Myrmecia brevinoda

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Australasian Region: Australia, New Zealand.

Biology


Myrmecia brevinoda, one of the largest ants, together with one of the smallest, Carebara atoma, photographed using an electron microscope (both from northern Queensland, Australia). One of the reasons ants are so successful is because of their great morphological diversity. This diversity also extends to their life history and ecology.

A large nest of Myrmecia brevinoda (with a mound 70cm tall) in north Queensland contained 2576 workers and 1 queen (Higashi & Peeters 1990). Other small ants, termites and various insect larvae were also found in uninhabited parts of the mound. Although workers exhibit considerable size variation (length: 13-36 mm), relative growth (head length versus head width) among workers is not allometric. Thus workers are monomorphic although they fall into 2 obvious size classes which overlap broadly. Small workers were abundant in the lower parts of the nest while larger workers prevailed in the upper parts. Field observations confirmed the occurrence of size polyethism, i.e. larger workers were engaged in hunting, defence and extranidal building, while smaller workers excavated soil from inside the nest. Another nest identified as M. brevinoda from the vicinity of Armidale (northern NSW) lacked any conspicuous mound. Over 1200 workers were collected together with cocoons enclosing winged queens (C. Peeters unpubl.).

See Nests.



Castes
Clark (1951) described both winged and ergatoid queens in this species, together with size-polymorphic workers.



Nomenclature

 * . Myrmecia forficata var. brevinoda Forel, 1910b: 2 (w.q.) AUSTRALIA (Victoria).
 * Type-material: syntype workers (number not stated), 1 syntype queen.
 * Type-localities: Australia: New South Wales, Walcha (W.W. Froggatt), Victoria, Gisborne (W.W. Froggatt).
 * Type-depositories: ANIC, MCZC, MHNG, NHMB.
 * [Misspelled as brevinodis by Baroni Urbani, 1973b: 125.]
 * Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1971d: 247 (l.); Imai, Crozier & Taylor, 1977: 345 (k.).
 * Subspecies of forficata: Emery, 1911d: 20; Clark, 1927: 36.
 * Status as species: Clark, 1951: 96 (redescription); Brown, 1953j: 22; Brown, 1958h: 10; Wilson & Taylor, 1967: 102; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 6; Taylor, 1987a: 42; Ogata, 1991a: 358; Ogata & Taylor, 1991: 1635 (in key), 1653; Bolton, 1995b: 270; Don, 2007: 185.
 * Senior synonym of decipians: Ogata & Taylor, 1991: 1653; Bolton, 1995b: 270.
 * Senior synonym of eudoxia: Brown, 1953j: 22; Brown, 1958h: 10; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 7; Taylor, 1987a: 42; Ogata & Taylor, 1991: 1653; Bolton, 1995b: 270.
 * Senior synonym of gigas: Brown, 1953j: 22; Brown, 1958h: 10; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 7; Taylor, 1987a: 42; Ogata & Taylor, 1991: 1653; Bolton, 1995b: 270.
 * Senior synonym of longinodis: Ogata & Taylor, 1991: 1653; Bolton, 1995b: 270.
 * Distribution: Australia.
 * decipians. Myrmecia decipians Clark, 1951: 86, fig. 66 (w.) AUSTRALIA (New South Wales).
 * Type-material: holotype worker, paratype workers (number not stated).
 * Type-locality: holotype Australia: New South Wales, Quirindi (C.V. Morisett); paratypes with same data.
 * Type-depository: ANIC.
 * Status as species: Taylor & Brown, 1985: 8; Taylor, 1987a: 42; Ogata, 1991a: 358.
 * Junior synonym of brevinoda: Ogata & Taylor, 1991: 1653; Bolton, 1995b: 271.
 * eudoxia. Myrmecia forficata var. eudoxia Forel, 1915b: 8 (w.) AUSTRALIA (Queensland).
 * Type-material: syntype workers (number not stated).
 * Type-locality: Australia: Queensland, Atherton (E. Mjöberg).
 * Type-depository: MHNG.
 * Status as species: Wheeler, W.M. 1933i: 35.
 * Junior synonym of gigas: Clark, 1951: 104.
 * Junior synonym of brevinoda: Brown, 1953j: 22; Brown, 1958h: 10; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 7; Taylor, 1987a: 42; Ogata & Taylor, 1991: 1653; Bolton, 1995b: 270.
 * gigas. Myrmecia pyriformis r. gigas Forel, 1913b: 310 (w.) AUSTRALIA (Queensland).
 * Type-material: syntype workers (number not stated).
 * Type-locality: Australia: Queensland (no collector’s name).
 * Type-depositories: MHNG, MRHN.
 * Forel, 1915: 7 (w.); Clark, 1951: 107 (ergatoid q. m.).
 * Status as species: Clark, 1951: 104 (redescription).
 * Junior synonym of brevinoda: Brown, 1953j: 22; Brown, 1958h: 10; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 7; Taylor, 1987a: 42; Ogata & Taylor, 1991: 1653; Bolton, 1995b: 271.
 * longinodis. Myrmecia longinodis Clark, 1951: 87, fig. 67 (w.) AUSTRALIA (New South Wales).
 * Type-material: holotype worker, paratype workers (number not stated).
 * Type-locality: holotype Australia: New South Wales, Kiama (F.A. Cudmore); paratypes with same data.
 * Type-depository: ANIC.
 * Status as species: Taylor & Brown, 1985: 12; Taylor, 1987a: 44; Ogata, 1991a: 358.
 * Junior synonym of brevinoda: Ogata & Taylor, 1991: 1653; Bolton, 1995b: 272.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Brown W. L., Jr. 1953. Revisionary notes on the ant genus Myrmecia of Australia. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. 111: 1-35.
 * CSIRO Collection
 * Forel A. 1910. Formicides australiens reçus de MM. Froggatt et Rowland Turner. Rev. Suisse Zool. 18: 1-94
 * Ogata K. and Taylor R.W. 1991. Ants of the genus Myrmecia Fabricius: a preliminary review and key to the named species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmeciinae), Journal of Natural History, 25: 1623-1673
 * Schnell M. R., A. J. Pik, and J. M. Dangerfield. 2003. Ant community succession within eucalypt plantations on used pasture and implications for taxonomic sufficiency in biomonitoring. Austral Ecology 28: 553565.
 * 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., and D. R. Brown. 1985. Formicoidea. Zoological Catalogue of Australia 2: 1-149.