Tetraponera anthracina

Tetraponera anthracina
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Pseudomyrmecinae
Genus:	Tetraponera
Species:	T. anthracina
Binomial name
Tetraponera anthracina (Santschi, 1910) Specimen Label
Synonyms
Sima triangularis Stitz, 1910 Tetraponera poultoni Donisthorpe, 1931

Identification

Keys including this Species

• Key to Afrotropical Tetraponera
• Key to Afrotropical Tetraponera species

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 6.15° to -5.25°.

North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

• Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Afrotropical Region: Angola, Cameroun, Central African Republic, Congo (type locality), Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea (type locality), Ghana, Nigeria, Uganda (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.

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.

Castes

Images from AntWeb

Syntype of Sima triangularis illota. Worker. Specimen code casent0915541. Photographer Z. Lieberman, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by NHMB, Basel, Switzerland.

Nomenclature

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

• anthracina. Sima anthracina Santschi, 1910c: 355 (w.) CONGO. Terron, 1968: 339 (q.m.).
  • Combination in Sima: Santschi, 1928d: 58.
  • Combination in Tetraponera: Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 106; Menozzi, 1942: 166; Terron, 1968: 339.
  • Senior synonym of poultoni: Ward, 2022: 47.
  • Senior synonym of triangularis: Ward, 2022: 47.
  • See also: Terron, 1977: 115.
• poultoni. Tetraponera poultoni Donisthorpe, 1931b: 497 (w.) UGANDA.
  • Junior synonym of anthracina: Ward, 2022: 47.
• triangularis. Sima triangularis Stitz, 1910: 131 (w.) EQUATORIAL GUINEA. Combination in Tetraponera: Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 800.
  • Junior synonym of anthracina: Ward, 2022: 47.

References

• Dolezal, A.G. 2010. Caste determination in arthropods, In Encyclopedia of Animal Behavior, edited by Michael D. Breed and Janice Moore, Academic Press, Oxford, pages 247-253.
• Dolezal, A.G. 2019. Caste determination in arthropods. In: Encyclopedia of Animal Behavior, 2nd edition, Volume 4: 691–698 (doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-809633-8.20815-7).
• Mbenoun Masse, P.S., Ebolo, G.L.M., Titti, G.E., Mony, R. (2021) Ant species richness, abundance and functional groups along an elevation gradient in Central Cameroon Biodiversity Journal, 2021, 12 1.: 179–194. Biodiversity Journal 12, 179–194 (doi:10.31396/biodiv.jour.2021.12.1.179.194).
• Menozzi, C. 1942a. Formiche dell'isola Fernando Poo e del territorio del Rio Muni (Guinea Spagnola). 24. Beitrag zu den wissenschaftlichen Ergebnissen der Forschungsreise H. Eidmann nach Spanisch-Guinea 1939 bis 1940. Zool. Anz. 140: 164-182 (page 166, Combination in Tetraponera)
• Santschi, F. 1910c [1909]. Formicides nouveaux ou peu connus du Congo français. Ann. Soc. Entomol. Fr. 78: 349-400 (page 355, worker described)
• Santschi, F. 1928d. Descriptions de nouvelles fourmis éthiopiennes (quatrième note). Rev. Zool. Bot. Afr. 16: 54-69 (page 58, Combination in Sima)
• Terron, G. 1968 [1967]. Description des castes de Tetraponera anthracina Santschi (Hym., Formicidae, Promyrmicinae). Insectes Soc. 14: 339-348.(page 339, queen, male described)(page 339, Combination in Tetraponera)
• Terron, G. 1977. Évolution des colonies de Tetraponera anthracina Santschi (Formicidae Pseudomyrmecinae) avec reines. Bull. Biol. Fr. Belg. 111: 115-181 (page 115, see also)
• Ward, P. S. 2022. The ant genus Tetraponera (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the Afrotropical region: taxonomic review and key to species. Zootaxa 5102 (1):1-70 (doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5102.1.1).
• Wheeler, W. M. 1922b. Ants of the American Museum Congo expedition. A contribution to the myrmecology of Africa. II. The ants collected by the American Museum Congo Expedition. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 45: 39-269 (page 106, Combination in Tetraponera)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

