Echinopla melanarctos

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Echinopla melanarctos
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Formicinae
Tribe: Camponotini
Genus: Echinopla
Species group: melanarctos
Species: E. melanarctos
Binomial name
Echinopla melanarctos
Smith, F., 1857

Echinopla melanarctos casent0178497 profile 1.jpg

Echinopla melanarctos casent0178497 dorsal 1.jpg

Specimen Label

Echinopla melanarctos is the type species of the genus.

Identification

Zettel and Laciny (2015) - A member of the Echinopla melanarctos group.

Worker: This ant is readily recognized by its relatively large size (in workers TL ca. 6.5–8.2 mm, HW1 ca. 2.05–2.44 mm), very spiny appearance, long black hair, and entirely black colour (except palpi). The “spines” are slender, socket-shaped protuberances (“pedestals”) of the integument, their apex is truncate and bears a long seta, surrounded by a subapical ring of short, horizontally projecting hairs (bearing resemblance to the pappus of a dandelion seed). They are typical for a group of species also containing Echinopla pallipes, Echinopla circulus, Echinopla tritschleri, and Echinopla cherapunjiensis. In E. tritschleri, however, the ring of short setae is not horizontally projecting but oblique, therefore the pilosity is less obvious.

Queen: Due to the scarcity of specimens, hitherto little is known about the differences between workers and gynes in Echinopla. We were able to study both castes of Echinopla melanarctos and noted the following differences: body of gynes larger (TL 8.8–9.7 vs. 6.5–8.2; HW1 2.41–2.70 vs. 2.05–2.44); eyes slightly larger; ocelli present; pedestals lower than in worker, on scutum and scutellum reduced to low tubercles; these parts with coarse, irregular rugae, scutum anteriorly with distinct, long median carina; short pilosity of dorsum less obvious; thoracic structures as typical for winged ant gynes (all examined specimens with wings broken off); scutellum laterally with a short lobe (not with a sharp projection as in some congeners).

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 4.533333333° to -2.183333°.

 
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Indo-Australian Region: Borneo, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore (type locality).
Oriental Region: Thailand.

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

Gnatzy & Maschwitz 2006 - Colonies (n=2) were monogynous and polydomous with less than 100 workers. Nests in dead hollow branches lying on the ground or hanging in the vegetation. Foragers did not visit any trophobionts. Scavengers collected small dead insects.

E. melanarctos have about 700 pedestal hairs, a cuticular structure unique in ants.

Association with Other Organisms

Explore-icon.png Explore: Show all Associate data or Search these data. See also a list of all data tables or learn how data is managed.
  • This species is a host for the fungus Ophiocordyceps unilateralis (a parasitoid) (Quevillon, 2018) (encounter mode primary; direct transmission; transmission outside nest).
  • This species is a host for the fungus Ophiocordyceps unilateralis (a pathogen) (Shrestha et al., 2017).

Castes

EchinoplaEconomo-header (arilab.unit.oist.jp).png  X-ray micro-CT scan 3D model of Echinopla melanarctos (worker) prepared by the Economo lab at OIST.

Echinopla melanarctos. This is one of the most bizarre and weird looking ant species and occurs in Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. The ants look spiny and hairy, but the “spines” are actually socket-shaped protuberances (“pedestals”) of their cuticle from which very long thick hairs arise (currently located at OIST: CASENT0790591). See on Sketchfab. See list of 3D images.

Nomenclature

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

  • melanarctos. Echinopla melanarctos Smith, F. 1857a: 79, pl. 1, figs. 25-29 (w.) SINGAPORE.

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

Holotype worker in Oxford University Museum of Natural History. Labelled “SINC” and with a Donisthorpe type-label. A second specimen is present in Oxford University Museum of Natural History, labelled “22 SING.”

