Turneria pacifica

This species occurs in the Soloman Islands and Vanuatu and is completely sympatric with T. dahlii. Wilson (1962) found it, along with T. dahlii, to be one of the dominant arboreal ants in lowland rain forests on Espiritu Santo.

Identification
Relative eye length (eye length/head width) < 0.35, frontal lobes with 1 or 2 erect hairs, lateral areas of head weakly imbricate and with integument shiny, area between propodeal protuberances flat, bicolored with yellow head and thorax and dark brown to black gaster. The clypeus possesses between 10 and 16 erect hairs. As discussed above, T. pacifica and T. dahlii are very similar and the only significant difference found in this study was the contrasting yellow and black color of T. pacifica, while T. dahlii is uniform yellow-brown to black.

Distribution
This taxon was described from Solomon Islands.

Nomenclature

 *  pacifica. Turneria pacifica Mann, 1919: 361, figs. 39, 40 (w.) SOLOMON IS. Wilson, 1962c: 17 (q.); Shattuck, 1990: 112 (m.).

Holotype worker from Grasciosa Bay, Santa Cruz, Solomon Islands (W. M. Mann).

In the USNM is a specimen baring an identical locality label as the type specimen (also in the USNM). This specimen is conspecific with the type and was apparently collected at the same time. Mann (1919) clearly states he described this species from a single specimen, therefore this second specimen should not be considered part of the type series.

Description
Worker measurements (n=15): OOD 0.20-0.23, EL 0.22-0.26, OCD 0.11-0.14, CL 0.15-0.22, HL 0.71-0.83, LES 0.06-0.08, EW 0.11-0.14, ES 0.29-0.34, HW 0.66-0.76, SL 0.50-0.59, PnL 0.34-0.43, ML 0.27-0.33, PpL 0.22-0.27, PnW 0.41-0.50, MW 0.27-0.34, PpW 0.27-0.30, PO 0.04-0.08, FFL 0.53-0.61, FFW 0.19-0.23, MH 0.37-0.49, PpH 0.27-0.34, CI 0.90-0.95, OI 0.51-0.59, REL 0.32-0.35, SI 0.75-0.86, FI 0.32-0.40, PI 0.59-0.68, PpI 0.78-0.91, ROOD 0.29-0.33, POI 0.15-0.27, RPO 0.07-0.11, RMW 0.39-0.44, RLES 0.08-0.11, RES 0.42-0.46, RFFL 0.77-0.83.

Definitions of measurements cited above
 * CL: Clypeal Length: measured in full face view.
 * CI: Cephalic index: HL/HW.
 * EL: Eye Length: measured in full face view.
 * ES: Eye Spread: distance between inner-most edges of eyes measured in full face view.
 * EW: Eye width measured in full face view.
 * FFL: Fore Femur Length: maximum length of fore femur measured in lateral view.
 * FFW: Fore Femur Width: maximum width of fore femur measured in lateral view.
 * FI: Femur Index: FFW/FFL.
 * HL: Head Length: maximum length of head in full face view, from the anterior clypeal margin to the midpoint of a line drawn across the occipital margin.
 * HW: Head Width: maximum width of head in full face view, excluding eyes in workers and queens, including eyes in males.
 * LES: Lateral Eye Space: distance from lateral edge of head to lateral edge of eye measured in full face view.
 * MH: Mesothoracic Height: maximum height of the mesothorax measured perpendicular to the measuring axis.
 * ML: Mesonotal Length: distance from the pronotal-mesonotal suture to the metanotal groove measured parallel to the measuring axis.
 * MW: Mesonotal Width: minimum width of mesonotum in dorsal view profile.
 * OCD: Ocular-Clypeal Distance: distance between anterior margin of eye and posterior margin of clypeus measured in full face view.
 * OI: Ocular Index: EW/EL.
 * OOD: Occiput-Ocular Distance: distance between posterior margin of eye and posterior extremity of occipital border measured in full face view.
 * PI: Pronotal Width Index: PnW/HW.
 * PnL: Pronotal Length: distance from the anterior edge of the pronotal collar to the pronotal-mesonotal suture measured parallel to the measuring axis.
 * PnW: Pronotal Width: maximum width of pronotum, measured in dorsal view.
 * PO: Propodeal Overhang: distance from the posterior-most point of the propodeal tubercles to the posterior-most point of the petiolar insertion measured parallel to the measuring axis.
 * POI: Propodeal Overhang Index: PO/PpH.
 * PpH: Propodeal Height: maximum height of the propodeum measured perpendicular to the measuring axis.
 * PpL: Propodeal Length: distance from the metanotal groove to the posterior-most point of the propodeal tubercles measured parallel to the measuring axis.
 * PpI: Propodeal Length Index: PpL/HW.
 * PpW: Propodeal Width: maximum width of the dorsal propodeal surface in dorsal view.
 * REL: Relative Eye Length: EL/HW.
 * RFFL: Relative Fore Femur Length: FFL/HW.
 * RES: Relative Eye Spread: ES/HW.
 * RLES: Relative Lateral Eye Space: LES/HW.
 * RMW: Relative Mesonotal Width: MW/HW.
 * ROOD: Relative Occiput-Ocular Distance: OOD/HW.
 * RPO: Relative Propodeal Overhang: PO/HW.
 * SI: Scape index: SL/HW.
 * SL: Scape Length: length of the first antennal segment (scape) excluding the basal radicle.

Queen description: Additional characters not given in the generic description include: numerous hairs present on the lateral margin of the head between the posterior edge of the eye and the occipital corner. Body bicolored with the head, alitrunk, legs and petiole yellow to reddish yellow and the gaster dark brown to black.

Male description: This is the only species for which the male is known. Since the generic characterization above is based on this species, the description will not be repeated here. Color, however, is probably species specific and is as follows: head reddish brown, darker near the ocelli; mandibles, antennae and legs yellow; clypeus and frontal area reddish yellow; thorax and dorsum of petiole reddish yellow with the gaster slightly darker; ventral area of petiole lacking pigment and more or less transparent.

Additional References

 * Mann, W. M. (1919) The ants of the British Solomon Islands. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 63, 275-391.


 * [[Media:Shattuck 1990.pdf|Shattuck, S. O. 1990. Revision of the dolichoderine ant genus Turneria (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Syst. Entomol. 15: 101-117 PDF]]


 * Wilson, E. O. (1962) The ants of Rennell and Bellona Islands. Natural History of Rennell Island, British Solomon Islands 4, 13-23.