Ooceraea australis

Heterick collected this species from under a rock on Mt Brown, near York in the western wheatbelt (WA). The workers were in enormous numbers and attached to one another by their mandibles, the insects falling away from the underside of the rock in huge, tangled skeins. The appearance of the colony, without any evidence of nest holes, suggested bivouacking in the manner of army ants. (as reported for the synonym O. edentatus, Heterick 2009).

Distribution
Heterick (2009), as reported for the synonym O. edentatus: occasionally collected around Perth, even in Perth suburbs that retain some native vegetation, but has also been recorded in the ACT, NSW and Qld.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Australasian Region: Australia.

Nomenclature

 *  australis . Syscia australis Forel, 1900b: 68 (w.) AUSTRALIA.
 * Wheeler, G.C & Wheeler, J. 1973d: 205 (l.).
 * Combination in Cerapachys (Syscia): Emery, 1902c: 24.
 * Combination in Ooceraea: Borowiec, 2016: 198.
 * edentatus. Syscia australis var. edentata Forel, 1900b: 69 (w.) AUSTRALIA.
 * Combination in Cerapachys (Syscia): Emery, 1911d: 10.
 * Junior synonym of australis Forel, 1900b: 68.