Prolasius scipio

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Prolasius scipio
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Formicinae
Tribe: Melophorini
Genus: Prolasius
Species: P. scipio
Binomial name
Prolasius scipio
(Forel, 1915)

Identification

Distribution

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Australasian Region: Australia (type locality).

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

Nomenclature

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

  • scipio. Melophorus scipio Forel, 1915b: 86 (w.) AUSTRALIA.
    • Combination in Melophorus: Taylor & Brown, 1985: 124;
    • Combination in Prolasius: Wheeler, W.M. 1935c: 71; Heterick, et al. 2017: 412.
    • Status as species: Emery, 1925b: 12; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 124; Bolton, 1995b: 250; Heterick, et al. 2017: 412.

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

Heterick et al. (2017) - The whereabouts of the sole known specimen were unknown for many years, but investigation has recovered the holotype in SMNH, where it was in a different location to the type material. The Automontage photographs reveal a somewhat puzzling mosaic of characters that do not allow the single worker to be easily placed in either Melophorus or Prolasius. If the taxonomic key to ant genera in Shattuck (1999) is followed, the holotype is also excluded from any other Australian formicine genus. The appearance of the propodeal spiracle, which is circular, is not replicated in any known Melophorus and the ant lacks J-shaped setae on the underside of the head capsule (pers. comm. H. Vardal) and the characteristic psammophore. The type locality– Mt Bellenden Ker, in tropical northern QLD–is also an unlikely site for members of this heat-loving genus. Mt Bellenden Ker receives the highest rainfall of any meteorological station in Australia (http://www.bom.gov.au/announcements/media_releases/ho/010105.shtml). Against easy placement in Prolasius is the rounded anterior margin of the clypeus, the extreme hairiness of the scape and the lack of an ocellar triangle (pers. comm. H. Vardal) usually seen in this genus. However, the ant satisfies the present taxonomic diagnosis for Prolasius, though not Melophorus, so we here provisionally return M. scipio in the genus Prolasius. This agrees with Wheeler’s (1934) decision.

Description

Type Material

Heterick et al. (2017) - Holotype. W, Mt Bellenden Ker, Queensland (Naturhistoriska Riksmuseet).

  • Holotype, worker, Bellenden Ker, Queensland, Australia.

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • Forel A. 1915. Results of Dr. E. Mjöbergs Swedish Scientific Expeditions to Australia 1910-13. 2. Ameisen. Ark. Zool. 9(16): 1-119
  • Taylor R. W. 1987. A checklist of the ants of Australia, New Caledonia and New Zealand (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization) Division of Entomology Report 41: 1-92.
  • Taylor R. W., and D. R. Brown. 1985. Formicoidea. Zoological Catalogue of Australia 2: 1-149.