Metapone hewitti

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Metapone hewitti
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Tribe: Crematogastrini
Genus: Metapone
Species: M. hewitti
Binomial name
Metapone hewitti
Wheeler, W.M., 1919

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Described and known from two male types.

Identification

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

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

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

Castes

Nomenclature

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

  • hewitti. Metapone hewitti Wheeler, W.M. 1919e: 62 (m.) BORNEO (East Malaysia: Sarawak).
    • Type-material: lectotype male (by designation of Taylor & Alpert, 2016: 518), 1 paralectotype male.
    • Type-locality: lectotype Malaysia: Sarawak, Kuching, 1908 (J. Hewitt); paralectotype with same data.
    • [Note: original description mentions 4 syntype males.]
    • Type-depository: MCZC.
    • Status as species: Wheeler, W.M. 1919h: 189 (redescription); Chapman & Capco, 1951: 114; Gregg, R.E. 1958: 119; Kusnezov, 1960a: 126; Bolton, 1995b: 258; Pfeiffer, et al. 2011: 47; Taylor & Alpert, 2016: 517 (redescription).
    • Distribution: Malaysia (Sarawak).

Unless otherwise noted the text for the remainder of this section is reported from the publication that includes the original description.

Taylor and Alpert (2016) - Known only from two male specimens (MCZC—with red “Cotype” labels originally added by Wheeler). One has the postpetiole and gaster detached and glued to its mounting point, the other is undamaged. The latter is here designated lectotype, the former paralectotype (both so labelled). Their dimensions are respectively: HW (across eyes) 1.26, 1.24; MSL 2.32, 2.33. The lectotype is illustrated here. Because it is male based, the epithet M. hewitti is functionally inaccessible as a species name, or a potential junior or senior synonym of other species recognized here, until males considered conspecific with the lectotype are collected with conspecific workers or gynes. The species, of course, is probably not yet represented in collections by its gyne or worker castes, so conspecificity and junior synonymy with prior species seems statistically unlikely. We consider the lectotype not to be conspecific with the male investigated phylogenetically by Ward et.al (2014), or with male types of the Sri Lankan Metapone greeni, the Bornean Metapone quadridentata or the Javanese Metapone javana, which have been examined here.

Description

Type Material

Taylor and Alpert (2016) - Male; Type locality: Kuching [01N, 110E], Sarawak, Malaysia.

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
  • Gregg R. E. 1958. Two new species of Metapone from Madagascar (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 60: 111-121.
  • Kusnezov N. 1960. La posición sistemática del género Metapone Forel (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Acta Zoologica Lilloana 18: 119-126.
  • 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
  • Smith M. R. 1947. A new species of Metapone Forel from New Guinea (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 49: 75-77.
  • Wheeler W. M. 1919. The ants of Borneo. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 63:43-147.
  • Wheeler W. M. 1919. The ants of the genus Metapone Forel. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 12: 173-191.