Anochetus emarginatus

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Anochetus emarginatus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Ponerinae
Tribe: Ponerini
Genus: Anochetus
Species: A. emarginatus
Binomial name
Anochetus emarginatus
(Fabricius, 1804)

Anochetus emarginatus casent0217503 p 1 high.jpg

Anochetus emarginatus casent0217503 d 1 high.jpg

Specimen Labels

Synonyms

Anochetus emarginatus is an arboreal or semi-arboreal forager that often nests in hollow branches, epiphytes, or between palm leaf bases well above ground level (Brown 1978).

At a Glance • Ergatoid queen  • Limited invasive  

Identification

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 20° to -64.36°.

     
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Neotropical Region: Brazil, Colombia, French Guiana, Grenada, Guyana, Lesser Antilles, Mexico, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela.

Distribution based on AntMaps

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Distribution based on AntWeb specimens

Check data from AntWeb

Countries Occupied

Number of countries occupied by this species based on AntWiki Regional Taxon Lists. In general, fewer countries occupied indicates a narrower range, while more countries indicates a more widespread species.
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Estimated Abundance

Relative abundance based on number of AntMaps records per species (this species within the purple bar). Fewer records (to the left) indicates a less abundant/encountered species while more records (to the right) indicates more abundant/encountered species.
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Biology

Gibson et al. (2018) found the trap-jaws of Anochetus horridus and Anochetus emarginatus have slower strikes relative to other species of Anochetus and Odontomachus, reaching mean maximum rotational velocity and acceleration of around 1.3 9 10 4 rad s -1 and 2 9 10 8 rad s -2, respectively. The mass-specific power output of these and other species in these two genera confirm their mandible strikes are power amplified, i.e., in addition to muscle contraction energy, the acceleration of the mandibles is enhanced by mechanical structures that are adapted for, and form part of, their trap-jaws. These species and other measured species in Anochetus and Odontomachus follow a pattern of increasingly energetic strikes with larger body mass. This relationship appears to be primarily driven by an increase in mandible mass with larger body size.

While this species is known to nest in ant gardens it does not seem to be a true ant-garden taxon (i.e., one that is able to initiate ant gardens or is restricted to ant gardens) and is more likely to be a secondary resident or opportunistic ant-garden nester (but see Campbell et al., 2022; Madison, 1979).

Castes

Worker

Images from AntWeb

Anochetus emarginatus casent0246168 h 1 high.jpgAnochetus emarginatus casent0246168 d 1 high.jpgAnochetus emarginatus casent0246168 p 1 high.jpgAnochetus emarginatus casent0246168 l 1 high.jpg
Worker. Specimen code casent0246168. Photographer Andrea Walker, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by USNM, Washington, DC, USA.
Anochetus emarginatus casent0260493 h 1 high.jpgAnochetus emarginatus casent0260493 d 1 high.jpgAnochetus emarginatus casent0260493 p 1 high.jpgAnochetus emarginatus casent0260493 l 1 high.jpg
Worker. Specimen code casent0260493. Photographer Will Ericson, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by PSWC, Philip S. Ward Collection.
Anochetus emarginatus casent0903990 h 1 high.jpgAnochetus emarginatus casent0903990 p 1 high.jpgAnochetus emarginatus casent0903990 d 1 high.jpgAnochetus emarginatus casent0903990 l 1 high.jpg
Syntype of Anochetus emarginatus rugosusWorker. Specimen code casent0903990. Photographer Will Ericson, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by MSNG, Genoa, Italy.
Anochetus emarginatus casent0902431 h 1 high.jpgAnochetus emarginatus casent0902431 p 1 high.jpgAnochetus emarginatus casent0902431 p 2 high.jpgAnochetus emarginatus casent0902431 d 1 high.jpgAnochetus emarginatus casent0902431 l 1 high.jpg
Holotype of Odontomachus quadrispinosusWorker. Specimen code casent0902431. Photographer Will Ericson, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by NHMUK, London, UK.

