Solenopsis nitens

Solenopsis nitens
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmicinae
Tribe:	Solenopsidini
Genus:	Solenopsis
Species:	S. nitens
Binomial name
Solenopsis nitens Bingham, 1903 Specimen Labels

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 13.06666667° to 13.06666667°.

North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

• Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Oriental Region: India, Sri Lanka (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.

Nomenclature

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

• nitens. Solenopsis nitens Bingham, 1903: 160 (w.) SRI LANKA.
  • Type-material: syntype workers (number not stated).
  • Type-locality: Sri Lanka (“Ceylon”): Peradeniya, nr Kandy (Green).
  • Type-depository: OXUM.
  • Status as species: Forel, 1911h: 455; Emery, 1922e: 203; Chapman & Capco, 1951: 168; Ettershank, 1966: 142; Bolton, 1995b: 389; Bharti, Guénard, et al. 2016: 44; Dias, R.K.S. et al. 2020: 90.
  • Distribution: India, Sri Lanka.

Description

Unless otherwise noted the text for the remainder of this section is reported from Bingham (1903).

Worker

Reddish brown: mandibles, antennae and legs yellow.

Head, thorax and abdomen smooth, polished and shining, without any sculpture; pilosity pale, sparse, most plentiful on the front and on the abdomen. Head proportionately rather large, rectangular, slightly emarginate posteriorly, sides not very convex, very much longer than broad; mandibles rather dull, subopaque, the masticatory margin very oblique, armed with 4 teeth, the apical tooth long and acute; clypeus convex, the two carinae conspicuous, their apices acutely dentate, yellowish in colour; antennae short, the scape not reaching the top of the head; eyes placed below the middle on the sides of the head. Thorax anteriorly very convex; the pro-mesonotum forms a prominent raised convexity, the posterior face of which slopes steeply back to the deeply-marked meso-metanotal suture; viewed in profile, the thorax is deeply emarginate at the suture; basal portion of metanotum strongly compressed, very much narrower than the front portion of the thorax, the apex truncate, the sides not triaugularly produced at the posterior lateral angles as in S. geminata; legs rather slender. Pedicel elongate; the 1st node squamiform, rounded above, much broader than long, with a long petiole anteriorly; 2nd node rounded, as broad as long; abdomen oval.

Length: 1.2 - 1.5 mm.

References

• Bingham, C. T. 1903. The fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Hymenoptera, Vol. II. Ants and Cuckoo-wasps. London: Taylor and Francis, 506 pp. (page 160, worker described)
• Chanda, A. 2017. A study on ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Medinipur, West Bengal, India. International Journal of Entomological Research 2(5): 1-4.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

• Chapman, J. W., and Capco, S. R. 1951. Check list of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Asia. Monogr. Inst. Sci. Technol. Manila 1: 1-327
• D'Cunha P., and V. Mala Grover Nair. 2013. Diversity and Distribution of Ant Fauna in Hejamadi Kodi Sandspit, Udupi District, Karnataka, India. Halteres 4: 33-47.
• Dias R. K. S. 2002. Current knowledge on ants of Sri Lanka. ANeT Newsletter 4: 17- 21.
• Dias R. K. S. 2006. Current taxonomic status of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Sri Lanka. The Fauna of Sri Lanka: 43-52. Bambaradeniya, C.N.B. (Editor), 2006. Fauna of Sri Lanka: Status of Taxonomy, Research and Conservation. The World Conservation Union, Colombo, Sri Lanka & Government of Sri Lanka. viii + 308pp.
• Dias R. K. S., K. R. K. A. Kosgamage, and H. A. W. S. Peiris. 2012. The Taxonomy and Conservation Status of Ants (Order: Hymenoptera, Family: Formicidae) in Sri Lanka. In: The National Red List 2012 of Sri Lanka; Conservation Status of the Fauna and Flora. Weerakoon, D.K. & S. Wijesundara Eds., Ministry of Environment, Colombo, Sri Lanka. p11-19.
• Ettershank G. 1966. A generic revision of the world Myrmicinae related to Solenopsis and Pheidologeton (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Aust. J. Zool. 14: 73-171.
• Forel A. 1911. Sur le genre Metapone n. g. nouveau groupe des Formicides et sur quelques autres formes nouvelles. Rev. Suisse Zool. 19: 445-459.