Camponotus chloroticus

Identification
Clouse et al. (2016) - Camponotus chloroticus was originally described by Emery (1897) as a subspecies of Camponotus maculatus, as follows: "I bought from Godeffroy Museum [Hamburg, 1861 - 1885] specimens of this form from the Tonga Islands and New Britain, under the name Camponotus pallidus. … For the shape of the various parts of the body, for the pubescence, the very weak sculpture and the hairs, it is very close to the Camponotus kubaryi, particularly the oceanic specimens and those from New Guinea. … Maximum size is 8 mm; reddish-yellow, dirt-like color; head darker and more red, abdomenmore or less blackish in its rear."

We do not know which aspects of the pilosity Emery noticed as being similar to that of Camponotus kubaryi, but the presence of standing hairs on the proximal hind femur and on the propleuron in both species is one of the few readily discernable synapomorphies of an important clade of Camponotus in the Pacific and one of the key characters used to distinguish C. chloroticus from Camponotus micronesicus. Using this pilosity character, overall similarity in size, shape, and coloration, as well as our finding of only one such yellow Camponotus species in the same islands, we confirm here that the Tongan Syntypes of C. chloroticus match the species in a clade that extends from New Guinea to Polynesia.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Australasian Region: Australia, New Caledonia. Indo-Australian Region: Cook Islands, Fiji, New Guinea, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Vanuatu, Wallis and Futuna Islands.

Biology
The phylogeography of a group of Pacific Island Camponotus species, which included a number of species groups, was broadly examined by Clouse et al. (2015). They found Camponotus chloroticus is a member of a clade (Clade IV) that tenuously appears to have originated in the Australian wet tropics but has undoubtedly spread and speciated across the Pacific Islands.

Nomenclature

 *  chloroticus. Camponotus maculatus subsp. chloroticus Emery, 1897d: 574 (w.) NEW GUINEA. Emery, 1914f: 424 (m.). Combination in C. (Myrmoturba): Emery, 1914f: 424; in C. (Tanaemyrmex): Emery, 1925b: 94. Subspecies of irritans: Emery, 1920c: 7; Karavaiev, 1933a: 316. Raised to species, senior synonym of chlorogaster, sanctaecrucis and material of the unavailable name samoaensis referred here: Wilson & Taylor, 1967: 93.
 * sanctaecrucis. Camponotus (Myrmoturba) maculatus subsp. sanctaecrucis Mann, 1919: 369, fig. 42 (s.) SOLOMON IS. Combination in C. (Tanaemyrmex): Emery, 1925b: 94. Subspecies of irritans: Emery, 1920c: 7. Junior synonym of chloroticus: Wilson & Taylor, 1967: 93.
 * chlorogaster. Camponotus (Myrmoturba) irritans subsp. chlorogaster Emery, 1920c: 7 (s.w.) VANUATU. [First available use of Camponotus (Myrmoturba) maculatus subsp. chlorotica var. chlorogaster Emery, 1914f: 429; unavailable name.] Combination in C. (Tanaemyrmex): Emery, 1925b: 94. Junior synonym of chloroticus: Wilson & Taylor, 1967: 93.

Worker
Clouse et al. (2016) - Majors: EL 0.48 (range 0.40 - 0.51), EW 0.36 (0.25 - 0.40), FCL 1.14 (1.00 - 1.31), HL 2.22 (1.85 - 2.40), HW 2.00 (1.45 - 2.25), ML 2.69 (2.38 - 2.85), MTL 1.68 (1.44 - 2.10), PH 0.74 (0.59 - 0.81), PL 0.58 (0.43 - 0.75), SL 1.65 (1.44 - 1.85); CI 90 (78 - 95), SI 83 (73 - 124). Mesosoma light yellow, gaster same color as mesosoma or slightly darker, head color usually darker than mesosoma; head tapering, vertex usually slightly concave; hind femur and propleuron with standing hairs. Minors: EL 0.42 (0.38 - 0.55), EW 0.33 (0.30 - 0.40), FCL 1.04 (0.90 - 1.40), HL 1.66 (1.55 - 2.10), HW 1.28 (1.18 - 1.60), ML 2.39 (2.20 - 3.05), MTL 1.58 (1.31 - 1.95), PH 0.62 (0.50 - 0.75), PL 0.57 (0.50 - 0.70), SL 1.80 (1.45 - 2.45); CI 77 (74 - 82), SI 142 (123 - 154). Mesosoma usually light yellow, gaster and head usually same color as mesosoma or slightly darker; head tapering, vertex convex and occipital carina present; hind femur and propleuron with standing hairs.

