Polyrhachis bihamata

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Polyrhachis bihamata
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Formicinae
Tribe: Camponotini
Genus: Polyrhachis
Subgenus: Polyrhachis
Species group: bihamata
Species: P. bihamata
Binomial name
Polyrhachis bihamata
(Drury, 1773)

Polyrhachis bihamata casent0010659 profile 1.jpg

Polyrhachis bihamata casent0010659 dorsal 1.jpg

Specimen labels

Synonyms

Specimens have been collected from rainforest. Hung (1970) - In East India, one bihamata nest of silky yellowish-brown material was found close to the ground in the center of a dump of bamboos (Bingham, 1903).

Identification

A member of the bihamata group of the subgenus Polyrhachis.

Zettel (2019) - Size usually large, dimensions (according to Kohout 2014): body length ca. 9.5–12.0 mm, head width 1.91–2.47 mm. Bicoloured: head, antenna, tips of spines, and legs black; mesosoma, petiole and most of gaster orange brown (apex of gaster variably infuscated). Short pubescence very dense, sparse on head and gaster. Standing setae long and abundant all over trunk, short but numerous on scape. Surface matt. Eyes in full-face view just not reaching outline of head. Ocelli usually present. Pronotal spines pointing posteriorly. Dorsum of propodeum laterally rounded, posteriorly with a pair of short transverse carinae; spiracles not strongly elevated. Petiole columnar; petiolar spines hooked, parallel for most of length. Gaster tergites 1–3 with fine, dense puncturation or reticulation.

Polyrhachis bihamata can be readily identified with the key by Kohout (2014), when considering Polyrhachis dostali, Polyrhachis lacroixi and Polyrhachis tonsilis. These three species are easily separable from P. bihamata by their strongly reduced standing pilosity. However, I have seen a few specimens of P. bihamata with a vestigial median ocellus, which do not fully fit the character “median ocellus always present” in couplet 9.

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Kohout (2014) - Polyrhachis bihamata has been recorded throughout Southeast Asia, from Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar to Malaysia and south to Borneo, Sumatra, possibly Java and Bali. It was also listed by Fr. Smith (1858: 58; 1862: 39; 1863: 126; 1865: 69) variously from India, the Indonesian islands of Waigeo, Bacan, Seram and Sulawesi and from New Guinea, however, I believe that many of these records are based on misidentified specimens, representing mostly Polyrhachis olybria and/or Polyrhachis bellicosa and Polyrhachis erosispina.

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 21.91997222° to -2.76051899°.

 
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Indo-Australian Region: Borneo, Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines.
Oriental Region: Cambodia, India, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam.
Palaearctic Region: China.

Distribution based on AntMaps

AntMapLegend.png

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

Association with Other Organisms

Explore-icon.png 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 host for the fungus Ophiocordyceps irangiensis (a parasitoid) (Quevillon, 2018) (encounter mode primary; direct transmission; transmission outside nest).
  • This species is a host for the fungus Ophiocordyceps myrmecophila (a parasitoid) (Quevillon, 2018) (encounter mode primary; direct transmission; transmission outside nest).

Castes

Male and immature stages in SMFG (Dr W.H.O. Dorow coll.); a single male in QMBA.

  • Zettel (2019), Fig. 10: The original illustration in Drury (1773: pl. XXXVIII, fig. 8) on which Fabricius (1775) based his Formica bihamata (from Biodiversity Heritage Library).


  • Zettel (2019), Fig. 11: Polyrhachis (Polyrhachis) bihamata, neotype worker, lateral view. © Daniela Lehner.
  • Zettel (2019), Figs. 12–13: Polyrhachis (Polyrhachis) bihamata, neotype worker, full-face view (12) and dorsal view of mesosoma and petiole (13). © Daniela Lehner.
  • Liu, C. et al. 2020. Ants of the Hengduan Mountains, Figure 43, Polyrhachis bihamata.
MCZ Polyrhachis bihamata hef2.jpgMCZ Polyrhachis bihamata hal1.jpgMCZ Polyrhachis bihamata had1 6.jpgMCZ Polyrhachis furcata lbs.jpgPolyrhachis-bihamataH2x.jpgPolyrhachis-bihamataL1.25x.jpgPolyrhachis-bihamataD1.25x.jpg
. Owned by Museum of Comparative Zoology.
Polyrhachis bihamata petiole.jpgPolyrhachis bihamata head.jpgPolyrhachis bihamata side.jpgPolyrhachis bihamata top.jpgPolyrhachis bihamata labels.jpgPolyrhachis bihamata queen2 head.jpgPolyrhachis bihamata queen2 side.jpgPolyrhachis bihamata queen2 top.jpgPolyrhachis bihamata queen2 petiole.jpgPolyrhachis bihamata queen2 wing.jpgPolyrhachis bihamata queen2 labels.jpgPolyrhachis bihamata queen head.jpgPolyrhachis bihamata queen side.jpgPolyrhachis bihamata queen top.jpgPolyrhachis bihamata queen petiole.jpgPolyrhachis bihamata queen labels.jpg
.

Images from AntWeb

Polyrhachis bihamata casent0010659 head 2.jpg
Worker. Specimen code casent0010659. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by CAS, San Francisco, CA, USA.

