Odontoponera denticulata

Odontoponera denticulata occurs in wooded habitats including forest edges and disturbed areas, and usually nests in soil and forages on the ground surface. (Eguchi et al. 2014)

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Indo-Australian Region: Borneo, Indonesia, Krakatau Islands, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore. Oriental Region: Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Laos, Pakistan, Thailand, Vietnam.

Biology
Yamane (2009) - Odontoponera denticulata prefers disturbed areas, often bare ground. This contrasts with Odontoponera transversa, a similar species with an overlapping range, that lives in fairly good forests. In Lambir Hills National Park, Sarawak, Borneo, these two ants never coexist in one place. Odontoponera transversa occurs in primary forest and O. transversa inhabits the grounds of the park headquarters. In Bogor Botanical Gardens, West Java, where both species are very common (Ito et al., 2001), their habitat preference are different but less distinct. Odontoponera transversa is typically found in wetter and darker places while O. denticulata is collected around buildings.

Specimens from Taiwan (Leong et al. 2017) were collected in a forest near the coast. The collection site an abandoned house garden with many trees and thick leaf litter.

Nomenclature

 *  denticulata. Ponera denticulata Smith, F. 1858b: 90, pl. 6, figs. 13, 14 (q.) SINGAPORE (not South Africa as originally stated; see Donisthorpe, 1943f: 677). Roger, 1861a: 12 (w.). Combination in Odontoponera: Mayr, 1862: 717. Junior synonym of transversa: Dalla Torre, 1893: 30; Forel, 1900d: 314. Revived from synonymy: Yamane, 2009: 5.

Worker
Leong et al. (2017) - HL 2.38–2.50 mm; HW 2.17–2.29 mm; SL 1.83–1.88 mm; TL 9.05–9.61 mm; PrW 1.50–1.73 mm; WL 3.38–3.46 mm; CI 91–94, SI 82–84. (n = 3 from Taiwan)

Head. In full-face view, rectangular with lateral sides slightly convex and occipital margin very weakly concave. Anterior margin of clypeus with eight teeth. Mandible strong and triangle, with five teeth. Eye large and circular, with ca. 25 ommatidia along long axis. Vertex with poorly developed raised area near occipital margin. Antenna with 12 segments; antennal scape only slightly exceeding the occipital margin.

Mesosoma. In lateral view, dorsum of mesosoma slightly convex, with distinct promesonotal suture and metanotal groove so that mesonotum sharply defined. In dorsal view, mesosoma narrowing from pronotum to propodeum. Shoulders of pronotum with a pair of blunt spines; anterior margin of pronotum convex. Posterodorsal corner of propodeum rounded, forming blunt angle, with some pairs of denticles.

Petiole. In dorsal view, petiole broader than long. Petiolar node in frontal view slightly concave apically, in lateral view narrowly triangular with straight anterior and posterior margins. With petiole in profile subpetiolar process trapezoidal, narrowed behind, with anterovental corner rightangled and posterovental corner more acute.

Sculpture. Head and mesosoma with deep rugae; pronotum with deep and regular transverse rugae; lateral pronotal profile with curved rugae, mesonotum and propodeum also with transverse but weakly curved rugae. Clypeus with fine longitudinal striae. Propodeal declivity with a few superficial transverse striae. Mandible, subpetiolar process and gaster smooth. Rugae on petiole almost obliterated. Pilosity. Sides of head, anterior margin of clypeus, sides of mandible, dorsum of mesosoma, petiolar node, and gaster with standing hairs of various lengths. Antennae, legs, propodeal dorsum, petiolar node and gaster densely with appressued pubescence.

Color. Body color blackish brown, sometimes with reddish tinge; antennae and legs reddish brown.

Type Material
Ponera denticulata

Holotype alate queen in. Labelled “Ponera denticulata Sm. ?C.G. Hope.” Type-locality of Cape of Good Hope (South Africa) in error. Locality = Singapore, see Donisthorpe, 1943f: 677.

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