Dolichoderus extensispinus

Dolichoderus extensispinus occurs in forests ranging from dry sclerophyll to rainforest in a restricted region of south-eastern Queensland. It nests under stones and forages on low vegetation and trees.

Identification
Pronotum and propodeum with elongate spines; pronotal spines directed laterally and dorsally. The presence of pronotal spines directed laterally and dorsally will distinguish D. extensispinus from all other Australian Dolichoderus species.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Australasian Region: Australia.

There is a single specimen, collected many years ago, labelled as being from Cairns, some 2000kms north of the main range of this species. Given that the species has not been collected in this area since this record should be considered suspect and it is unlikely that this species occurs there.

Nomenclature

 *  extensispinus. Dolichoderus doriae r. extensispina Forel, 1915b: 76 (w.) AUSTRALIA. Combination in D. (Acanthoclinea): Wheeler, W.M. 1935c: 69. Raised to species: Clark, 1930b: 256. [Both Wheeler and Clark misspell the name as extensispinosa.]

Description
The available material shows little morphological variation.

Measurements (n=5). CI 90–94; EI 21–22; EL 0.36–0.42; HL 1.84–2.06; HW 1.65–1.92; ML 2.72–3.07; MTL 2.02–2.25; PronI 61.36–66.81; PronW 1.07–1.25; SI 106–115; SL 1.90–2.07.

Additional References

 * Shattuck, S.O. & Marsden, S. 2013. Australian species of the ant genus Dolichoderus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zootaxa 3716, 101–143 (doi 10.11646/zootaxa.3716.2.1).