Strumigenys wallacei

All of Wilson's samples were taken in rain forest; the Bisianumu series came from a rotten log, the Karema lot was taken as strays in leaf litter berlesate, and the Nganduo sample came from a nest containing 100+ workers in the soil under fern rhizomes; near this last colony, workers were found foraging on the ground during a dark, rainy afternoon. The Wau sample consisted of 2 stray workers berlesed from rain forest leaf mold. (Brown 1973)

Identification
Bolton (2000) 	- A member of the Strumigenys wallacei-group. S. wallacei is characterised within the group by its lack of a humeral hair, the shape of its mesonotum in profile and its completely reticulate-punctate lateral alitrunk. Apart from this Strumigenys diasphax has stout standing hairs on both head and promesonotum, and Strumigenys gnathosphax has two intercalary denticles and its scrobe is well developed behind the level of the eye; in wallacei standing hairs are absent from head and alitrunk, the apical fork lacks intercalary denticles and the scrobe is vestigial behind the eye. A closely related species, Strumigenys opaca, occurs in Australia.

Brown (1973) - The outstanding characteristics of this species are its broad head and the peculiar form of its promesonotum. The pronotal disc is nearly flat, submarginate laterally, and tilted downward toward the front; behind it, the mesonotum forms a high tumulus and then drops off steeply through a concave portion which blends into the nearly plane propodeal dorsum. The promesonotum thus forms a high, blunt angle contrasting sharply with the generally concave posterior truncal outline.

The gaster bears short longitudinal costulae at its base, and in some samples there is more or less extensive striato-punctulation near the base as well, but the first tergum (when perfectly clean) is predominantly smooth and shining.

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

Nomenclature

 *  wallacei. Strumigenys wallacei Emery, 1897c: 578, pl. 14, fig. 7 (w.) NEW GUINEA. See also: Brown, 1973c: 267; Bolton, 2000: 912.

Worker
Bolton (2000) - TL 2.7-3.1, HL 0.68-0.84, HW 0.59-0.78, CI 86-95, ML 0.42-0.48, MI 52-62, SL 0.48-0.54, SI 68-80, PW 0.30-0.36, AL 0.64-0.78 (10 measured).

Apical fork of mandible without intercalary denticles. Scrobe in profile vestigial behind level of eye. Mesonotum in profile forming a prominent hump or bulge, with a nearvertical posterior declivity. Propodeum armed with a pair of narrow spines, subtended by weak carinae on the declivity. These latter may be slightly broadened ventrally but are not expanded into bluntly triangular projecting lobes. Ventral spongiform curtain of petiole narrow, at deepest only half the depth of the peduncle, or less. Dorsal surfaces of head and alitrunk without standing hairs; dorsolateral margin of head without projecting hairs and pronotal humeral hair absent. Dorsal surfaces of head and pronotum with appressed spatulate to narrowly scale-like hairs. Appressed anteriorly curved hairs that fringe upper scrobe margin minute, much smaller than hairs on leading edge of scape. First gastral tergite with erect stiff hairs that are thick and frequently weakly remiform. Entire side of alitrunk and disc of postpetiole reticulate-punctate.

Type Material
Bolton (2000) - Syntype workers, PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Aitape (= Berlinhafen) (L. Biro) [examined].

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Bolton, B. 2000. The Ant Tribe Dacetini. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute 65
 * Brown W. L., Jr. 1954. The Indo-Australian species of the ant genus Strumigenys Fr. Smith: S. wallacei Emery and relatives. Psyche (Camb.) 60: 85-89.
 * Brown W. L., Jr. 1973. The Indo-Australian species of the ant genus Strumigenys: groups of horvathi, mayri and wallacei. Pac. Insects 15: 259-269.
 * Brown W. L., Jr. 1973. The Indo-Australian species of the ant genus Strumigenys: groups of horvathi, mayri and wallacei. Pacific Insects 15: 259-269.
 * CSIRO Collection
 * Chapman, J. W., and Capco, S. R. 1951. Check list of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Asia. Monogr. Inst. Sci. Technol. Manila 1: 1-327
 * Emery C. 1897. Formicidarum species novae vel minus cognitae in collectione Musaei Nationalis Hungarici quas in Nova-Guinea, colonia germanica, collegit L. Biró. Természetrajzi Füzetek 20: 571-599.
 * 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.
 * Lucky A., E. Sarnat, and L. Alonso. 2011. Ants of the Muller Range, Papua New Guinea, Chapter 10. In Richards, S. J. and Gamui, B. G. (editors). 2013. Rapid Biological Assessments of the Nakanai Mountains and the upper Strickland Basin: surveying the biodiversity of Papua New Guineas sublime karst environments. RAP Bulletin of Biological Assessment 60. Conservation International. Arlington, VA.
 * Lucky A., L. E. Alonso, E. Sarnat, and J. Hulr. 2015. Ants and scolytine beetles. In: Richards, S.J. and N. Whitmore (editors) 2015. A rapid biodiversity assessment of Papua New Guinea's Hindenburg Wall region. Wildlife Conservation Society Papua New Guinea Program. Goroka, PNG.
 * Room P. M. 1975. Diversity and organization of the ground foraging ant faunas of forest, grassland and tree crops in Papua Nez Guinea. Aust. J. Zool. 23: 71-89.
 * Sagata, K., A.L. Mack, D.D. Wright and P.J. Lester. 2010. The influence of nest avaiability on the abundance and diversity of twig-dwelling ants in a Papua New Guinea forest. Insectes Sociaux 57:333-341
 * Snelling R. R. 1998. Insect Part 1: The social Hymenoptera. In Mack A. L. (Ed.) A Biological Assessment of the Lakekamu Basin, Papua New Guinea, RAP 9. 189 ppages
 * 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.
 * 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.