Teratomyrmex tinae

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Teratomyrmex tinae
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Formicinae
Tribe: Melophorini
Genus: Teratomyrmex
Species: T. tinae
Binomial name
Teratomyrmex tinae
Shattuck & O'Reilly, 2013

Shattuck & O'Reilly 2013-13Teratomyrmex-tinae hal.jpg

Shattuck & O'Reilly 2013-13Teratomyrmex-tinae had.jpg

This species is known from a handful of locations in Far North Queensland, stretching from Mount Windsor Tableland in the north to Tully in the south. All collections were made in rainforest and most specimens were associated with vegetation (having been collected using pyrethrum knockdown or by sweeping vegetation). The limited available information suggests that these are arboreal foraging ants which are limited to rainforest habitats.

Identification

Head and mesosoma dark brown, gaster slightly paler; coxae, trochanters and basal first third of femora white, remainder of femora brown; apex of petiolar node pale yellowish-white, distinctly paler than remainder of petiole. Pronotum with small and angular humeral angles, lacking large wing-like structures. Body with both long, erect hairs and short, flat-lying hairs (short hairs absent from first segment of gaster). Dorsum of head, pronotum and mesonotum with abundant shallow foveae. This species is similar to Teratomyrmex substrictus but differs in pilosity, sculpturing and colour as outlined above.

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Far northeastern Queensland, from the Mount Windsor Tableland south to Tully.

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: -17.26666667° to -17.26666667°.

 
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Australasian Region: Australia (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

Known only from the worker caste.

Nomenclature

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

  • tinae. Teratomyrmex tinae Shattuck & O'Reilly, 2013: 298, fig. 8 (w.) AUSTRALIA.

Type Material

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

Description

Worker

(n=13)—CI 99–113; HL 0.81–1.09 mm; HW 0.80–1.17 mm; ML 0.98–1.35 mm; MTL 0.67–0.92 mm; PronW 0.56–0.80; SI 99–106; SL 0.85–1.17 mm.

Head and mesosoma dark brown, gaster slightly paler. Coxae, trochanters white. Tibiae basally white, changing to light brown at one third length. Petiole light brown ventrally and graduating to white dorsally. Scattered long setae on head, antennae, gaster, tibiae, tarsi and dorsal side of mesosoma. Pubescence on antennae and dorsal side of head, mesosoma and gaster. Head roughly square, concave on the sides and widest at eyes. Mandibles triangular, paler in colour than the head but with dark teeth. Mandibles with six teeth, the first, second and fourth the largest. Clypeus semicircular, with rounded posterior margin, straight anterior margin. Frontal area with small foveate depressions associated with pubescence. Frontal carinae very small, only slightly extending past antennal socket. Eyes large, convex, positioned one third from posterior margin of head, one and a half times longer than wide. Ocelli very small but distinct. Scapes extending one third their length beyond posterior margin of head, paler in colour than head. Mesosoma mostly smooth, with broad longitudinal striations on the side of the mesonotum and propodeum. Small foveate depressions on the dorsal surface of pronotum and mesonotum, associated with pubescence. In dorsal view pronotum roughly hexagonal, wider than propodeum, with sides tapering into small wing-like projections with points at the pronotal humeri. Promesonotal suture convex and sharply impressed. In dorsal view mesonotum roughly oval, the anterior margin straight and the posterior margin tapering sharply. Propodeum roughly square in dorsal view, with small spines on upper margin. Petiole much taller than long, flat on dorsal surface, with two very small points on the outer margins. Gaster rectangular, first two segments (abdominal segments III & IV) the largest. Legs slender, tibiae and femora somewhat spindle shaped.


References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • Shattuck S. O., and A. J. O'Reilly. 2013. Revision of the Australian endemic ant genera Pseudonotoncus and Teratomyrmex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Formicinae). Zootaxa 3669 (3): 287–301.