Polyrhachis menozzii

Polyrhachis menozzii builds polydomous nests from silk and vegetation debris upon the leaves of rainforest trees apparently high above ground, with both available nests from PNG collected from the canopy of recently felled rainforest trees (Kohout, 2012).

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Australasian Region: Australia. Indo-Australian Region: Indonesia, New Guinea.

The only specimens of P. menozzii known from Australia are numerous alate queens from light traps set in lowland rainforest at Lockerbie Scrub and Bamaga. Their identity has been confirmed by comparison with the syntypes of the species and worker-associated queens from a nest series from PNG. The distribution of P. menozzii appears to be centred on New Guinea, with the type series specimens collected on the Aru Islands.

Castes
Immature stages in ANIC spirit collection. (Kohout 2012)

Nomenclature

 *  menozzii. Polyrhachis (Myrmatopa) menozzii Karavaiev, 1927e: 9, fig. 2 (w.q.) INDONESIA (Aru I.). See also: Kohout, 2012: 45.

Worker
Kohout (2012) - (syntype cited first): TL c. 8.57, 7.56-8.67; HL 2.18, 2.06-2.25; HW 1.87, 1.75-1.93; CI 86, 85-86; SL 2.50, 2.43-2.53; SI 134, 131-139; PW 1.22, 0.97-1.22; MTL 3.12, 2.96-3.24 (1+4 measured).

Anterior clypeal margin medially with wide, deep, ‘V’shaped emargination, delimited laterally by acute teeth. Clypeus with median carina; virtually straight in profile, posteriorly rounding into distinctly impressed basal margin. Frontal triangle distinct. Frontal carinae sinuate with steeply raised margins; central area flat with frontal furrow partly obscured by cephalic sculpturation. Sides of head in front of eyes converging towards mandibular bases in virtually straight line; behind eyes sides rounding into weakly convex occipital margin. Eyes convex, in full face view clearly exceeding lateral cephalic outline. Ocelli lacking. Pronotal dorsum flat; humeri with short, rather blunt, somewhat upturned spines; their lateral edges continuous with posteriorly converging, lateral pronotal margins. Promesonotal suture distinct; mesonotal dorsum flat in profile with weakly raised lateral margins. Metanotal groove distinct; propodeal dorsum with subparallel, somewhat dorsally raised lateral margins, terminating posteriorly in moderately long, strongly oblique, acute spines; propodeal dorsum between spines rounding into weakly concave declivity in medially uninterrupted line. Petiole with anterior face straight, posterior face convex; armed with two, relatively long, widely diverging acute spines; dorsal margin between spines with distinct, acute, intercalary tooth. Anterior face of first gastral segment flat at base, widely rounding onto dorsum.

Mandibles very finely longitudinally striate with numerous piliferous pits. Head and dorsum of mesosoma rather coarsely and deeply reticulate punctate, with rugae on clypeus mostly longitudinally directed. Sides of mesosoma and petiole distinctly less coarsely sculptured. Antennae and legs finely and closely reticulate-punctate. Gaster finely shagreened, polished.

Mandibular masticatory borders with several relatively long, curved, golden hairs. Anterior clypeal margin with a single long seta and a pair of shorter setae within median emargination and numerous shorter setae lining margin laterally. A few paired, semierect, medium length, yellow hairs near anterior and basal clypeal margins and in central area along frontal carinae. Several relatively long hairs on fore coxae; somewhat shorter hairs on venter of trochanters and femora. Gaster with several hairs lining dorsoposterior margins of apical segments; distinctly longer and more numerous hairs on gastral venter. Appressed, very short, yellowish or off-white, rather diluted pubescence on dorsum of gaster; pubescence virtually absent from other body surfaces.

Colour. Black. Mandibles distinctly lighter, reddish-brown, towards masticatory borders; teeth black. Antennal scapes and basal funicular segments very dark reddish-brown, subsequent segments progressively lighter towards antennal apices. Legs, including coxae, black or very dark reddish-brown. Gaster very dark, virtually black, dorsally; sides and margins of segments on venter a shade lighter with somewhat reddish tint.

Queen
Kohout (2012) - Dimensions: TL c. 9.12-11.69; HL 2.28- 2.65; HW 2.06-2.21; CI 82-90; SL 2.46-2.90; SI 119- 133; PW 1.96-2.25; MTL 2.93-3.63 (8 measured). Apart from sexual characters, closely resembling worker except: pronotal humeri with rather short, blunt teeth; mesoscutum wider than long, with lateral margins converging anteriorly, forming moderately rounded anterior margin; median line distinct; parapsides flat; anterior face of mesoscutum in lateral view widely rounding onto flat dorsum. Mesoscutellum with flat dorsum, only marginally elevated above dorsal plane of mesosoma. Propodeum armed with obliquely directed spines. Petiole with lateral spines marginally shorter and intercalary tooth stronger and more distinct than in worker. Sculpturation and colour virtually identical to worker.

Type Material
Syntype workers and queen from Wammar, Aru Island, Indonesia, 16.iii.1913 (V. Karavaiev #2596 for w, #2982 for queen) (IZAS, ) (examined by Kohout, 2012).

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Janda M., G. D. Alpert, M. L. Borowiec, E. P. Economo, P. Klimes, E. Sarnat, and S. O. Shattuck. 2011. Cheklist of ants described and recorded from New Guinea and associated islands. Available on http://www.newguineants.org/. Accessed on 24th Feb. 2011.
 * Klimes P., P. Fibich, C. Idigel, and M. Rimandai. 2015. Disentangling the diversity of arboreal ant communities in tropical forest trees. PLoS ONE 10(2): e0117853. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0117853
 * Kohout R. J. 2012. A review of the Australian Polyrhachis ants of the subgenera Myrma Billberg, Myrmatopa Forel, Myrmothrinax Forel and Polyrhachis Fr. Smith (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Formicinae). Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 56(1): 25-59.
 * Robson Simon Database Polyrhachis -05 Sept 2014
 * Snelling R. R. 2000. Ants of the Wapoga river area, Irian Jaya, Indonesia. In Mack, Andrew L. and Leeanne E. Alonso (eds.). 2000. A Biological Assessment of the Wapoga River Area of Northwestern Irian Jaya, Indonesia. RAP Bulletin of Biological Assessment 14, Conservation International, Washington, DC.