darker in color than the head and mesosoma.

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • LaPolla J. S., C. H. Cheng, B. L. Fisher. 2010. Taxonomic revision of the ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) genus Paraparatrechina in the Afrotropical and Malagasy region. Zootaxa 2387: 1-27.
  • Lapolla, J. S., C. H. Cheng, and B. L. Fisher. "Taxonomic revision of the ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) genus Paraparatrechina in the Afrotropical and Malagasy Regions." Zootaxa 2387 (2010): 1-27.
  • Ross S. R. P. J., F. Hita Garcia, G. Fischer, and M. K. Peters. 2018. Selective logging intensity in an East African rain forest predicts reductions in ant diversity. Biotropica 1-11.