Vollenhovia oblonga laevithorax

Vollenhovia oblonga laevithorax
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmicinae
Tribe:	Crematogastrini
Genus:	Vollenhovia
Species:	V. oblonga
Subspecies:	V. oblonga laevithorax
Trinomial name
	Vollenhovia oblonga laevithorax; Emery, 1889

Known from a small number of occurrence records, its range extends from Pakistan to Borneo.

Photo Gallery

Akbar et al. (2023), Fig. 7. Vollenhovia oblonga laevithorax, syntype worker from Myanmar (CASENT0904539, photographer: Zach Lieberman). A. Head, full face view. B. Habitus, lateral view. C. Habitus, dorsal view. D. Forest trail on Andaman Islands, collection site.

Identification

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Akbar et al. (2023) - Borneo, India (Andaman and Nicobar Islands), Indonesia, Myanmar, Pakistan (Emery 1889, 1900; Wheeler 1919; Mohanraj et al. 2010; Khudadad et al. 2021).

Within the Indian region, V. oblonga laevithorax has only been reported once from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Forel 1903). Mohanraj et al. (2010) carried out a comprehensive survey of ants on these islands (Fig. 5D) but could not find it again. The recent Pakistani record of V. oblonga laevithorax by Khudadad et al. (2021) is about 2000 km distant from any other record of V. oblonga (the closest region being Myanmar), which may be explained by insufficient sampling in northern India but also raises the possibility of a further separate taxon. Furthermore, it should be noted that at least the worker caste of V. oblonga laevithorax shows an overall similarity with species belonging to the V. penetrans complex from Southeastern Asia (Wang et al. 2022), which raises some doubts over the supposed co-occurrence of V. oblonga laevithorax and V. penetrans on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands (see Remarks under V. penetrans). However, V. oblonga laevithorax is very different from any other species of the region due to a combination of very extensive smooth areas (e.g., covering the whole promesonotum) and the deep metanotal impression.

Akbar et al. (2023), Fig. 1. Distribution map of the species of Vollenhovia from India.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Indo-Australian Region: Borneo, Indonesia, Malaysia.
Oriental Region: India, Myanmar (type locality), Nicobar Island, Pakistan.

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.

Biology

Castes

Nomenclature

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

laevithorax. Vollenhovia laevithorax Emery, 1889b: 501 (w.) MYANMAR. Currently subspecies of oblonga: Emery, 1900d: 680; Forel, 1903d: 404; Emery, 1914f: 406.

Taxonomic Notes

Vollenhovia oblonga laevithorax is considered a relatively larger subspecies compared to the nominal Vollenhovia oblonga, having the mesosoma smooth and shiny with a few delicate, scattered punctures anteriorly, and with the mandibles having six teeth. This subspecies forms part of the oblonga complex which contains six other subspecies including the nominal V. oblonga oblonga, Vollenhovia oblonga alluaudi, Vollenhovia oblonga bandarensis, Vollenhovia oblonga dispar, Vollenhovia oblonga pedestris and Vollenhovia oblonga rufescens. The oblonga complex is morphologically diverse and has a vast geographical range, being recorded from Pakistan to the Marshall Islands, the Solomon Islands, and New Caledonia (Wheeler 1927; Wilson 1959; Clouse 2007). Some of the subspecies exhibit characters suggesting that they may merit being raised to species status, with arguments for and against such changes already present in the literature, but the issue has never been resolved.

Description

Unless otherwise noted the text for the remainder of this section is reported from the publication that includes the original description (Bingham, 1903), page 213 as Vollenhovia levithorax, but now a subspecies of Vollenhovia oblonga.

Worker

Dark brown, shining, the head anteriorly, the antennae, legs and abdomen lighter brown; pilosity yellowish, sparse; pubescence fairly abundant on the head, antennae and tarsi. Head square, longitudinally striate and opaque; mandibles, clypeus medially, and the scape of the antennae smooth and shining. Thorax, nodes of the pedicel and abdomen smooth, shining, with a very few scattered punctures, most plentiful on the nodes of the pedicel above. For the rest the characters of the genus.

Length - 3.75 - 4 mm.

Hab. Tenasserim (Fea), extending to the Malayan subregion.

References