Anonychomyrma itinerans

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Anonychomyrma itinerans
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Dolichoderinae
Tribe: Leptomyrmecini
Genus: Anonychomyrma
Species: A. itinerans
Binomial name
Anonychomyrma itinerans
(Lowne, 1865)

Anonychomyrma itinerans casent0009959 p 1 high.jpg

Anonychomyrma itinerans casent0009959 d 1 high.jpg

Specimen Labels

Subspecies

Identification

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: -23.378941° to -41.1°.

     
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Australasian Region: Australia (type locality).

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

Anonychomyrma species are common in moist to semi-arid forested areas (and are less common in rain forests). They nest either in soil with or without coverings, or arboreally in living or dead wood. Workers forage in conspicuous trails on the ground and on tree trunks. Although not studied in detail, they seem to be general predators and also collect plant juices. Some species are associated with the caterpillars of selected butterflies. Nest sizes are moderate to large, ranging from 500 to tens of thousands of workers. When disturbed, most species elevate their gasters and release strong, acrid smelling chemicals as a defensive measure. While similar to Iridomyrmex in general habitat preferences and ecology, most Anonychomyrma prefer moister sites and are predominately arboreal. Iridomyrmex species occur in drier sites and are predominantly terrestrial.

Castes

Worker

Images from AntWeb

Anonychomyrma itinerans casent0249512 h 1 high.jpgAnonychomyrma itinerans casent0249512 p 1 high.jpgAnonychomyrma itinerans casent0249512 d 1 high.jpgAnonychomyrma itinerans casent0249512 l 1 high.jpg
Worker. Specimen code casent0249512. Photographer Will Ericson, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by PSWC, Philip S. Ward Collection.
Anonychomyrma itinerans casent0902994 h 1 high.jpgAnonychomyrma itinerans casent0902994 p 1 high.jpgAnonychomyrma itinerans casent0902994 d 1 high.jpgAnonychomyrma itinerans casent0902994 l 1 high.jpg
Syntype of Anonychomyrma itineransWorker. Specimen code casent0902994. Photographer Z. Lieberman, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by NHMUK, London, UK.
Anonychomyrma itinerans casent0909541 h 1 high.jpgAnonychomyrma itinerans casent0909541 p 1 high.jpgAnonychomyrma itinerans casent0909541 d 1 high.jpgAnonychomyrma itinerans casent0909541 l 1 high.jpg
Syntype of Anonychomyrma itinerans ballaratensisWorker. Specimen code casent0909541. Photographer Z. Lieberman, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by MHNG, Geneva, Switzerland.
Anonychomyrma itinerans casent0909542 h 1 high.jpgAnonychomyrma itinerans casent0909542 p 1 high.jpgAnonychomyrma itinerans casent0909542 d 1 high.jpgAnonychomyrma itinerans casent0909542 l 1 high.jpg
Syntype of Anonychomyrma itinerans depilisWorker. Specimen code casent0909542. Photographer Z. Lieberman, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by MHNG, Geneva, Switzerland.
Anonychomyrma itinerans casent0909544 h 1 high.jpgAnonychomyrma itinerans casent0909544 p 1 high.jpgAnonychomyrma itinerans casent0909544 d 1 high.jpgAnonychomyrma itinerans casent0909544 l 1 high.jpg
Syntype of Anonychomyrma itinerans perthensisWorker. Specimen code casent0909544. Photographer Z. Lieberman, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by MHNG, Geneva, Switzerland.

Nomenclature

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

  • itinerans. Formica itinerans Lowne, 1865a: 278 (w.) AUSTRALIA (New South Wales).
    • Forel, 1913g: 189 (m.); Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1966: 729 (l.); Crozier, 1969: 249 (k.).
    • Combination in Hypoclinea: Mayr, 1870b: 955;
    • combination in Iridomyrmex: Emery, 1887a: 249;
    • combination in Anonychomyrma: Shattuck, 1992a: 13.
    • Status as species: Mayr, 1870b: 958 (in key); Mayr, 1876: 79 (in key); Dalla Torre, 1893: 169; André, 1896b: 260 (in key); Forel, 1902h: 471; Forel, 1907a: 27; Emery, 1913a: 25; Forel, 1913g: 189; Emery, 1914b: 180; Forel, 1915b: 79; Clark, 1934c: 63; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 100; Taylor, 1987a: 32; Shattuck, 1994: 5; Bolton, 1995b: 66; Heterick, 2009: 43.
    • Current subspecies: nominal plus ballaratensis, depilis, perthensis.

Type Material

  • Formica itinerans Lowne, 1865: Syntype, 10 workers, unspecified, Australia, The Natural History Museum.
  • Formica itinerans Lowne, 1865: Syntype, workers, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Description

Karyotype

  • n = 8, 2n = 16 (Australia) (Crozier, 1968a) (as Iridomyrmex itinerans).

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • CSIRO Collection
  • Emery, C. "Catalogo delle formiche esistenti nelle collezioni del Museo Civico di Genova. Parte terza. Formiche della regione Indo-Malese e dell'Australia." Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale Giacomo Doria (Genova) (2) 4, no. 24 (1887): 209-258.
  • Forel A. 1913. Fourmis de Tasmanie et d'Australie récoltées par MM. Lae, Froggatt etc. Bull. Soc. Vaudoise Sci. Nat. 49: 173-195
  • Lowery B. B., and R. J. Taylor. 1994. Occurrence of ant species in a range of sclerophyll forest communities at Old Chum Dam, north-eastern Tasmania. Australian Entomologist 21: 11-14.