Technomyrmex andrei

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Technomyrmex andrei
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Dolichoderinae
Genus: Technomyrmex
Species: T. andrei
Binomial name
Technomyrmex andrei
Emery, 1899

Technomyrmex andrei casent0178273 profile 1.jpg

Technomyrmex andrei casent0178273 dorsal 1.jpg

Specimen labels

Synonyms

The largest, most obvious and most widely distributed leaf litter species of Technomyrmex throughout the wet forest zones of the Afrotropical region. It is locally abundant in litter samples throughout west and central Africa and is one of the most commonly collected species of the genus in this region. It nests in and under rotten wood on the forest floor and forages widely in the leaf litter layer but is not known to ascend trees. (Bolton 2007)

Identification

Bolton (2007) - A member of the Technomyrmex bicolor group. The strikingly coloured legs, combined with its setal distribution, emarginate c1ypeus, posteriorly located eyes and size make andrei one of the most easily recognized African Technomyrmex species. Its worke.rs show considerable variation in size and weak allometric variation is present: as HW Increases then CI Increases but SI decreases.

The closest relatives of andrei are Technomyrmex parandrei and Technomyrmex metandrei. Both are certainly much rarer and much more limited in distribution. Both species share the general appearance of andrei but are distinctly differently coloured, as discussed under their respective headings.

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 9.066667° to -3.125556°.

 
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Afrotropical Region: Angola, Cameroun, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon (type locality), Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Liberia, Nigeria, Uganda.

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

Technomyrmex wolfi casent0178280 head 1.jpgTechnomyrmex wolfi casent0178280 profile 1.jpgTechnomyrmex wolfi casent0178280 dorsal 1.jpgTechnomyrmex wolfi casent0178280 label 1.jpg
Worker. Specimen code casent0178280. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by LACM, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Technomyrmex andrei casent0424015 head 1.jpgTechnomyrmex andrei casent0424015 profile 1.jpgTechnomyrmex andrei casent0424015 dorsal 1.jpgTechnomyrmex andrei casent0424015 label 1.jpg
Worker. Specimen code casent0424015. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by CAS, San Francisco, CA, USA.

Queen

Images from AntWeb

Technomyrmex andrei casent0178274 head 1.jpgTechnomyrmex andrei casent0178274 profile 1.jpgTechnomyrmex andrei casent0178274 dorsal 1.jpgTechnomyrmex andrei casent0178274 label 1.jpg
Queen (alate/dealate). Specimen code casent0178274. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by LACM, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

Nomenclature

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

  • andrei. Technomyrmex andrei Emery, 1899e: 488, fig. (w.) GABON. Bernard, 1953b: 255 (q.). Senior synonym of allecta, schereri, wolfi, zumpti: Bolton, 2007a: 19.
  • schereri. Technomyrmex andrei var. schereri Forel, 1911e: 283 (w.) LIBERIA. Junior synonym of andrei: Bolton, 2007a: 19.
  • allecta. Engramma allecta Stitz, 1916: 394, fig. 9 (w.) DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO. Combination in Technomyrmex: Shattuck, 1992c: 160. Junior synonym of andrei: Bolton, 2007a: 19.
  • wolfi. Engramma wolfi Forel, 1916: 432, fig. 1 (w.) DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO. Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 204 (q.m.). Combination in Technomyrmex: Shattuck, 1992c: 161. Junior synonym of andrei: Bolton, 2007a: 19.
  • zumpti. Technomyrmex zumpti Santschi, 1937b: 102 (m.) CAMEROUN. Junior synonym of andrei: Bolton, 2007a: 19.

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

Description

Worker

Bolton (2007) - TL 2.7 - 4.3, HL 0.72 - 1.06, HW 0.61 - 0.98, SL 0.78 - l.08, PW 0.44 - 0.66, WL 1.04 - 1.50 (35 measured). Indices: CI 82 - 95, SI 102 - 130, OI 25 - 30, EPI 85 - 100, DTI 144-156.