Description

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • Chapman, J. W., and Capco, S. R. 1951. Check list of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Asia. Monogr. Inst. Sci. Technol. Manila 1: 1-327
  • Crawley W.C. 1924. Ants from Sumatra, with biological notes by Edward Jacobson. Annals and Magazine of Natural History (9)13: 380-409
  • Davidson D. W., S. C. Cook, R. R. Snelling and T. H. Chua. 2003. Explaining the Abundance of Ants in Lowland Tropical Rainforest Canopies. Science 300: 969-972.
  • Emery C. 1886. Saggio di un catalogo sistematico dei generi Camponotus, Polyrhachis e affini. Memorie della Reale Accademia delle Scienze dell'Istituto di Bologna 5: 363-382
  • Emery C. 1887. Catalogo delle formiche esistenti nelle collezioni del Museo Civico di Genova. Parte terza. Formiche della regione Indo-Malese e dell'Australia. [part]. Ann. Mus. Civ. Stor. Nat. 24(4): 209-258.
  • Emery C. 1893. Formicides de l'Archipel Malais. Revue Suisse de Zoologie 1: 187-229.
  • Emery C. Formiche raccolte da Elio Modigliani in Sumatra, Engano e Mentawei. Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale 40: 661-722.
  • 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.
  • Emery, C.. "Formiche raccolte da Elio Modigliani in Sumatra, Engano e Mentawei." Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale Giacomo Doria (Genova) (2) 20, no. 40 (1900): 661-722.
  • Emery, C.. "Voyage de MM. Bedot et Pictet dans l'Archipel Malais. Formicides de l'Archipel Malais." Revue Suisse de Zoologie 1 (1893): 187-229.
  • Forel A. 1911. Die Ameisen des K. Zoologischen Museums in München. Sitzungsber. Math.-Phys. Kl. K. Bayer. Akad. Wiss. Münch. 11: 249-303.
  • Forel A. 1911. Fourmis de Bornéo, Singapore, Ceylan, etc. récoltées par MM. Haviland, Green, Winkler, Will, Hose, Roepke et Waldo. Rev. Suisse Zool. 19: 23-62.
  • Forel A. 1913k. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse einer Forschungsreise nach Ostindien ausgeführt im Auftrage der Kgl. Preuss. Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin von H. v. Buttel-Reepen. II. Ameisen aus Sumatra, Java, Malacca und Ceylon. Gesammelt von Herrn Prof. Dr. v. Buttel-Reepen in den Jahren 1911-1912. Zoologische Jahrbücher. Abteilung für Systematik, Geographie und Biologie der Tiere 36:1-148.
  • Menozzi C. 1930. Formiche di Sumatra raccolte dal Prof. J. C. van der Meer Mohr. Miscellanea Zoologica Sumatrana 47: 1-5.
  • Mohamed M. 1995. A preliminary list of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the Tawau Hills Park, Sabah. In: Ghazally Ismail et al. (eds.), Tawau Hills Park, Sabah, Pelanduk Pub. Pp. 205-213.
  • Pfeiffer M.; Mezger, D.; Hosoishi, S.; Bakhtiar, E. Y.; Kohout, R. J. 2011. The Formicidae of Borneo (Insecta: Hymenoptera): a preliminary species list. Asian Myrmecology 4:9-58
  • Philpott S.M., P. Bichier, R.A. Rice, and R. Greenberg. 2008. Biodiversity conservation, yield, and alternative products in coffee agroecosystems in Sumatra, Indonesia. Biodivers. Conserv. 17: 1805-1820. Data obtained from Stacy Philpott
  • Robson Simon Ant Collection, 05-Sept-2014
  • Santschi F. 1928. Fourmis de Sumatra, récoltées par Mr. J. B. Corporaal. Tijdschrift voor Entomologie 71: 119-140.
  • Smith F. 1865. Descriptions of new species of hymenopterous insects from the islands of Sumatra, Sula, Gilolo, Salwatty, and New Guinea, collected by Mr. A. R. Wallace. Journal and Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London. Zoology 8: 61-94.
  • Sukimin S., M. Mohamed, and H. Aris. 2010. Ant diversity of Maliau Basin Conservation Area, Sabah, Malaysia. Journal of Tropical Biology and Conservation 6:89-101.
  • Wheeler W. M. 1919. The ants of Borneo. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 63:43-147.
  • Zettel H., and A. Laciny. 2015. Contributions to the taxonomy of the ant genus Echinopla Smith, 1857 (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift 62(1): 101-121.