Polyrhachis sokolova
Polyrhachis sokolova | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Hymenoptera |
Family: | Formicidae |
Subfamily: | Formicinae |
Tribe: | Camponotini |
Genus: | Polyrhachis |
Subgenus: | Chariomyrma |
Species: | P. sokolova |
Binomial name | |
Polyrhachis sokolova Forel, 1902 | |
Synonyms | |
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This is the only species of Polyrhachis known to nest in marine and estuarine mud of the intertidal zone. Its nests are mound-like, with a small opening at the top, and are completely submerged at each high tide. Distribution is limited to the tidal mudflats of coastal mangrove forests. (Kohout 1988) (Robson 2010)
At a Glance | • Intertidal zone |
Identification
Distribution
Latitudinal Distribution Pattern
Latitudinal Range: -16.38333333° to -21.15°.
North Temperate |
North Subtropical |
Tropical | South Subtropical |
South Temperate |
- Source: AntMaps
Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Australasian Region: Australia (type locality), New Caledonia.
Indo-Australian Region: New Guinea.
Polyrhachis sokolova occurs along the Australian coastline from Torres Strait to as far south as Gladstone in central Queensland (Kohout 1988). It is a quite common species that also occurs beyond the Australian mainland, with records from the Aru Islands, the southern coast of Papua and New Caledonia (Kohout, 2013).
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
From Narendra et al. (2013) P. sokolova lives in mudflat habitats and are probably one of the only intertidal ants in the world, making nests at the base of trees in the mangroves. They forage individually, exploiting the dead organisms that are washed up. Their nests and foraging sites get inundated during high tides. Hence to get to their nest, they swim with a kind of freestyle, tucking the back two sets of legs behind and using the front legs as a human would to propel forward. They are about three times faster on water than their walking speed on land. But they mostly forage on ground and swim only when there is no option.
Although P. sokolova ants are very good swimmers, they like a dry home and have developed some tricks to keep their homes watertight. The architecture of the nest is very unique: the entrance doesn't open up directly into large chambers as it does in most other ants nests, they have S shaped curved patterns which create enough surface tension to block the water from coming into the nest.
Workers are active during low tides at both day and night and thus experience a wide range of light intensities, and this is reflected in the structure of their compound eyes.
Castes
Images from AntWeb
Worker. Specimen code casent0281361. Photographer Cerise Chen, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. | Owned by PSWC, Philip S. Ward Collection. |
Worker. Specimen code casent0906592. Photographer Estella Ortega, 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.
- sokolova. Polyrhachis sokolova Forel, 1902h: 522 (w.) AUSTRALIA. Combination in P. (Hagiomyrma): Emery, 1925b: 185; in P. (Chariomyrma): Kohout, 2013: 491. Senior synonym of degener: Kohout, 1988c: 436.
- degener. Polyrhachis sokolova var. degener Forel, 1910b: 84 (w.) AUSTRALIA. Combination in P. (Hagiomyrma): Emery, 1925b: 185. Junior synonym of sokolova: Kohout, 1988c: 436.
Type Material
- Syntype, workers, Mackay, Queensland, Australia, G. Turner, Musee d'Histoire Naturelle Genève.
Description
Kohout (2113): When describing Polyrhachis sokolova, Forel indicated that it belonged to the ammon-group and, consequently, Emery (1925) and all subsequent authors treated it as a member of the subgenus Hagiomyrma. However, P. sokolova features laminate pronotal margins with acutely spinose humeri, a character common to species of the subgenus Chariomyrma Forel. In fact, small specimens of P. sokolova (‘var. degener’) are remarkably similar to Polyrhachis constricta, described by Emery from Australia in 1897, and subsequently placed by him in the subgenus Chariomyrma (Emery 1925: 186).
Specimens from the Northern Territory differ in several characters from those from Queensland and were earlier considered a separate, undescribed species (see Kohout 1988: 436; Nielsen 1997: 16). However, subsequent examination and comparison of Northern Territory specimens with others from throughout the range of P. sokolova, has shown no taxonomically significant variability to justify their separate specific status. At many localities in the Northern Territory, P. sokolova is sympatric with Polyrhachis constricta and their undeniable similarity resulted in Andersen (2000) correctly listing both species under the subgenus Chariomyrma.