Nomenclature

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

  • bihamata. Formica bihamata Drury, 1773: 73, pl. 38, figs. 7, 8 (w.) MADAGASCAR (Johanna I.). [Locality in error, see Bolton, 1973b: 352.] Mayr, 1872: 139 (q.); Emery, 1887a: 238 (q.); Donisthorpe, 1942b: 70 (m.); Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1990b: 763 (l.). Combination in Polyrhachis: Smith, F. 1857a: 59. Senior synonym of affinis Le Guillou: Mayr, 1872: 139; Dalla Torre, 1893: 259; of minor Karavaiev, perplexa, tonsilis: Hung, 1970: 16; Kohout, 1998: 508.
  • affinis. Formica affinis Le Guillou, 1842: 314 (q.) BORNEO. [Unresolved junior primary homonym of Formica affinis Leach, 1825: 290.] Combination in Polyrhachis: Roger, 1863b: 7. Junior synonym of bihamata: Mayr, 1872: 139; Dalla Torre, 1893: 259.
  • perplexa. Polyrhachis (Polyrhachis) bihamata var. perplexa Santschi, 1925f: 92 (w.) LAOS. Junior synonym of bihamata: Hung, 1970: 16.
  • minor. Polyrhachis bihamata var. minor Karavaiev, 1927e: 12 (w.) INDONESIA (Java). [Unresolved junior primary homonym of minor Forel, above.] Junior synonym of bihamata: Hung, 1970: 16.

Type Material

Neotype worker (designation by Zettel, 2019: 68): Thailand, Chiang Mai Province, Doi Suthep-Pui National Park, Chiang Mai, environment of Monthatarn Falls, N 18°48', E 98°56', 700–750 m a.s.l., 6.XI.1995, leg. H. Zettel (#8), in the Natural History Museum Vienna.

Description

Worker

Hung (1970) - Syntypes: Four workers of perplexa measured-HW 2.30-2.45 mm, HL 2.63-2.75 mm, CI 87-89, SL 3.35-3.58 mm, SI 138-146, PW 1.25-1.37 mm, MPL 4.50-4.88 mm, PSEI 67-71. PH 3.00-3.18 mm. Two workers of tonsilis measured HW 2.15-2.25 mm, HL 2.50 mm, CI 86.90, SL 3.13-3.15 mm, SI 139-146, PW 1.05-1.13 mm, MPL 2.50 mm, MTL (missing), PSEI 67-68, PH 2.75-2.90 mm.

HW 1.88-2.50 mm, HL 2.25-2.75 mm, CI 75-97, SL 3.00-3.50 mm, SI 133-170, PW 1.05-1.40 mm, MPL 2.38-3.15 mm, MTL 4.00-4.75 mm, PSEI 64-115. PH 2.50-3.13 mm. Alitrunk more or less rounded. Pronotum somewhat flat above but without traces of margins. Pronotal spines pointed outwards and bent backwards. Mesonotum with two pyramidal spines contiguous at base, rising upwards and bent backwards. Metanotal groove replaced by a ridge. Propodeum with two contiguous ridges. Basal face inclined, about twice as long as the declivity. Petiole columnar bearing a pair of long, somewhat flattened hook-shaped spines which in most cases are parallel or even contiguous. Body sparsely covered with suberect hairs. Head black. Alitrunk. petiole, gaster and legs moderate reddish-brown or grayish-red, but the tip of the gaster is always darker in color.

Kohout (2014) - TL c. 9.47 – 11.99; HL 2.17 – 2.77; HW 1.91 – 2.47; CI 81-94; SL 2.82 – 3.53; SI 133 – 149; PW 1.11 – 1.36; PeH 2.37 – 3.12; PeI 100-119; MTL 3.98 – 4.79 (19 measured).

Dimensions (bihamata perplexa syntypes): TL c. 10.84 – 12.45; HL 2.50 – 2.71; HW 2.25 – 2.37; CI 87 – 90; SL 3.17 – 3.53; SI 140 – 149; PW 1.16 – 1.26; PeH 2.92 – 3.12; PeI 113 – 119; MTL 4.33 – 4.84 (6 measured).

Dimensions (bihamata tonsilis syntypes): TL c. 10.08 – 10.73; HL 2.43 – 2.46; HW 2.15 – 2.21; CI 88 – 90; SL 3.12; SI 141 – 145; PW 1.06; PeH 2.77 – 2.87; PeI 114 – 117; MTL (missing) (2 measured).

Dimensions (bihamata minor holotype): TL c. 9.12; HL 2.21; HW 1.96; CI 89; SL (missing); PW 1.06; PeH 2.25; PeI 102; MTL 3.93.

Queen

Kohout (2014) - TL c. 13.30; HL 2.77; HW 2.37; CI 85; SL 3.93; SI 166; PW 2.67; PeH 1.31; PeI 47; MTL 4.69 (1 measured).

Queen distinctly larger than worker and with usual characters identifying full sexuality, including three ocelli, complete thoracic structure and wings. The queen of P. bihamata was described by Mayr (1872) and the details are not repeated here. It is somewhat similar to queen of P. ypsilon, with both having the pronotal spines reduced to bluntly angular prominences. The mesoscutum in P. bihamata, however, is distinctly more slender and the golden pilosity and pubescence shorter and less abundant.

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

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