Dolichoderus turneri

Dolichoderus turneri occurs in dry sclerophyll woodlands along coastal Queensland. It is an uncommon species and has been collected only a handful of times.

Identification
Sculpturing on head consisting of large, shallow to moderately deep fovea; pronotum and propodeum lacking spines; dorsum of pronotum heavily sculptured, the surface dull; posterior face of propodeum strongly concave, separated from the dorsal face by a distinct carina; first gastral tergite with abundant pubescence, the individual hairs overlapping; gaster much lighter in colour (dull yellow) compared to body (dark brown to black).

This species is easily confused with Dolichoderus scrobiculatus but differs in having a distinctively lighter coloured gaster (dull yellow) than the rest of the body (dark brown) whereas the entire body of D. scrobiculatus is uniformly coloured dark brown to black.

Identification Keys including this Taxon

 * Key to Australian Dolichoderus Species

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Australasian Region: Australia.

Nomenclature

 *  turneri. Dolichoderus turneri Forel, 1902h: 462 (w.) AUSTRALIA. Combination in D. (Hypoclinea): Emery, 1913a: 13. See also: Clark, 1930b: 261.

Worker
Clark (1930) - Head triangular or almost cordiform, strongly reduced in front, with strongly convex sides, broadly emarginate behind. Mandibles large, smooth and shining, punctate, armed in front with one large and three small teeth, and a series of very small denticles, about eight or nine. Clypeus impressed longitudinally on its anterior half. Scapes pass the occiput a little. Eyes placed behind the middle, at the posterior two-fifths. Pronotum broad, bluntly produced. Sutures of the thorax strongly impressed; in profile forming three successive convexities of almost equal length, situated on the same horizontal plane, feebly sub-bordered. The basal face of the epinotum almost square, terminated by a sharp ridge overhanging the declivity, the latter high and deeply concave, the superior half of the sides marginate (shape analogous to that of D. taschenbergi, mariae and quadripunctatus). Node very thick, much broader than the epinotum, rounded above, about four times broader than thick. Abdomen large, slightly concave in front.

Head and thorax strongly, coarsely and irregularly reticulate-punctate, node a little more feebly so; bottom of the punctures shining and feebly sculptured. Face of the declivity feebly and transversely striate. Abdomen very finely and densely punctate, subopaque, members less densely punctate, rather shining. An erect pilosity, fine and pointed, spread on the body, shorter and suberect on the antennae and legs. Pubescence greyish yellow, moderately long on the abdomen, node, antennae and legs, partly hiding the sculpture on the abdomen.

Head thorax and anterior legs reddish brown. Mandibles, antennae node, abdomen and the rest of the legs yellow russet or brownish.

The whole insect short and massive.

Shattuck and Marsden (2013) - The known specimens are morphologically uniform and show minimal variation.

Measurements (n=5). CI 95–107; EI 22–26; EL 0.25–0.27; HL 1.05–1.08; HW 1.01–1.15; ML 1.37–1.45; MTL 0.77–0.84; PronI 78.89–89.97; PronW 0.81–1.03; SI 78–97; SL 0.89–0.98.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Shattuck S. O., and S. Marsden. 2013. Australian species of the ant genus Dolichoderus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zootaxa 3716(2): 101-143.