Rhytidoponera chalybaea

Rhytidoponera chalybaea
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Ectatomminae
Tribe:	Ectatommini
Genus:	Rhytidoponera
Species:	R. chalybaea
Binomial name
Rhytidoponera chalybaea Emery, 1901 Specimen labels
Synonyms
Ectatomma cyrus Forel, 1910

At a Glance

• Polygynous  • Limited invasive

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: -26.66666667° to -35.083°.

North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

• Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Australasian Region: Australia (type locality), New Zealand.
Indo-Australian Region: Solomon Islands.

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.

Elevation Range

Occurrence at collecting sites during elevational surveys of rainforest in the Eungella region, Queensland, Australia (Burwell et al., 2020).

Species	Elevation (m asl)
	200	400	600	800	1000	1200
Rhytidoponera chalybaea					90-100	80-90
Shading indicates the bands of elevation where species was recorded. Numbers are the percentage of total samples containing this species.

Biology

Association with Other Organisms

 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 eucharitid wasp Chalcura sp. nr. polita (a parasitoid) (Quevillon, 2018) (multiple encounter modes; direct transmission; transmission outside nest).

Life History Traits

• Queen number: polygynous (Ward, 1983; Frumhoff & Ward, 1992)
• Queen mating frequency: single (Ward, 1983; Frumhoff & Ward, 1992)

Castes

Male

Images from AntWeb

Male (alate). Specimen code casent0172344. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by ANIC, Canberra, Australia.

Nomenclature

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

• chalybaea. Rhytidoponera impressa var. chalybaea Emery, 1901a: 51 (w.) AUSTRALIA (New South Wales).
  • Type-material: holotype worker.
  • Type-locality: Australia: New South Wales (Staudinger).
  • Type-depository: MSNG.
  • Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1971b: 1201 (l.); Imai, Crozier & Taylor, 1977: 347 (k.).
  • Combination in R. (Chalcoponera): Emery, 1911d: 39.
  • Subspecies of impressa: Emery, 1911d: 39.
  • Status as species: Brown, 1954g: 4; Brown, 1958g: 202; Ward, 1980: 478 (redescription); Taylor & Brown, 1985: 41; Taylor, 1987a: 67; Bolton, 1995b: 378; Don, 2007: 77; Sarnat, et al. 2013: 69.
  • Senior synonym of cyrus: Brown, 1954g: 4; Ward, 1980: 478; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 41; Taylor, 1987a: 68; Bolton, 1995b: 378.
  • Distribution: Australia.
• cyrus. Ectatomma (Rhytidoponera) cyrus Forel, 1910b: 13 (w.q.) AUSTRALIA (New South Wales).
  • Type-material: syntype workers (number not stated), 1 syntype queen.
  • Type-locality: Australia: New South Wales, Ballina, 1897 (Froggatt).
  • Type-depositories: ANIC, MHNG.
  • Combination in Rhytidoponera (Chalcoponera): Emery, 1911d: 39.
  • Status as species: Emery, 1911d: 39; Emery, 1912a: 77 (in key); Forel, 1915b: 14.
  • Junior synonym of chalybaea: Brown, 1954g: 4; Ward, 1980: 478; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 41; Taylor, 1987a: 68; Bolton, 1995b: 379.

Type Material

• Ectatomma (Rhytidoponera) cyrus Forel, 1910: Syntype, 3 workers, Ballina, New South Wales, Australia, Froggatt,W.W., ANIC32-011933, Australian National Insect Collection.
• Ectatomma (Rhytidoponera) cyrus Forel, 1910: Syntype, 1 worker, Ballina, New South Wales, Australia, Museum Victoria, Melbourne.
• Rhytidoponera impressa chalybaea Emery, 1901: Holotype, worker, New South Wales, Australia, Museo Civico di Storia Naturale, Genoa.

Description

Karyotype

• See additional details at the Ant Chromosome Database.

 Explore: Show all Karyotype data or Search these data. See also a list of all data tables or learn how data is managed.

• n = 21, 2n = 42, karyotype = 6M + 36A (Australia) (Imai et al., 1977; Mariano et al., 2015).

Worker Morphology

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• Caste: monomorphic (Ward, 1983)

References

• Brown, W. L., Jr. 1954g. Systematic and other notes on some of the smaller species of the ant genus Rhytidoponera Mayr. Breviora 33: 1-11. (page 4, Raised to species, and senior synonym of cyrus)
• Burwell, C.J., Nakamura, A. 2020. Rainforest ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) along an elevational gradient at Eungella in the Clarke Range, Central Queensland coast, Australia. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland 125: 43-63.
• Emery, C. 1901b. Notes sur les sous-familles des Dorylines et Ponérines (Famille des Formicides). Ann. Soc. Entomol. Belg. 45: 32-54 (page 51, worker described)
• Emery, C. 1911e. Hymenoptera. Fam. Formicidae. Subfam. Ponerinae. Genera Insectorum 118: 1-125 (page 39, Combination in R. (Chalcoponera))
• Imai, H. T.; Crozier, R. H.; Taylor, R. W. 1977. Karyotype evolution in Australian ants. Chromosoma (Berl.) 59: 341-393 (page 347, karyotype described)
• Mariano, C.S.F., Santos, I.S., Silva, J.G., Costa, M.A., Pompolo, S.G. 2015. Citogenética e evolução do cariótipo em formigas poneromorfas. In: Delabie, J.H.C., Feitosa, R.M., Serrao, J.E., Mariano, C.S.F., Majer, J.D. (eds) As formigas poneromorfas do Brasil, 1st edn. Ilhéus, Brasil, pp 102–125 (doi:10.7476/9788574554419.0010).
• Ward, P. S. 1980a. A systematic revision of the Rhytidoponera impressa group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Australia and New Guinea. Aust. J. Zool. 28: 475-498 (page 478, see also)
• Wheeler, G. C.; Wheeler, J. 1971b. Ant larvae of the subfamily Ponerinae: second supplement. Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 6 64: 1197-1217 (page 1201, larva described)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

• Brown W. L., Jr. 1954. Systematic and other notes on some of the smaller species of the ant genus Rhytidoponera Mayr. Breviora 33: 1-11.
• Emery C. 1901. Notes sur les sous-familles des Dorylines et Ponérines (Famille des Formicides). Annales de la Société Entomologique de Belgique 45: 32-54.
• Forel A. 1915. Results of Dr. E. Mjöbergs Swedish Scientific Expeditions to Australia 1910-13. 2. Ameisen. Ark. Zool. 9(16): 1-119
• Nakamura A., C. P. Catterall, A. P. N. House, R. L. Kitching, and C. J. Burwell. 2007. The use of ants and other soil and litter arthropods as bio-indicators of the impacts of rainforest clearing and subsequent land use. Journal of Insect Conservation 11: 177-186.
• 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.
• Ward P. S. 1980. A systematic revision of the Rhytidoponera impressa group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Australia and New Guinea. Aust. J. Zool. 28: 475-498.