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Plagiolepis moelleri
Plagiolepis moelleri is known from a single collection from Sikkim.
| Plagiolepis moelleri | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Formicinae |
| Tribe: | Plagiolepidini |
| Genus: | Plagiolepis |
| Species: | P. moelleri |
| Binomial name | |
| Plagiolepis moelleri Bingham, 1903 | |
Identification
Distribution
Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Oriental Region: India (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. |
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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
Nomenclature
The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.
- moelleri. Plagiolepis moelleri Bingham, 1903: 321 (w.) INDIA. Combination in P. (Anacantholepis): Emery, 1925b: 23.
Description
Unless otherwise noted the text for the remainder of this section is reported from Bingham 1903.
Worker
Head and thorax deep reddish brown, antennae and legs lighter red-brown, node of the pedicel and abdomen black; head, thorax and abdomen covered with long soft pubescence, pale yellowish on the front of the head and the thorax, black on the abdomen; pilosity almost entirely wanting, confined to a few scattered erect hairs chiefly on the front of the head and the apical segments of the abdomen. The pubescence on the basal two abdominal segments is thick, and gives the segments an opaque appearance. Head subtriangular, very broad and emarginate posteriorly; mandibles broad, the masticatory margin very oblique, dentate, the teeth very long and acute; clypeus strongly medially carinate, the medial angle on the anterior margin ill-defined; frontal area distinct, antennal carinae parallel; antennae comparatively short and stout; eyes comparatively small, placed midway on the sides of the head. Thorax short and broad; pronotum very convex and gibbous; mesonotum seen from above almost circular, convex; meso-metanotal emargination broad and deep; metanotum short and very broad, the basal portion about the same length as the oblique apical portion, into which it passes by a distinct angle; legs short and stout. Node of the pedicel low, transverse, rounded above; abdomen broadly oval, massive.
Length - 4.5 mm
References
- Bingham, C. T. 1903. The fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Hymenoptera, Vol. II. Ants and Cuckoo-wasps. London: Taylor and Francis, 506 pp. (page 321, worker described)
- Emery, C. 1925d. Hymenoptera. Fam. Formicidae. Subfam. Formicinae. Genera Insectorum 183: 1-302 (page 23, Combination in P. (Anacantholepis))
- Subedi, I.P., Budha, P.B., Bharti, H., Alonso, L. 2020. An updated checklist of Nepalese ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). ZooKeys 1006, 99–136 (doi:10.3897/zookeys.1006.58808).