Type Material
Clouse et al. (2016) - The Camponotus chloroticus syntype from Irupara, New Guinea, is not as clearly aligned with the Tongan syntypes or modern specimens from the Polynesian, Fijian, and Melanesian clade, partially due to its mounting, which limits our view of the important pilosity characters. However, the New Guinean syntype has distinctly shorter scapes than almost all C. micronesicus specimens measured, measuring just at the lower limit of the range, and producing a scape index for the New Guinea syntype that is smaller than all C. micronesicus specimens measured but within the range for C. chloroticus. The petiole length of the New Guinean syntype is also similar to that of C. chloroticus specimens, and altogether we have more support for it being C. chloroticus than C. micronesicus. Other options for the identity of the New Guinean syntype include an undescribed from, or, if it is truly missing the hind femur and propleuron standing hairs, an oddly concolorous Camponotus humilior (which tends to be bicolorous); Camponotus novaehollandiae is too large, also usually bicolorous, and, from our PCA analysis, slightly different in shape



References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Brown E.S. 1959. Immature nutfall of coconuts in the Solomon Islands. II. Changes in ant populations, and their relation to vegetation. Bulletin of Entomological Research 50: 523-558.
 * Clouse R. M. 2007. The ants of Micronesia (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Micronesica 39: 171-295
 * Clouse R. M., B. D. Blanchard, R. Gibson, W. C. Wheeler, and M. Janda. 2016. Taxonomic updates for some confusing Micronesian species of Camponotus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Formicinae). Myrmecological News 23: 139-152.
 * Clouse, R.M. 2007. The ants of Micronesia (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), Micronesica 39(2): 171-295.
 * Cole A. C., Jr. 1949. The ants of Bikini Atoll, Marshall Islands (Hymenoptera). Pan-Pacific Entomologist 25: 172-174.
 * Collingwood, C. A. and Van Harten, Antonius. 2001. The Ants (Hym., Formicidae)of Niue, Souh West Pacific. Entomologist's Monthly Magazine. 137:139-143.
 * Dahl F. 1901. Das Leben der Ameisen im Bismarck-Archipel, nach eigenen Beobachtungen vergleichend dargestellt. Mitt. Zool. Mus. Berl. 2: 1-70.
 * Dlussky G.M. 1994. Zoogeography of southwestern Oceania. Zhivotnoe naselenie ostrovov Iugo-Zapadnoi Okeanii ekologo-geograficheskie issledovanii 48-93.
 * Emery, C. 1914. Les fourmis de la Nouvelle-Calédonie et des îles Loyalty. Nova Caledonia. A. Zoologie 1:393-437.
 * Evenhuis N. L., L. G. Eldredge, K. T. Arakaki, D. Oishi, J. N. Garcia, and W. P. Haines. 2010. Terrestrial arthropods surveys on Pagan Island, Northern Marianas. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Pacific Islands Fish & Wildlife Office Honolulu, Hawaii. 72 pages.
 * Field Museum Collection, Chicago, Illinois (C. Moreau)
 * Forel A. 1901. Formiciden aus dem Bismarck-Archipel, auf Grundlage des von Prof. Dr. F. Dahl gesammelten Materials. Mitt. Zool. Mus. Berl. 2: 4-37.
 * Idechill O., R.H. Miller, K.S. Pike, and L.D. Hansen. 2007. Aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae), ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and associated flora of Palau with comparisons to other Pacific Islands. Micronesica 39(2): 141-171.
 * 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.
 * Janda M., and M. Konecna. 2011. Canopy assembalges of ants in a New Guinea rain forest. Journal of Tropical Ecology 27: 83-91.
 * Jennings J. T., L. Krogmann, and C. Burwell. 2013. Review of the hymenopteran fauna of New Caledonia with a checklist of species. Zootaxa 3736(1): 1-53.
 * Kami K.S., and S. E. Miller. 1998. Samoan insects and related arthropods: checklist and bibliography. Bishop Museum Technical Report 13, pp 121.
 * Kami KS & Miller SE. 1998. Samoan insects and related arthropods: checklist and bibliography. Bishop Museum Technical Report No. 13.
 * Karavaiev V. 1933. Ameisen aus dem Indo-Australischen Gebiet, VII. Konowia 11: 305-320.
 * Klimes P., and A. McArthur. 2014. Diversity and ecology of arboricolous ant communities of Camponotus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in a New Guinea rainforest with descriptions of four new species. Myrmecological News 20: 141-158.