Nomenclature

The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.

  • emarginatus. Myrmecia emarginata Fabricius, 1804: 426 (w.) (no state data, “Habitat in America meridionali”).
    • Type-material: holotype(?) worker.
    • [Note: no indication of number of specimens is given.]
    • Type-locality: Neotropical (no locality specified).
    • Type-depository: ZMUC.
    • Forel, 1912c: 30 (m.); Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1952c: 644 (l.).
    • Combination in Odontomachus: Illiger, 1807: 194;
    • combination in Stenomyrmex: Mayr, 1862: 712;
    • combination in Anochetus (Stenomyrmex): Emery, 1890a: 63.
    • Status as species: Roger, 1861a: 32; Mayr, 1862: 712; Roger, 1862c: 289; Roger, 1863b: 22; Mayr, 1863: 454; Emery, 1890a: 63; Dalla Torre, 1893: 47; Emery, 1894c: 186 (in key); Forel, 1895b: 117; Forel, 1899c: 18; Wheeler, W.M. 1911b: 168; Emery, 1911d: 111; Forel, 1912c: 30; Mann, 1916: 418; Crawley, 1916b: 367; Wheeler, W.M. 1916c: 3; Wheeler, W.M. 1916d: 324; Wheeler, W.M. 1918b: 24; Wheeler, W.M. 1922c: 3; Borgmeier, 1923: 76; Wheeler, W.M. 1923a: 3; Wheeler, W.M. 1925a: 9 (in key); Borgmeier, 1934: 96; Wheeler, W.M. 1942: 156; Kempf, 1964f: 238; Kempf, 1970b: 327; Kempf, 1972a: 21; Brown, 1978c: 556, 609; Bolton, 1995b: 64; Zabala, 2008: 131; Fernández & Guerrero, 2019: 516.
    • Senior synonym of quadrispinosus: Roger, 1861a: 32; Roger, 1862c: 289; Roger, 1863b: 22; Mayr, 1863: 454; Emery, 1890a: 63; Forel, 1895b: 117; Emery, 1911d: 111; Borgmeier, 1923: 76; Kempf, 1964f: 238; Kempf, 1972a: 21; Brown, 1978c: 556; Bolton, 1995b: 64.
    • Senior synonym of rugosus Emery: Kempf, 1964f: 238; Kempf, 1972a: 21; Brown, 1978c: 556; Bolton, 1995b: 64.
    • Distribution: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Granada, Guianas, Trinidad, Venezuela.
  • quadrispinosus. Odontomachus quadrispinosus Smith, F. 1858b: 78, pl. 5, figs. 15-17 (w.) BRAZIL (no state data).
    • Type-material: holotype worker.
    • [Note: in BMNH are two quadrispinosus workers with the data, “Para 48/133.” The Accessions. Register for 1848 no. 133 has, “Para. B(ought)t of Stevens. Collected by Mssrs Bates & Wallace.” One of these specimens is sublabelled “172.” It is suspected that all three together constituted the original syntype series.]
    • Type-locality: Brazil (no further data).
    • Type-depository: BMNH.
    • Junior synonym of emarginatus: Roger, 1861a: 32; Roger, 1862c: 289; Roger, 1863b: 22; Mayr, 1863: 454; Emery, 1890a: 63; Forel, 1895b: 117; Emery, 1911d: 111; Borgmeier, 1923: 76; Kempf, 1964f: 238; Kempf, 1972a: 21; Brown, 1978c: 556; Bolton, 1995b: 65.
  • rugosus. Anochetus (Stenomyrmex) emarginatus r. rugosus Emery, 1890a: 63 (w.) BRAZIL (Pará, Mato Grosso).
    • Type-material: syntype workers (number not stated).
    • Type-localities: Brazil: Pará, and Mato Grosso (no collector’s name(s)).
    • Type-depository: MSNG.
    • [Unresolved junior secondary homonym of Odontomachus rugosus Smith, F. 1857a: 65 (Bolton, 1995b: 65).]
    • Mann, 1916: 418 (m.); Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1952c: 645 (l.).
    • Status as species: Dalla Torre, 1893: 48.
    • Subspecies of emarginatus: Emery, in Dalla Torre, 1893: 47 (footnote); Emery, 1894c: 186 (in key); Emery, 1906c: 117; Emery, 1911d: 111; Mann, 1916: 418; Borgmeier, 1923: 76; Wheeler, W.M. 1923a: 3; Wheeler, W.M. 1925a: 10 (in key).
    • Junior synonym of emarginatus: Kempf, 1964f: 238; Kempf, 1972a: 21; Brown, 1978c: 556; Bolton, 1995b: 65.

