Polyrhachis rixosa

Polyrhachis rixosa
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Formicinae
Tribe:	Camponotini
Genus:	Polyrhachis
Subgenus:	Myrma
Species:	P. rixosa
Binomial name
Polyrhachis rixosa Smith, F., 1858 Specimen Labels
Synonyms
Polyrhachis lycidas Smith, F., 1861

Specimens have been collected from a range of lowland Sulawesi forest habitats from 100 - 600 m.

Identification

A member of the Polyrhachis relucens species group in the subgenus Myrma .

Keys including this Species

• Key to Sulawesi Polyrhachis relucens-group species

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 4.533333333° to -1.25°.

North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

• Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Indo-Australian Region: Borneo, Indonesia (type locality), Malaysia, Philippines, Sulawesi.
Oriental Region: Thailand.

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.

Castes

Queen

Images from AntWeb

Holotype of Polyrhachis rixosa. Queen (alate/dealate). Specimen code casent0903447. Photographer Z. Lieberman, 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.

• rixosa. Polyrhachis rixosus Smith, F. 1858b: 68 (q.) INDONESIA (Sulawesi). Combination in P. (Myrma): Emery, 1925b: 202. Senior synonym of lycidas: Kohout, 1998: 523.
• lycidas. Polyrhachis lycidas Smith, F. 1861b: 43, pl. 1, fig. 23 (w.) INDONESIA (Sulawesi). Mayr, 1867a: 58 (q.). Combination in P. (Myrma): Wheeler, W.M. 1919e: 123. Junior synonym of rixosa: Kohout, 1998: 523.

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

Type Material

Kohout (2008) - Holotype queen. INDONESIA, SULAWESI, The Natural History Museum (examined).

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

Polyrhachis lycidas

Holotype worker in Oxford University Museum of Natural History. Labelled “Tond.” (= Tondano, Sulawesi) and with a Donisthorpe type-label.

References

• Emery, C. 1925d. Hymenoptera. Fam. Formicidae. Subfam. Formicinae. Genera Insectorum 183: 1-302 (page 202, Combination in P. (Myrma))
• Khachonpisitsak, S., Yamane, S., Sriwichai, P., Jaitrong, W. 2020. An updated checklist of the ants of Thailand (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). ZooKeys 998, 1–182 (doi:10.3897/zookeys.998.54902).
• Kohout, R. J. 1998. New synonyms and nomenclatural changes in the ant genus Polyrhachis Fr. Smith (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Formicinae). Mem. Qld. Mus. 42: 505-531 (page 523, Senior synonym of lycidas)
• Kohout, R.J. 2008a. A review of the Polyrhachis ants of Sulawesi with keys and descriptions of new species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Formicinae). Memoirs of the Queensland Museum. 52:255-317.
• Smith, F. 1858b. Catalogue of hymenopterous insects in the collection of the British Museum. Part VI. Formicidae. London: British Museum, 216 pp. (page 68, queen described)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

• Andersen A. N., R. J. Kohout, and C. R. Trainor. 2013. Biogeography of Timor and Surrounding Wallacean Islands: Endemism in Ants of the Genus Polyrhachis Fr. Smith. Diversity 5: 139-148.
• Chapman, J. W., and Capco, S. R. 1951. Check list of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Asia. Monogr. Inst. Sci. Technol. Manila 1: 1-327
• Davidson D. W., S. C. Cook, R. R. Snelling and T. H. Chua. 2003. Explaining the Abundance of Ants in Lowland Tropical Rainforest Canopies. Science 300: 969-972.
• Emery C. 1886. Saggio di un catalogo sistematico dei generi Camponotus, Polyrhachis e affini. Memorie della Reale Accademia delle Scienze dell'Istituto di Bologna 5: 363-382
• Emery C. 1901. Formiciden von Celebes. Zoologische Jahrbücher. Abteilung für Systematik, Geographie und Biologie der Tiere 14:565-580.
• Hashimoto Y., and S. Yamane. 2014. Comparison of foraging habits between four sympatric army ant species of the genus Aenictus in Sarawak, Borneo. Asian Myrmecology 6: 95-104.
• Jaitrong W.; Nabhitabhata, J. 2005. A list of known ant species of Thailand. The Thailand Natural History Museum Journal 1(1): 9-54.
• Kohout R. J. 1998. New synonyms and nomenclatural changes in the ant genus Polyrhachis Fr. Smith (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Formicinae). Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 42: 505-531
• Kohout R.J. 2008. A new Polyrhachis (Myrma) vestita-group species from Sulawesi. Zoologische Mededeelingen, Leiden 82: 297-302.
• Kohout, R. J. 2008. A review of the Polyrhachis ants of Sulawesi with keys and descriptions of new species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Formicinae). Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 52:255-317.
• Pfeiffer M.; Mezger, D.; Hosoishi, S.; Bakhtiar, E. Y.; Kohout, R. J. 2011. The Formicidae of Borneo (Insecta: Hymenoptera): a preliminary species list. Asian Myrmecology 4:9-58
• Robson Simon Database Polyrhachis -05 Sept 2014
• Smith F. 1861. Catalogue of hymenopterous insects collected by Mr. A. R. Wallace in the islands of Ceram, Celebes, Ternate, and Gilolo. [part]. Journal and Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London. Zoology 6: 36-48.
• Tanaka H. O., S. Yamane, and T. Itioka. 2012. Effects of a fern-dwelling ant species, Crematogaster difformis, on the ant assemblages of emergent trees in a Bornean tropical rainforest. Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 105(4): 592-598.
• Wheeler W. M. 1919. The ants of Borneo. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 63:43-147.
• Yamane S.; Nona, A. R. 1994. Ants from Lambir Hills National Park, Sarawak. Pp. 222-226 in: Inoue, T.; Hamid, A. A. (eds.) 1994. Plant reproductive systems and animal seasonal dynamics. Long-term study of dipterocarp forests in Sarawak. Kyoto: Center for Ecological Research, Kyoto University, vii + 255 pp.