Rhytidoponera punctata

Rhytidoponera punctata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Ectatomminae
Tribe:	Ectatommini
Genus:	Rhytidoponera
Species:	R. punctata
Binomial name
	Rhytidoponera punctata; (Smith, F., 1858) Specimen Labels
Synonyms
	Rhytidoponera rufonigra Clark, 1936;

Photo Gallery

Rhytidoponera rufonigra from the white sands of Talbot Road Nature Reserve, Stratton, Perth, Western Australia. In this area it is predominantly found in the wetter areas of the Darling Range and the Swan coastal plain. Photo by Farhan Bokhari, 19 March 2011.
Rhytidoponera rufonigra worker from Talbot Road Nature Reserve, Stratton, Perth, Western Australia. She is engaged in social carrying, a form of recruitment, either to an existing or potential source of food or possibly to a new nest site. Note the specific posture of the ant being carried. Workers will drop their nestmates if approached or disturbed. Photo by Farhan Bokhari, 14 August 2011.
Rhytidoponera rufonigra worker, Talbot Road Nature Reserve, Stratton, Perth, Western Australia. Photo by Farhan Bokhari, 14 August 2011.
Rhytidoponera rufonigra worker, Talbot Road Nature Reserve, Stratton, Perth, Western Australia. Photo by Farhan Bokhari, 14 August 2011.
Rhytidoponera rufonigra worker, Talbot Road Nature Reserve, Stratton, Perth, Western Australia. Photo by Farhan Bokhari, 9 June 2012.

Identification

Keys including this Species

Key to Rhytidoponera of the southwestern Australian Botanical Province

Distribution

Heterick (2009) - Its main distribution is in the wetter areas of the Darling Range and Swan coastal plain.

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: -30.85° to -36.3985°.


North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Australasian Region: Australia (type locality).

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

Castes

Images from AntWeb


Specimen code antweb1008320. .

Nomenclature

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

punctata. Ectatomma punctata Smith, F. 1858b: 104 (w.) AUSTRALIA (South Australia).
- Type-material: 2 syntype workers.
- Type-locality: Australia: South Australia, Port Lincoln, “52/110” (no collector’s name).
- Type-depository: BMNH.
- Clark, 1938: 363 (m.).
- Combination in Ponera (Ectatomma): Roger, 1860: 307;
- combination in Ectatomma: Roger, 1863b: 17;
- combination in E. (Rhytidoponera): Emery, in Dalla Torre, 1893: 25;
- combination in Rhytidoponera: Emery, 1911d: 38.
- Status as species: Roger, 1860: 307; Mayr, 1863: 410; Roger, 1863b: 17; Mayr, 1886c: 358; Forel, 1893d: 459; Dalla Torre, 1893: 25; Forel, 1907h: 268; Emery, 1911d: 38; Forel, 1915b: 12; Clark, 1936: 57 (redescription); Clark, 1938: 363; Brown, 1958g: 204, 270; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 46; Taylor, 1987a: 70; Bolton, 1995b: 380.
- Senior synonym of rufonigra: Heterick, 2021: 5.
- Distribution: Australia.
rufonigra. Rhytidoponera rufonigra Clark, 1936: 58, pl. 5, figs. 35, 36 (w.m.) AUSTRALIA (Western Australia).
- Type-material: syntype workers, syntype males (numbers not stated).
- Type-localities: Australia: Western Australia, Perth, Mundaring, and Armadale (J. Clark).
- Type-depository: MVMA.
- Status as species: Brown, 1958g: 204; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 47; Taylor, 1987a: 70; Bolton, 1995b: 380; Heterick, 2009: 139.
- Junior synonym of punctata: Heterick, 2021: 5.

Type Material

Ectatomma punctata: Syntype, 2 workers, Port Lincoln, South Australia, Australia, The Natural History Museum.
Rhytidoponera rufonigra: Syntype, 2 workers, Armadale, Western Australia, Australia, Museum of Comparative Zoology.
Rhytidoponera rufonigra: Syntype, worker(s), male(s), Perth, Mundaring and Armadale, Western Australia, Australia, Museum Victoria, Melbourne.

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

Ectatomma punctata

Two worker syntypes in The Natural History Museum. Labelled “52/110.” Acc. Reg.: “1852 no. 110 (9 Oct.) Australia (Port Lincoln). Zool. Society.”

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.

2n = 50 (Australia) (Crozier et al., 1986).

References

Brown, W. L., Jr. 1958g. Contributions toward a reclassification of the Formicidae. II. Tribe Ectatommini (Hymenoptera). Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 118: 173-362 (page 270, see also)
Clark, J. 1938. The Sir Joseph Banks Islands. Reports of the McCoy Society for Field Investigation and Research. Part 10. Formicidae (Hymenoptera). Proc. R. Soc. Vic. (n.s.) 50: 356-382 (page 363, male described)
Dalla Torre, K. W. von. 1893. Catalogus Hymenopterorum hucusque descriptorum systematicus et synonymicus. Vol. 7. Formicidae (Heterogyna). Leipzig: W. Engelmann, 289 pp. (page 25, Combination in E. (Rhytidoponera))
Emery, C. 1911e. Hymenoptera. Fam. Formicidae. Subfam. Ponerinae. Genera Insectorum 118: 1-125 (page 38, Combination in Rhytidoponera)
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).
Smith, F. 1858b. Catalogue of hymenopterous insects in the collection of the British Museum. Part VI. Formicidae. London: British Museum, 216 pp. (page 104, worker described)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

Clark J. 1938. The Sir Joseph Banks Islands. Reports of the McCoy Society for Field Investigation and Research. Part 10. Formicidae (Hymenoptera). Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria (n.s.)50: 356-382.
Heterick B. E. 2009. A guide to the ants of south-western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum Supplement 76: 1-206.
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.