The following notes on F. Smith type specimens have been provided by Barry Bolton (details):

Odontomachus quadrispinosus

Holotype worker in The Natural History Museum. Labelled “Brazil” and also with a Farren White label. It is probable that this determination is spurious, a secondary labelling by Farren White, who seems to have had a habit of throwing away original data labels and substituting his own. Also in The Natural History Museum are two quadrispinosus workers with the data, “Para 48/133.” Acc. Reg.: “1848 no. 133. Para. Bt of Stevens. Collected by Mssrs Bates & Wallace.” One of these specimens is sublabelled “172.” I suspect that all three together constituted the original syntype series.

Description

Karyotype

  • n = 14, 2n = 28 (Brazil) (Mariano et al., 2015).

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • Armbrecht I., E. Jimenez, G. Alvarez, P. Ulloa-Chacon, and H. Armbrecht. 2001. An ant mosaic in the Colombian rain forest of Choco (Hymenoptera: formicidae0. Sociobiology 37(3B): 491-509.
  • Brown Jr., W.L. 1978. Contributions toward a reclassification of the Formicidae. Part VI. Ponerinae, Tribe Ponerini, Subtribe Odontomachiti, Section B. Genus Anochetus and Bibliography. Studia Entomologia 20(1-4): 549-XXX
  • Brown W.L. Jr. 1978. Contributions toward a reclassification of the Formicidae. Part VI. Ponerinae, tribe Ponerini, subtribe Odontomachiti. Section B. Genus Anochetus and bibliography. Studia Ent. 20(1-4): 549-638.
  • Bustos H., J. 1994. Contribucion al conocimiento de al fauna de hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) del occidente del Departamento de Narino (Colombia). Bol. Mus. Ent. Univ. Valle 2(1,2):19-30
  • CSIRO Collection
  • Deyrup M., L. Davis, and S. Buckner. 1998. Composition of the ant fauna of three Bahamian islands. Proceedings of the seventh symposium on the natural history of the Bahamas. 23-32. Bahamian Field Station, San Salvador, Bahamas
  • Durou S., A. Dejean, I. Olmsted, and R. R. Snelling. 2002. Ant diversity in coastal zones of Quintana Roo, Mexico, with special reference to army ants. Sociobiology 40(0): 385-402.
  • Emery C. 1890. Studii sulle formiche della fauna neotropica. Bull. Soc. Entomol. Ital. 22: 38-8
  • Emery C. 1890. Voyage de M. E. Simon au Venezuela (Décembre 1887 - Avril 1888). Formicides. Annales de la Société Entomologique de France (6)10: 55-76.
  • Emery C. 1906. Studi sulle formiche della fauna neotropica. XXVI. Bullettino della Società Entomologica Italiana 37: 107-194.
  • Emery C. 1911. Hymenoptera. Fam. Formicidae. Subfam. Ponerinae. Genera Insectorum 118: 1-125.
  • Fernandes I., and J. de Souza. 2018. Dataset of long-term monitoring of ground-dwelling ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the influence areas of a hydroelectric power plant on the Madeira River in the Amazon Basin. Biodiversity Data Journal 6: e24375.
  • Fernández F. 2008. Subfamilia Ponerinae s.str. Pp. 123-218 in: Jiménez, E.; Fernández, F.; Arias, T.M.; Lozano-Zambrano F. H. (eds.) 2008. Sistemática, biogeografía y conservación de las hormigas cazadoras de Colombia. Bogotá: Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, xiv + 609 pp.
  • Fernández F., and T. M. Arias-Penna. 2008. Las hormigas cazadoras en la región Neotropical. Pp. 3-39 in: Jiménez, E.; Fernández, F.; Arias, T.M.; Lozano-Zambrano, F. H. (eds.) 2008. Sistemática, biogeografía y conservación de las hormigas cazadoras de Colombia. Bogotá: Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, xiv + 609 pp.