References
- Emery, C. 1925d. Hymenoptera. Fam. Formicidae. Subfam. Formicinae. Genera Insectorum 183: 1-302 (page 185, Combination in P. (Hagiomyrma))
- Forel, A. 1902j. Fourmis nouvelles d'Australie. Rev. Suisse Zool. 10: 405-548 (page 522, worker described)
- Heterick, B.E. 2021. A guide to the ants of Western Australia. Part I: Systematics. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 86, 1-245 (doi:10.18195/issn.0313-122x.86.2021.001-245).
- Heterick, B.E. 2022. A guide to the ants of Western Australia. Part II: Distribution and biology. Records of the Western Australian Museum, supplement 86: 247-510 (doi:10.18195/issn.0313-122x.86.2022.247-510).
- Kohout, R. J. 1988c. Nomenclatural changes and new Australian records in the ant genus Polyrhachis Fr. Smith (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Formicinae). Mem. Qld. Mus. 25: 429-438 (page 436, Senior synonym of degener)
- Kohout, R.J. 2013. Revision of Polyrhachis (Hagiomyrma) Wheeler, 1911 (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Formicinae). Memoirs of the Queensland Museum, Nature 56, 487-577.
- Narendra A, Alkaladi A, Raderschall CA, Robson SKA, Ribi WA (2013) Compound Eye Adaptations for Diurnal and Nocturnal Lifestyle in the Intertidal Ant, Polyrhachis sokolova. PLoS ONE 8(10): e76015. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0076015
- Narendra, A., Alkaladi, A., Raderschall, C.A., Robson, S.K.A., Ribi, W.A. 2013. Compound eye adaptations for diurnal and nocturnal lifestyle in the intertidal ant, Polyrhachis sokolova. PLoS ONE 8, e76015 (doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0076015).
- Ramirez-Esquivel, F., Leitner, N.E., Zeil, J., Narendra, A. 2017. The sensory arrays of the ant, Temnothorax rugatulus. Arthropod Structure, Development 46, 552–563 (doi:10.1016/j.asd.2017.03.005).
- Robson, S. 2010 Ants in the intertidal zone: colony and behavioral adaptations for survival. In: Lach, Lori, Parr, Catherine L., and Abbott, Kirsti L., (eds.) Ant Ecology. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 185-186.
- Robson, S. 2020. Spiny Ants (Polyrhachis). Encyclopedia of Social Insects, pp. 1–6. (doi:10.1007@978-3-319-90306-4_115-1).
- Schultheiss, P., Raderschall, C. A., Narendra, A. 2015. Follower ants in a tandem pair are not always naïve. Scientific Reports 5: 10747 (doi:10.1038/srep10747).
- Yanoviak, S.P., Frederick, D.N. 2014. Water surface locomotion in tropical canopy ants. Journal of Experimental Biology 217, 2163–2170 (doi:10.1242/jeb.101600).
References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics
- Andersen A. N., J. C. Z. Woinarski, and B. Hoffman. 2004. Biogeography of the ant fauna of the Tiwi Islands, in northern Australia's moonsoonal tropics. Australian Journal of Zoology 52: 97-110.
- 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.
- Andersen, Alan N., John C.Z. Woinarski and Ben D. Hoffman. 2004. Biogeography of the ant fauna of the Tiwi Islands, in northern Australia's monsoonal tropics. Australian Journal of Zoology 52: 97-110.
- Janda M., G. D. Alpert, M. L. Borowiec, E. P. Economo, P. Klimes, E. Sarnat, and S. O. Shattuck. 2011. Cheklist of ants described and recorded from New Guinea and associated islands. Available on http://www.newguineants.org/. Accessed on 24th Feb. 2011.
- Jennings J. T., L. Krogmann, and C. Burwell. 2013. Review of the hymenopteran fauna of New Caledonia with a checklist of species. Zootaxa 3736(1): 1-53.
- Kohout R. J. 1988. Nomenclatural changes and new Australian records in the ant genus Polyrhachis Fr. Smith (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Formicinae). Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 25: 429-438
- Kohout R. J. 2000. A review of the distribution of the Polyrhachis and Echinopla ants of the Queensland wet tropics (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Formicinae). Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 46: 183-209
- Kohout R.J. 2013. Revision of Polyrhachis (Hagiomyrma) Wheeler, 1911 (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Formicinae). Memoirs of the Queensland Museum Nature 56: 487577
- Robson Simon Ant Collection, 05-Sept-2014
- Robson Simon Database Polyrhachis -05 Sept 2014
- Woinarski J.C.Z., H. Reichel, and A.N. Andersen. 1998. The distribution of ants on the Wessel and English Company islands, in the seasonal tropics of Australia's Northern Territory. Australian Journal of Zoology 46: 557-578.