Dorsum of head behind clypeus entirely lacks setae. With head in full-face view the eyes located relatively posteriorly (EPI at least 85 and usually more) and their outer margins fail to break the outline of the sides. Anterior clypeal margin with a conspicuous broad median excavation or notch; inner margin of notch meets the more lateral portions of the anterior c1ypeal margin through rounded curves, not marked angles. Posterior margin of head with a marked median impression or emargination. Dorsum of mesosoma and declivity of propodeum entirely lack setae. First gastral tergite without setae but long stiff setae are present on gastral tergites 2 - 4, the longest of them longer than the maximum diameter of the eye. Dotsal surfaces of pronotum, mesonotum and propodeum finely and densely reticulate-punctate, usually quite sharply so but sculpture less strongly incised in some samples. Head, mesosoma, petiole and gaster more or less uniformly dark brown to black. Front legs with coxa the same colour as the mesosoma or nearly so; femur, tibia and tarsus the same or lighter, but the trochanter strikingly paler, white to yellow. Middle and hind legs with coxae, trochanters and basal one-quarter to one-third of femora white to yellow; remainder of femora darker except for apices; tibiae same colour as darker part of femora to uniformly paler than femora; tarsi yellow.

Type Material

Bolton (2007) - Holotype worker, Gabon: Ogoue (E. Andre) (Museo Civico di Storia Naturale, Genoa) [examined].

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • Bernard F. 1953. La réserve naturelle intégrale du Mt Nimba. XI. Hyménoptères Formicidae. Mémoires de l'Institut Français d'Afrique Noire 19: 165-270.
  • Bolton B. 2007. Taxonomy of the dolichoderine ant genus Technomyrmex Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) based on the worker caste. Contributions of the American Entomological Institute 35(1): 1-150.
  • Bolton, B. "Taxonomy of the dolichoderine ant genus Technomyrmex Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) based on the worker caste." Contributions of the American Entomological Institute 35, no. 1 (2007): 1-149.
  • Braet Y., and B. Taylor. 2008. Mission entomologique au Parc National de Pongara (Gabon). Bilan des Formicidae (Hymenoptera) recoltes. Bulletin S. R. B. E./K.B.V.E. 144: 157-169.
  • Emery C. 1899. Fourmis d'Afrique. Annales de la Société Entomologique de Belgique 43: 459-504.
  • Emery C. 1913. Hymenoptera. Fam. Formicidae. Subfam. Dolichoderinae. Genera Insectorum 137: 1-50.
  • Hita Garcia F., E. Wiesel, G. Fischer. 2013. The ants of Kenya (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)—faunal overview, first species checklist, bibliography, accounts for all genera, and discussion on taxonomy and zoogeography. Journal of East African Natural History 101: 127-222.
  • Kone M., S. Konate, K. Yeo, P. K. Kouassi, and K. E. Linsenmair. 2012. Changes in ant communities along an age gradient of cocoa cultivation in the Oumé region, central Côte d’Ivoire. Entomological Science 15: 324–339.
  • Levieux J., and T. Diomande. 1985. Evolution des peuplements de fourmis terricoles selon l'age de la végétation dans une foret de Cote d'Ivoire intacte ou soumise à l'action humaine. Insectes Sociaux 32(2): 128-139.
  • Ross S. R. P. J., F. Hita Garcia, G. Fischer, and M. K. Peters. 2018. Selective logging intensity in an East African rain forest predicts reductions in ant diversity. Biotropica 1-11.
  • Shattuck S. O. 1994. Taxonomic catalog of the ant subfamilies Aneuretinae and Dolichoderinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). University of California Publications in Entomology 112: i-xix, 1-241.
  • Wheeler W. M. 1922. Ants of the American Museum Congo expedition. A contribution to the myrmecology of Africa. II. The ants collected by the American Museum Congo Expedition. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 45: 39-269.
  • Yeo K., S. Konate, S. Tiho, and S. K. Camara. 2011. Impacts of land use types on ant communities in a tropical forest margin (Oumé - Cote d'Ivoire). African Journal of Agricultural Research 6(2): 260-274.
  • Yeo K., T. Delsinne, S. Komate, L. L. Alonso, D. Aidara, and C. Peeters. 2016. Diversity and distribution of ant assemblages above and below ground in a West African forest–savannah mosaic (Lamto, Cote d’Ivoire). Insectes Sociaux DOI 10.1007/s00040-016-0527-6