 * Mann, W.M. 1919. The ants of the British Solomon Islands. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology of Harvard College 63: 273-391
 * Saijo K., and S. Yamane. 2015. Records of ants from the Chuuk State, Micronesia (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Biogeography 17: 13-15.
 * Santschi F. 1919. Cinq notes myrmécologiques. Bulletin de la Société Vaudoise des Sciences Naturelles 52: 325-350.
 * Santschi F. 1928. Formicidae (Fourmis). Insects Samoa. 5: 41-58.
 * Santschi F. 1928. Fourmis de îles Fidji. Revue Suisse de Zoologie 35: 67-74.
 * Sarnat Eli M. 2009. The Ants [Hymenoptera: Formicdiae] of Fiji: Systematics, Biogeography and Conservation of an Island Arc Fauna. 80-252
 * Savage, A.M., J.A. Rudgers and K.D. Whitney. 2009. Elevated Dominance of Extrafloral Nectary-Bearing Plants Is Associated with Increased Abundances of an Invasive Ant and Reduced Native Ant Richness. Diversity and Distributions 15(5): 751-761
 * Stitz H. 1911. Australische Ameisen. (Neu-Guinea und Salomons-Inseln, Festland, Neu-Seeland). Sitzungsberichte der Gesellschaft Naturforschender Freunde zu Berlin 1911: 351-381.
 * Taylor R. W. 1987. A checklist of the ants of Australia, New Caledonia and New Zealand (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization) Division of Entomology Report 41: 1-92.
 * Taylor, R. W. 1967. Entomological Survey of the Cook Islands and Niue. New Zealand Journal of Science. 10(4):1092-95.
 * Terayama M., and S. Haruhiko. 2005. Ants from Guam Island, Mariana islands, Micronesia. Ari 27: 1-5.
 * Terayama, M.; Miyano, S.; Kurozumi, T. 1994. Ant fauna (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the northern Mariana Islands, Micronesia. Natural History Research Special Issue 1:231-236.
 * Terayama. M. 2004. Geological and ecological distribution of Japanese ants communities. (translated from Japanese) Reports of the Saitama Prefecture Animal Research Association. 48:27
 * Terayama. M. 2004. Geological and ecological distribution of Japanese ants communities. (translated from Japanese) Reports of the Saitama Prefecture Animal Research Association. 48:28
 * Viehmeyer H. 1912. Ameisen aus Deutsch Neuguinea gesammelt von Dr. O. Schlaginhaufen. Nebst einem Verzeichnisse der papuanischen Arten. Abhandlungen und Berichte des Königlichen Zoologischen und Anthropologische-Ethnographischen Museums zu Dresden 14: 1-26.
 * Ward, Darren F. and James K. Wetterer. 2006. Checklist of the Ants of Fiji. Fiji Arthropods III 85: 23-47.
 * Wetterer, James K. 2002. Ants of Tonga. Pacific Science. 56.2: 125-135.
 * Wetterer, James K. 2006. Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Niue, Polynesia. Pacif Science. 60:(3)413-416.
 * Wetterer, James K. and Vargo, Donald Vargo L. 2003. Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Samoa. Pacific Science. 57(4):409-419.
 * Wheeler W.M. 1935. Check list of the ants of Oceania. Occasional Papers of the Bernice Pauahi Bishop Museum 11(11):1-56.
 * Wheeler, W. M. 1927. The ants of Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island. Proc. Am. Acad. Arts Sci. 62: 121-153
 * Wheeler, William Morton. 1927. The Ants of Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island. Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 62(4): 121-153
 * Wheeler, William Morton.1935.Checklist of the Ants of Oceania.Occasional Papers 11(11): 3-56
 * Wilson E. O.; Taylor, R. W. 1967. The ants of Polynesia (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Pacific Insects Monograph 14:1-109.
 * Wilson E.O., and G.L. Hunt. 1967. Ant fauna of Futuna and Wallis islands, stepping stones to Polynesia. Pacific Insects 9(4): 563-584.
 * Wilson EO & Hunt GL. 1967. Ant fauna of Futuna and Wallis Islands, stepping stones to Polynesia. Pacific Insects 9.4: 563-584.
 * Wilson EO, Hunt GL. 1967. Ant fauna of Futuna and Wallis Islands, stepping stones to Polynesia. Pacific Insects 9.4: 563-584.
 * Wilson EO, Taylor RW. 1967. The ants of Polynesia. Pacific Insects Monograph 14:1-109.
 * Wilson, Edward O. and George L. Hunt. 1967. Ant Fauna of Futuna and Wallis Islands, Stepping Stones To Polynesia. Pacific Insects. 9(4):563-584.
 * Wilson, Edward O. and Hunt, George L. Jr. 1967. Ant Fauna of Futuna and Wallis Islands, Stepping Stones to Polynesia. Pacific Insects. 9(4):563-584