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Tapinoma onaele
| Tapinoma onaele | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Dolichoderinae |
| Genus: | Tapinoma |
| Species: | T. onaele |
| Binomial name | |
| Tapinoma onaele Shakur, Mangaly, Baidya & Bagchi, 2024 | |
The holotype of Tapinoma onaele was collected in a coffee plantation (Coffea robusta and Coffea arabica), with silver oak (Grevillea robusta), jack fruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus), and black plum (Syzygium spp.), as shade trees. The paratype colony at IISc, Bangalore, was found at the base of a golden trumpet tree, Handroanthus chrysotrichus (synonym Tabebuia chrysotricha). The site was dry, and the ground cover was from leaf litter.
Tapinoma onaele was found nesting in the ground and foraging on the ground, on bushes, and in leaf litter. This contrasts with Tapinoma lugubre and Tapinoma himalaicum, which have been suggested to be arboreal (Bharti et al. 2013; Yode et al. 2020). The workers were skittish and avoided the larger Crematogaster species nesting nearby. Tapinoma onaele tended to scale insects (Hemiptera) on the leaves of nearby plants. Tapinoma onaele appears to be generalist in diet, feeding on sucrose solution provided as bait; workers carried seeds and dead mosquitoes (Diptera) inside the nest (Fig. 2). Hourly observation of the nest over a twenty-four-hour period suggests the workers to be nocturnal as they were active between 17:00 and 09:00 hours, and inactive at other times of the day.
Photo Gallery
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Identification
This species belongs to the Tapinoma lugubre species group. Tapinoma onaele can be distinguished from Tapinoma himalaicum and other species in this group by:
- larger body size and longer scapes (SI >1.3) (T. himalaicum has shorter scapes, SI – 1.2)
- dorsal surface of propodeum is convex and rises above the mesonotum (does not rise and is in line in T. himalaicum & Tapinoma wilsoni; rises above mesonotum but is flat in Tapinoma lugubre)
- darker and brownish body (T. himalaicum has a lighter body)
- gaster darker than rest of the body (black) (T. himalaicum has gaster concolorous with the rest of the body)
- antennal scapes concolorous with head (T. himalaicum has scapes lighter than head)
- propodeum is longer (PpL ≥ 0.12 mm) and propodeal declivity index is larger (PDI > 0.5) (propodeum in T. himalaicum is smaller (PpL ≤ 0.1mm) and propodeal declivity index is small (PDI ≤ 0.4))
Keys including this Species
Distribution
Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Oriental Region: India (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. |
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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
Nomenclature
The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.
- onaele. Tapinoma onaele Shakur et al., 2024: 2, fig. 1 (w.) INDIA (Karnataka).
Type Material
- Holotype worker - India: Karnataka, Kodagu district, Virajpet, 12.181754°N, 75.814091°E (±10 m), 917 m alt., leaf litter extraction, 02.ii.2021, Mohammad Abdus Shakur Leg. (IISc).
- Paratypes: 2 workers; India: Karnataka, Bengaluru urban district, IISc Bangalore, 13.019865°N, 77.567646°E (±30 m), 939 m alt., Hand collection, 23.i.2023 & 24.i.2023; 12 workers; India: Karnataka, Bengaluru urban district, IISc Bangalore, 13.019865°N, 77.567646°E (±30 m), 939 m alt., Hand collection, 10.ii.2024 & 11.ii.2024, Mohammad Abdus Shakur Leg. 1 worker; India: Karnataka, Dakshina Kannada district, Puttur, 12.760601°N, 75.2050073°E (±30 m), 115 m alt., Hand collection, 09.xii.2023; 1 worker; India: Kerala, Palakkad district, Palakkad, 10.782537°N, 76.652701°E (±30 m), 120 m alt., Hand collection, 24.ii.2024, Paul Mangaly Leg. (IISc, GKVK).