Simopone oculata

Simopone oculata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Dorylinae
Genus:	Simopone
Species group:	grandidieri
Species:	S. oculata
Binomial name
	Simopone oculata; Radchenko, 1993 Specimen Labels

The type was collected in secondary tropical forest under a wood stump.

Identification

A member of the grandidieri species group. This appears to be a more slender species, with AIIW/AIIL 0.80. Like Simopone chapmani and Simopone gressitti, AII is longer than AIII and the metapleuron has a transverse sulcus. However, Radchenko’s figs 4 and 5 show a lack of the defined antennal scrobe, deflected down in front of the eye, that is characteristic of those two species. In fact, the morphology of this area of the head seems more closely to resemble that of the Malagasy species Simopone elegans and Simopone grandidieri, where the impression between antennal socket and anterior margin of eye is a broad but shallow fossa, rather than a defined longitudinal scrobe. (Bolton and Fisher 2012)

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Oriental Region: Thailand, Vietnam (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

Explore Overview of Simopone biology

Little is known about the biology of most species of Simopone. Specimens are rarely collected, and the number of species known only from workers is telling in regards to a lack of nest samples. Species are almost entirely arboreal but on occasion foraging workers are found on the ground or in rotten logs. Prey records are extremely sparse. They consist only of Crematogaster brood by Simopone vepres, and the brood of Terataner by Simopone sicaria. Nevertheless, these two records support the general supposition by Brown (1975) that most or all members of tribe Cerapachyini prey on other ants, or more probably the brood of other ants, but actual records are extremely rare. (Bolton and Fisher 2012)

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Castes

Nomenclature

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

oculata. Simopone oculata Radchenko, 1993b: 45, figs. 4-6 (w.) VIETNAM (Kondor I.).
- Type-material: holotype worker.
- Type-locality: Vietnam: Kondor I. (= Côn Đáo), N 127-87, 5.iv.1987 (A. Radchenko).
- Type-depository: SIZK.
- Status as species: Bolton, 1995b: 383; Bolton & Fisher, 2012: 71; Chen, Zhou & Liang, 2015: 9 (in key); Chen, Chen & Zhou, 2019: 30 (in key).
- Distribution: Vietnam.

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

Description

Worker

Dimensions (in mm). Holotype worker: AL 1.02; HL 0.84; HW 0.55; ED 0.38; OD 0.27; PTW 0.45; PTL 0.56; PPTW 0.50; PPTL 0.53; PW 0.45; TL 4.5.

Head elongate (CI 65); sides almost parallel, slightly concave before eyes, slightly convex behind; occipital border feebly concave; occipital carinae well developed, enclosing the occiput laterally as well as dorsally. Eyes very large (OI 69), interocular distance very short (IOI 0.71); Ocelli minute. Scapes barely reaching anterior margin of eyes. Median portion of anterior clypeal border slightly convex. Frontal carinae feebly curved, not diverging posteriorly, meeting very fine postorbital carina. Alitrunk twice as long as broad in dorsal view, its dorsolateral borders right-angled, carinate on the pro- and mesosotum as well as posterior border of propodeum; anterior border of propodeum with strongly developed transverse carina. Promesonotal suture represented by transversely ribbed trace on alitrunk dorsum, mesopropodeal suture feebly developed, poorly visible; both sutures well developed on the sides of the alitrunk. Femora and tibiae moderately inflated. Petiole in dorsal view broader behind than in front, with a distinct transverse anterior carina, IPT 1.25; lateral and posterior borders not carinate; posterior border concave medially. Postpetiole subsquare (IPPT 1.06) with parallel sides and rounded anteroventral and posteroventral corners; its posterior border with transverse carina. Mandibles and entire body smooth and shining, lacking sculpturation except for scattered minute piligerous punctures. Dorsum of head and alitrunk and entirely petiole, postpetiole and gaster with very short, sparse decumbent or subdecumbent pilosity, distance between pilosulae longer than their length. Erect hairs rare. Colour dark brown, almost black; mandibles, appendages and apex of gaster reddish-brown.

Type Material

Bolton and Fisher (2012) - Holotype worker, Vietnam: Isl. Kondor, N. 127-87, 5.iv.1987 (A. Radchenko) (Institute of Zoology, Ukrainian Academy of Science) [not seen].

References

Bolton, B. & Fisher, B.L. 2012. Taxonomy of the cerapachyine ant genera Simopone Forel, Vicinopone gen. n. and Tanipone gen. n. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zootaxa 3283, 1–101 (doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3283.1.1).
Khachonpisitsak, S., Yamane, S., Sriwichai, P., Jaitrong, W. 2020. An updated checklist of the ants of Thailand (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). ZooKeys 998, 1–182 (doi:10.3897/zookeys.998.54902).
Radchenko, A. G. 1993c. New ants of the subfamily Cerapachyinae (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from Vietnam. Zh. Ukr. Entomol. Tov. 1:43-47 PDF (page 45, figs. 4-6 worker described)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

Borowiec M. L. 2016. Generic revision of the ant subfamily Dorylinae (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). ZooKeys 608: 1–280.
Chen Z., Y. Chen Y, and S. Zhou. 2019. Simopone fisheri sp. n., a new species of Dorylinae ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from China, with an illustrated key to the S. grandidieri-group species. ZooKeys 838: 21–33.