• Baroni Urbani C. 1977. Katalog der Typen von Formicidae (Hymenoptera) der Sammlung des Naturhistorischen Museums Basel (2. Teil). Mitt. Entomol. Ges. Basel (n.s.) 27: 61-102.
• CSIRO Collection
• Dejean A., F. Azemar, R. Cereghino, M. Leponce, B. Corbara, J. Orivel, and A. Compin. 2015. The dynamics of ant mosaics in tropical rainforests characterized using the SelfOrganizing Map algorithm. Insect Science doi: 10.1111/1744-7917.12208
• Donisthorpe H. 1931. Descriptions of some new species of ants. Annals and Magazine of Natural History (10)8: 494-501.
• Eidmann H. 1944. Die Ameisenfauna von Fernando Poo. 27. Beitrag zu den Ergebnissen der Westafrika-Expedition. Zool. Jahrb. Abt. Syst. Ökol. Geogr. Tiere 76: 413-490.
• Fisher B. L. 2004. Diversity patterns of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) along an elevational gradient on Monts Doudou in southwestern Gabon. Memoirs of the California Academy of Sciences 28: 269-286.
• IZIKO South Africa Museum Collection
• Majer J. D. 1976. The ant mosaic in Ghana cocoa farms: further structural considerations. Journal of Applied Ecology 13: 145-155.
• Medler J. T. 1980: Insects of Nigeria - Check list and bibliography. Mem. Amer. Ent. Inst. 30: i-vii, 1-919.
• Menozzi C. 1942. Formiche dell'isola Fernando Poo e del territorio del Rio Muni (Guinea Spagnola). 24. Beitrag zu den wissenschaftlichen Ergebnissen der Forschungsreise H. Eidmann nach Spanisch-Guinea 1939 bis 1940. Zoologischer Anzeiger 140: 164-182.
• Santschi F. 1910. Formicides nouveaux ou peu connus du Congo français. Annales de la Société Entomologique de France 78: 349-400.
• Santschi F. 1937. Résultats de la Mission scientifique suisse en Angola (2me voyage) 1932-1933. Fourmis angolaises. Revue Suisse de Zoologie. 44: 211-250.
• Santschi F. 1937. Résultats entomologiques d'un voyage au Cameroun. Formicides récoltés par Mr. le Dr. F. Zumpt. Mitteilungen der Schweizerischen Entomologischen Gesellschaft. 17: 93-104.
• Stitz H. 1910. Westafrikanische Ameisen. I. Mitteilungen aus dem Zoologischen Museum in Berlin 5: 125-151.
• Tadu Z., C. Djieto-Lordon, R. Babin, Yede, E. B. Messop-Youbi, and A. Fomena. 2013. Influence of insecticide treatment on ant diversity in tropical agroforestry system: some aspect of the recolonization process. International Journal of Biodiversity and Conservation 5(12): 832-844.
• Taylor B. 1976. Ants of the Nigerian Forest Zone (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). I. Ponerinae, Cerapachyinae, Pseudomyrmecinae. Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria Technical Bulletin Series 4: 1-41.
• Taylor B., and S. F. Adedoyin. 1978. The abundance and interspecific relations of common ant species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) on cocoa farms in western Nigeria. Bull. Ent. Res. 68: 105-121.
• Terron G. 1968. Description des castes de Tetraponera anthracina Santschi (Hym., Formicidae, Promyrmicinae). Insectes Sociaux 14: 339-348.
• 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.
• Wheeler W. M. 1922. Ants of the American Museum Congo expedition. A contribution to the myrmecology of Africa. VIII. A synonymic list of the ants of the Ethiopian region. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 45: 711-1004