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Terataner foreli
| Terataner foreli | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Myrmicinae |
| Tribe: | Crematogastrini |
| Genus: | Terataner |
| Species: | T. foreli |
| Binomial name | |
| Terataner foreli (Emery, 1899)
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| At a Glance | • Ergatoid queen |
Identification
Keys including this Species
Distribution
Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Malagasy Region: Madagascar (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
Ergatoid queen described by Alpert (1992).
No alate or dealate queens occur in any of the Malagasy Terataner species. Colonies are almost always monogynous with a single reproductive, an ergatoid queen, that differs only slightly from corresponding workers. This reproductive lacks both wings and ocelli, and has an almost normal, worker-like thorax. The ergatoid queen is externally distinguishable from workers only by very subtle characters (e.g., small spines or tubercles below the mesonotal groove; a unique pattern of rugae on the sides of the pronotum) that vary among species. Ergatoid queens have ovaries bearing two to three ovarioles.
Worker
Images from AntWeb
   
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| Syntype of Terataner foreli. Worker. Specimen code casent0102093. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. | Owned by MSNG, Genoa, Italy. |
   
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| Syntype of Terataner foreli. Worker. Specimen code casent0102136. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. | Owned by MSNG, Genoa, Italy. |
  
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| Worker. Specimen code casent0102232. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. | Owned by NHMUK, London, UK. |
   
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| Worker. Specimen code casent0109508. Photographer Erin Prado, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. | Owned by CAS, San Francisco, CA, USA. |
   
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| Syntype of Terataner foreli. Worker. Specimen code casent0101703. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. | Owned by MHNG, Geneva, Switzerland. |
Nomenclature
The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.
- foreli. Atopomyrmex foreli Emery, 1899f: 274, figs. (w.m.) MADAGASCAR.
- Type-material: syntype workers, syntype putative males (numbers not stated).
- Type-locality: Madagascar: Baia di Antongil, 1897-98 (A. Mocquerys).
- Type-depository: MSNG.
- Combination in Terataner: Emery, 1912b: 103.
- Status as species: Emery, 1899f: 274; Emery, 1912b: 103; Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 1029; Emery, 1924d: 242; Bolton, 1981b: 296; Alpert, 1992: 119; Bolton, 1995b: 403; Hita Garcia, Fischer, et al. 2017a: 11 (in key).
- Distribution: Madagascar.
Unless otherwise noted the text for the remainder of this section is reported from the publication that includes the original description.
Description
Type Material
Bolton (1981) - Syntype workers, Madagascar: Baia di Antongil, 1897-98 (A. Mocquerys) (Museo Civico di Storia Naturale, Genoa) [examined].
References
- Alpert, G. 1992. Observations on the genus Terataner in Madagascar (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Psyche 99: 117-127.
- Cantone S. 2018. Winged Ants, The queen. Dichotomous key to genera of winged female ants in the World. The Wings of Ants: morphological and systematic relationships (self-published).
- Emery, C. 1899e. Formiche di Madagascar raccolte dal Sig. A. Mocquerys nei pressi della Baia di Antongil (1897-1898). Bull. Soc. Entomol. Ital. 31: 263-290 (page 274, figs. worker, male described)
- Emery, C. 1912b. Études sur les Myrmicinae. [I-IV.]. Ann. Soc. Entomol. Belg. 56: 94-105 (page 103, Combination in Terataner)
- Fisher, B. L. 1997a. Biogeography and ecology of the ant fauna of Madagascar (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). J. Nat. Hist. 31: 269-302 (see also)
- Bolton, B. 1981. A revision of six minor genera of Myrmicinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the Ethiopian zoogeographical region. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Entomology. 43:245-307. PDF
- Wheeler, W. M. 1922k. Ants of the American Museum Congo expedition. A contribution to the myrmecology of Africa. IX. A synonymic list of the ants of the Malagasy region. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 4 45: 1005-1055 (see also)
References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics
- Alpert G. D. 1992. Observations on the genus Terataner in Madagascar (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Psyche (Cambridge) 99: 117-127.
- Emery C. 1912. Études sur les Myrmicinae. [I-IV.]. Annales de la Société Entomologique de Belgique 56: 94-105.
- Fisher B. L. 1997. Biogeography and ecology of the ant fauna of Madagascar (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Journal of Natural History 31: 269-302.
- 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.
- Wheeler W. M. 1922. Ants of the American Museum Congo expedition. A contribution to the myrmecology of Africa. IX. A synonymic list of the ants of the Malagasy region. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 45: 1005-1055