Tetraponera natalensis

Tetraponera natalensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Pseudomyrmecinae
Genus:	Tetraponera
Species group:	natalensis
Species:	T. natalensis
Binomial name
Tetraponera natalensis (Smith, F., 1858) Specimen Label
Synonyms
Pseudomyrma capensis Smith 1858 Sima natalensis obscurata Emery 1895 Sima mocquerysi lutea Stitz 1911 Sima prelli Forel 1911 Sima natalensis usambarensis Forel 1911 Sima natalensis cuitensis Forel 1911 Sima angusta Arnold 1949

Identification

Keys including this Species

• Key to Afrotropical Tetraponera species-groups
• Key to Afrotropical Tetraponera
• Key to Afrotropical Tetraponera species

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 25.45° to -34°.

North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

• Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Afrotropical Region: Angola (type locality), Democratic Republic of Congo (type locality), Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Somalia, South Africa (type locality), United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe (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

.	Owned by Museum of Comparative Zoology.

Images from AntWeb

Syntype of Tetraponera prelli. Worker. Specimen code casent0907474. Photographer Z. Lieberman, 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.

• natalensis. Pseudomyrma natalensis Smith, F. 1858b: 160 (q.) SOUTH AFRICA. Emery, 1895h: 22 (w.); Emery, 1899c: 6 (l.); Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1973d: 208 (l.). Combination in Sima: Emery, 1892e: 237; in Tetraponera: Smith, F. 1877b: 69; Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 798. Junior synonym of capensis: Gerstäcker, 1871: 355. Revived from synonymy: Smith, F. 1877b: 69. Current subspecies: nominal plus cuitensis, obscurata, usambarensis. See also: Arnold, 1916: 176.

Description

Emery 1895, page 22.

Emery 1895, page 23.

References

• Arnold, G. 1916. A monograph of the Formicidae of South Africa. Part II. Ponerinae, Dorylinae. Ann. S. Afr. Mus. 14: 159-270 (page 176, see also)
• Emery, C. 1892g. Älteres über Ameisen in Dornen afrikanischer Akazien. Zool. Anz. 15: 237 (page 237, Combination in Sima)
• Emery, C. 1895i. Voyage de M. E. Simon dans l'Afrique australe (janvier-avril 1893). 3e mémoire. Formicides. Ann. Soc. Entomol. Fr. 64: 15-56 (page 22, worker described)
• Emery, C. 1899g. Intorno alle larve di alcune formiche. Mem. R. Accad. Sci. Ist. Bologna (5) 8: 3-10 (page 6, larva described)
• Gerstäcker, A. 1871. Beitrag zur Insektenfauna von Zanzibar. Arch. Naturgesch. 37(1 1: 345-363 (page 355, Junior synonym of capensis)
• Smith, F. 1858b. Catalogue of hymenopterous insects in the collection of the British Museum. Part VI. Formicidae. London: British Museum, 216 pp. (page 160, queen described)
• Smith, F. 1877b. Descriptions of new species of the genera Pseudomyrma and Tetraponera, belonging to the family Myrmicidae. Trans. Entomol. Soc. Lond. 1877: 57-72 (page 69, Combination in Tetraponera)
• Smith, F. 1877b. Descriptions of new species of the genera Pseudomyrma and Tetraponera, belonging to the family Myrmicidae. Trans. Entomol. Soc. Lond. 1877: 57-72 (page 69, Revived from synonymy)
• 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, G. C.; Wheeler, J. 1973d. Supplementary studies on ant larvae: Cerapachyinae, Pseudomyrmecinae and Myrmicinae. Psyche (Camb.) 80: 204-211 (page 208, larva described)
• Wheeler, W. M. 1922j. 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. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 45: 711-1004 (page 798, Combination in Tetraponera)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

• Arnold G. 1916. A monograph of the Formicidae of South Africa. Part II. Ponerinae, Dorylinae. Annals of the South African Museum. 14: 159-270.
• Emery C. 1899. Intorno alle larve di alcune formiche. Mem. R. Accad. Sci. Ist. Bologna (5) 8: 3-10.
• Emery C. 1895. Voyage de M. E. Simon dans l'Afrique australe (janvier-avril 1893). 3e mémoire. Formicides. Annales de la Société Entomologique de France 64: 15-56.
• Forel A. 1903. Einige neue Ameisen aus Sud-Angola. Pp 559-564, in: Baum, H. Kunene-Sambesi-Expedition, 1903. Berlin: Verlag des Kolonial-Wirtschaftlichen Komitees, 593pp.
• Garcia F.H., Wiesel E. and Fischer G. 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(2): 127-222
• IZIKO South Africa Museum Collection
• Menozzi C. 1930. Formiche della Somalia italiana meridionale. Memorie della Società Entomologica Italiana. 9: 76-130.
• Menozzi C., M. Consani. 1952. Missione biologica Sagan-Omo diretta dal Prof. E. Zavattari. Hymenoptera Formicidae. Rivista di Biologia Coloniale 11: 57-71.
• Prins A. J. 1963. A list of the ants collected in the Kruger National Park with notes on their distribution. Koedoe 6: 91-108.
• Prins A. J. 1964. Revised list of the ants collected in the Kruger National Park. Koedoe 7: 77-93.
• Santschi F. 1914. Meddelanden från Göteborgs Musei Zoologiska Afdelning. 3. Fourmis du Natal et du Zoulouland récoltées par le Dr. I. Trägårdh. Göteborgs Kungliga Vetenskaps och Vitterhets Samhälles Handlingar. 15: 1-44.
• 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