Strumigenys sauteri

Strumigenys sauteri
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmicinae
Tribe:	Attini
Genus:	Strumigenys
Species:	S. sauteri
Binomial name
Strumigenys sauteri (Forel, 1912) Specimen Labels

Common Name
Hime-hirata-uroko-ari
Language:	Japanese

Known from a few collections, all from rainforest litter-samples. In Hong Kong it is a widespread species found in diverse habitats including grasslands, shrublands, plantations (e.g. L. confertus), urban forest remnants, secondary forest, and Feng Shui woods. Specimens were collected at elevation ranging from 19 to 630 m (Tang et al., 2019).

Identification

Bolton (2000) - A member of the Strumigenys sauteri-group. Within this group the three species sauteri, Strumigenys arges and Strumigenys brontes form a complex of closely related forms. All share the dentition described in the introduction to the group and have a characteristic clypeal shape. In full-face view the lateral margins are convex, especially in the anterior half where they curve inwards toward the anterolateral angles; the latter are narrowly rounded and project strongly forward. Between them the anterior margin proper is deeply and evenly concave. The outer margins of the fully closed mandibles intersect the anterior clypeal margin in its concave portion, just mesad of the anteriormost points of the anterolateral clypeal angles.

Of the three species arges and sauteri have the leading edge of the scape with an evenly convex shallow curvature in the basal half. In brontes the leading edge is very broad at about the basal third where it forms a strongly prominent angle, distal to which the margin is shallowly concave. S. brontes also completely lacks basigastral costulae, which in sauteri and arges are visible at least laterally on the limbus. The last two species separate quite well by their sculpture. In sauteri the metapleuron and side of the propodeum are uniformly finely punctate, whilst in arges these areas are mostly or entirely smooth and shining. Most populations of sauteri also have the mesopleuron punctate at least in part, though a few are known where this sclerite is smooth. In arges the mesopleuron always lacks punctate sculpture.

The depository of the holotype worker of sauteri was unknown for many years, and Forel’s misleading original description, in which he miscounted the number of antennal segments, did nothing to facilitate the establishment of its real identity. The rediscovery and redescription of the holotype by Brown & Boisvert (1979) fixed its identity and showed its relationship to the Japanese species Strumigenys canina. Separation of these two is discussed under the latter name.

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  Tang & Guenard (2023), Fig. 35. New species records of Strumigenys in full-face, profile and dorsal views. A–C. Worker of S. rogeri from Thailand (ANTWEB1011943). D–F. Worker of S. sauteri from Hainan, mainland China (HNA-00767). G–I. Worker of S. sauteri from Vietnam (NN-S67-sp14).

Keys including this Species

• Key to Strumigenys of China (as Pyramica)
• Key to Strumigenys of East Asia (as Pyramica)

Distribution

The first Japanese record of S. sauteri was from Mt. Yonaha-dake, Okinawa, by Terayama (1985). S. sauteri is also present in the Ishigaki Islands (Ogata, unpublished; Japanese Ant Image Database).

Tang & Guenard (2023) - A common species present in multiple provinces in southern China and Thailand. The new records from Guangdong and Hainan provinces (Fig. 35D–F), and from southern Vietnam (Fig. 35G–I) complete the distribution range of this species within Southeast Asia, with future records from Cambodia and Laos likely.

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 26.5° to 21.91691667°.

North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

• Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Oriental Region: Taiwan (type locality), Thailand, Vietnam.
Palaearctic Region: China, Japan.

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

Using Malaise traps at various locations in Hong Kong, Tang et al. (2019) collected female alates that had flown from their nests in sampling conducted from mid-March to mid-April.

Nomenclature

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

• sauteri. Pentastruma sauteri Forel, 1912a: 51 (w.) TAIWAN. Combination in Pyramica: Bolton, 1999: 1673; in Strumigenys: Baroni Urbani & De Andrade, 2007: 127. See also: Brown & Boisvert, 1979: 203. See also: Bolton, 2000: 464.

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

Type Material

Bolton (2000) - Holotype worker, TAIWAN: Pilam (H. Sauter) (IPAL) [not seen].

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. 1999. Ant genera of the tribe Dacetonini (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). J. Nat. Hist. 3 33: 1639-1689 (page 1673, combination in Pyramica)
• Bolton, B. 2000. The ant tribe Dacetini. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute. 65:1-1028. (page 464, redescription of worker)
• Brassard, F., Leong, C.-M., Chan, H.-H., Guénard, B. 2020. A new subterranean species and an updated checklist of Strumigenys (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from Macao SAR, China, with a key to species of the Greater Bay Area. ZooKeys 970: 63–116 (doi:10.3897/zookeys.970.54958).
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• Terayama, M. 1985c. New records of some ants from the Nansei Islands, Japan. Ari 13: 8 (page 8, catalogue)
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• Wang, C., Chung, F.-Y., Lin, C.-C., Gibson, J. C., McGuire, S., Suarez, A. V., Billen, J. 2023. The spongiform tissue in Strumigenys ants contains exocrine glands. Arthropod Structure & Development 73, 101246 (doi:10.1016/j.asd.2023.101246).
• Wang, C., Lin, C.-C., Keller, R.A., Billen, J. 2021. The ‘hairwheels’ in Strumigenys ants are not glandular. Asian Myrmecology 13: e013004 (doi:10.20362/am.013004).
• Wang, C., Sung, P.-J., Lin, C.-C., Ito, F., Billen, J. 2023. Parthenogenetic reproduction in Strumigenys ants: An update. Insects 14, 195 (doi:10.3390/insects14020195).

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

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