  • Fernández, F. and S. Sendoya. 2004. Lista de las hormigas neotropicales. Biota Colombiana Volume 5, Number 1.
  • Forel A. 1912. Formicides néotropiques. Part I. Annales de la Société Entomologique de Belgique. 56: 28-49.
  • Franco W., N. Ladino, J. H. C. Delabie, A. Dejean, J. Orivel, M. Fichaux, S. Groc, M. Leponce, and R. M. Feitosa. 2019. First checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of French Guiana. Zootaxa 4674(5): 509-543.
  • Jaffe, Klaus and Lattke, John. 1994. Ant Fauna of the French and Venezuelan Islands in the Caribbean in Exotic Ants, editor D.F. Williams. 182-190.
  • Kempf W. W. 1964. The ants of the genus Anochetus (Stenomyrmex) in Brazil (Hym., Formicidae). Studia Entomologica 7: 237-246.
  • Kempf, W.W. 1972. Catalago abreviado das formigas da regiao Neotropical (Hym. Formicidae) Studia Entomologica 15(1-4).
  • Klotz, J.H., J.R. Mangold, K.M. Vail, L.R. Davis Jr., R.S. Patterson. 1995. A survey of the urban pest ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Peninsular Florida. Florida Entomologist 78(1):109-118
  • Medina U. C. A., F. Fernandez, and M. G. Andrade-C. 2010. Insectos: escarabajos coprofagos, hormigas y mariposas. Capitulo 6. Pp 197-215. En: Lasso, C. A., J. S. Usma, F. Trujillo y A. Rial (eds.). 2010. Biodiversidad de la cuenca del Orinoco: bases científicas para la identificación de áreas prioritarias para la conservación y uso sostenible de la biodiversidad. Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, WWF Colombia, Fundación Omacha, Fundación La Salle e Instituto de Estudios de la Orinoquia (Universidad Nacional de Colombia). Bogotá, D. C., Colombia.
  • Ulyssea M. A., and C. R. F. Brandao. 2013. Ant species (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from the seasonally dry tropical forest of northeastern Brazil: a compilation from field surveys in Bahia and literature records. Revista Brasileira de Entomologia 57(2): 217–224.
  • Ulysséa M. A., C. R. F. Brandão. 2013. Ant species (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from the seasonally dry tropical forest of northeastern Brazil: a compilation from field surveys in Bahia and literature records. Revista Brasileira de Entomologia 57(2): 217-224.
  • Vásquez-Bolaños M. 2011. Lista de especies de hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) para México. Dugesiana 18: 95-133
  • Weber N. A. 1944. The tree ants (Dendromyrmex) of South and Central America. Ecology 25: 117-120.
  • Wheeler W. M. 1916. Ants collected in British Guiana by the expedition of the American Museum of Natural History during 1911. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 35: 1-14.
  • Wheeler W. M. 1922. The ants of Trinidad. American Museum Novitates 45: 1-16.
  • Wheeler W. M. 1942. Studies of Neotropical ant-plants and their ants. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 90: 1-262.
  • Wheeler, William Morton. 1911. Ants Collected in Grenada, W.I. by Mr. C. T. Brues. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparitive Zoology at Harvard College. 54(5):166-172.
  • Wheeler, William Morton. 1916. Ants Collected in Trinidad by Professor Roland Thaxter, Mr. F. W. Urich, and Others. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparitive Zoology at Harvard University. 40(8):322-330