Sima ambigua erythraea

Sima ambigua erythraea
Scientific classification (junior synonym of Tetraponera ambigua)
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Pseudomyrmecinae
Genus:	Tetraponera
Species:	Sima ambigua erythraea; Emery, 1895

This taxon is not in use as it is currently considered to be a junior synonym of Tetraponera ambigua.

Nomenclature

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

erythraea. Sima ambigua subsp. erythraea Emery, 1895h: 23 (w.) YEMEN.
- [Sima ambigua susbp. erythraea Emery, 1893f: 256. Nomen nudum.]
- Combination in S. (Tetraponera): Emery, 1921f: 27;
- combination in Tetraponera: Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 796.
- Subspecies of ambigua: Stitz, 1917: 335; Emery, 1921f: 27; Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 796; Finzi, 1940: 156.
- Status as species: Collingwood, 1985: 242; Bolton, 1995b: 418; Collingwood & Agosti, 1996: 312 (in key); Taylor & McGavin, 2020: 15.
- Junior synonym of ambigua: Ward, 2006: 123; Ward, 2022: 8.

Taxonomic Notes

Taylor & McGavin (2020) treat this taxon as a valid species. They found that "T. erythraea has the alitrunk profile in three shallow convexities, with quite abundant erect hairs, whereas the alitrunk on the T. ambigua type is near flat and there are few, very short, erect hairs [based on the type image on AntWeb.org at CASENT0904033]. The junior synonym of T. ambigua, rhodesiana is identical." They note that Ward (2006) states that T. ambigua has "abundant standing pilosity" and then note "that the types of T. ambigua and rhodesiana do not show abundant standing pilosity". The T. ambigua type specimen imaged by AntWeb (CASENT0904033) clearly shows several elongate hairs. As this is an older specimen it might be expected to have suffered damage since being collected and thus may not have a full complement of hairs. Relying on a single specimen (the type) to characterise an entire species may lead to incorrect conclusions as it is not possible to gauge variation within the species or detect damage to a single specimen. Until T. ambigua and all related forms can be reassessed, it seems prudent to retain T. erythraea as a junior synonym of T. ambigua.

References