Strumigenys hathor

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Strumigenys hathor
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Tribe: Attini
Genus: Strumigenys
Species: S. hathor
Binomial name
Strumigenys hathor
(Bolton, 2000)

Pyramica hathor casent0005451 profile 1.jpg

Pyramica hathor casent0005451 dorsal 1.jpg

Specimen labels

Not known from many collections, these are unusual in being from two disparate habitats: montane rainforest and savanna grassland. Samples were from litter, rotten logs and a pitfall trap.

Identification

Bolton (2000) - A member of the exiguaevitae complex in the Strumigenys leptothrix-group. S. hathor is the most easily differentiated species within the hoplites-complex. It separates from the other 3 species by its long scapes (SI 80-83, as opposed to SI 59-68 in the others combined), and its vestigial lateral petiolar lobes. Apart from this, hathor lacks the 4 setae arranged in a square around the highest point of the vertex that distinguishes Strumigenys exiguaevitae and Strumigenys serket, and has about half the length of the propodea1 teeth free of the lamella, which in the other two species extends almost to the very tips of the teeth. In Strumigenys seti the lateral petiolar spongiform lobes are intermediate in size between the tiny vestiges seen in hathor and the extensive lobes developed in hoplites and serket, but they are still very distinct in seti. Beside this seti also has a marked rim bounding the posterior margin of the scrobe (absent in hathor) and is much more densely hairy. S. seti has numerous hairs projecting laterally from the side of the head behind the eye (absent in hathor), has many more than 3 pairs of erect hairs on the promesonotum (3 pairs at maximum in hathor), and possesses a spaced row of projecting hairs ventrally on each femur (absent in hathor).

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: -14.75° to -14.75°.

 
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Malagasy Region: Madagascar (type locality).

Distribution based on AntMaps

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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.
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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.
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Biology

Castes

Worker

Images from AntWeb

Pyramica hathor casent0005451 head 2.jpgPyramica hathor casent0005451 profile 2.jpgPyramica hathor casent0005451 dorsal 2.jpg
Worker. Specimen code casent0005451. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by CAS, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Pyramica hathor casent0005986 head 1.jpgPyramica hathor casent0005986 profile 1.jpgPyramica hathor casent0005986 profile 2.jpgPyramica hathor casent0005986 dorsal 1.jpgPyramica hathor casent0005986 dorsal 2.jpgPyramica hathor casent0005986 label 1.jpg
Holotype of Pyramica hathorWorker. Specimen code casent0005986. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by MCZ, Cambridge, MA, USA.

Queen

Images from AntWeb

Pyramica hathor casent0006072 head 1.jpgPyramica hathor casent0006072 profile 1.jpgPyramica hathor casent0006072 dorsal 1.jpgPyramica hathor casent0006072 label 1.jpg
Queen (alate/dealate). Specimen code casent0006072. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by CAS, San Francisco, CA, USA.

Nomenclature

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

  • hathor. Pyramica hathor Bolton, 2000: 346 (w.q.) MADAGASCAR. Combination in Strumigenys: Baroni Urbani & De Andrade, 2007: 121

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

Description

Worker

Holotype. TL 3.0, HL 0.74, HW 0.49, CI 66, ML 0.10, MI 14, SL 0.39, SI 80, PW 0.32, AL 0.80. Characters of hoplites-complex. Dorsum of head with sparse short erect simple hairs behind highest point of vertex . Dorsolateral margin of head in full-face view without laterally projecting hairs; one or two short hairs project posteriorly from the occipital margin. Antennal scrobe smooth and shining, its posterior margin merely demarcated by a shallow impression of the surface, without a rim or edge marking the boundary of the scrobe. Eye with 7 ommatidia in the longest row. Short erect simple hairs present dorsally as follows: 2 pairs anteriorly on pronotum, one pair on mesonotum, 2 pairs on petiole node, 2 pairs on disc of postpetiole, 1 0 or more on first gastral tergite. Similar hairs also project forward in a spaced row down the anterior face of the front coxa, and sparse similar but suberect to subdecumbent hairs occur dorsally on the basal half to two-thirds of each femur. Pronotum transversely convex; posterior half of mesonotum and entire propodeum laterally marginate in dorsal view. Propodeal teeth elongate, narrow and acute apically; at least half the length of each tooth is free of the lamella. Anterior face of petiole node confluent with the elongate convex dorsum . Lateral spongiform lobes of petiole vestigial and almost invisible in profile; in dorsal view seen to be confined to a tiny outgrowth on each side at the posterolateral angles. Ventral spongiform curtain of petiole in profile scarcely deeper than the maximum depth of petiole itself. Ventral lobe of postpetiole slightly smaller than the exposed cuticular area of the disc. Whole body smooth and shining. Petiole laterally with feeble punctulate sculpture and both waist segments may have a few weak costulae laterally.

Paratypes. TL 3.0-3.1, HL 0.74-0.76, HW 0.48-0.50, CI 65-66, ML 0.11, MI 14-15, SL 0.40, SI 80-83, PW 0.30-0.33, AL 0.78-0.84 (2 measured). As holotype but both with pronotal hairs lost by abrasion so that only a single anterior hair remains in each.

Type Material

Holotype worker, Madagascar: 9.2 km. WSW Befingotra, Res. Anjanaharibe-Sud, 14°45'S, 49°28'E, 1180 m., 7.xi.1994, ex rotten log, montane rainforest, #1167 (B.L. Fisher) (Museum of Comparative Zoology).

Paratypes. 2 workers and 1 queen (dealate) with same data as holotype (University of California, Davis, The Natural History Museum).

References

  • Baroni Urbani, C. & De Andrade, M.L. 2007. The ant tribe Dacetini: limits and constituent genera, with descriptions of new species. Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale “G. Doria”. 99:1-191.
  • Bolton, B. 2000. The ant tribe Dacetini. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute. 65:1-1028. (page 347, worker, queen described)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • Bolton, B. 2000. The Ant Tribe Dacetini. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute 65
  • Fisher B. L. 2003. Formicidae, ants. Pp. 811-819 in: Goodman, S. M.; Benstead, J. P. (eds.) 2003. The natural history of Madagascar. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, xxi + 1709 pp.