Myrmecia analis

Myrmecia analis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmeciinae
Tribe:	Myrmeciini
Genus:	Myrmecia
Species group:	gulosa
Species:	M. analis
Binomial name
Myrmecia analis Mayr, 1862 Specimen Labels
Synonyms
Myrmecia atriscapa Crawley, 1925

A south coastal species of the SWBP (Heterick 2009).

Identification

Heterick (2009) - The apex of the gaster in this red-and-black ant is a conspicuous yellow.

Keys including this Species

• Key to Australian Myrmecia Species
• Key to Myrmecia of the southwestern Australian Botanical Province

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: -28.39999962° to -35.08333°.

North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

• Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Australasian Region: Australia (type locality).

Distribution based on AntMaps

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.

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.

Biology

Colonies have rarely more than 30-50 workers (Wheeler 1933 p. 43). Independent colony foundation is non-claustral.

Phylogeny

Myrmecia

gulosa group Myrmecia esuriens Myrmecia midas Myrmecia pulchra Myrmecia mjobergi Myrmecia regularis Myrmecia forficata Myrmecia brevinoda Myrmecia erecta Myrmecia pyriformis Myrmecia browningi Myrmecia sp. Myrmecia analis Myrmecia minuscula Myrmecia comata Myrmecia rowlandi Myrmecia flavicoma Myrmecia tarsata Myrmecia tridentata Myrmecia eungellensis Myrmecia fabricii Myrmecia athertonensis Myrmecia auriventris Myrmecia borealis Myrmecia gulosa Myrmecia forceps Myrmecia simillima Myrmecia arnoldi Myrmecia fulgida Myrmecia pavida Myrmecia vindex Myrmecia fuscipes Myrmecia (near nigriceps) Myrmecia desertorum Myrmecia nigriceps Myrmecia nigriceps Myrmecia inquilina nigrocincta group Myrmecia flammicollis Myrmecia petiolata Myrmecia nigrocincta picta group Myrmecia fucosa Myrmecia picta Myrmecia infima Myrmecia urens apicalis group Myrmecia apicalis pilosula group Myrmecia testaceipes Myrmecia acuta Myrmecia chasei Myrmecia clarki Myrmecia dispar Myrmecia occidentalis Myrmecia tepperi Myrmecia elegans Myrmecia varians Myrmecia banksi Myrmecia croslandi Myrmecia impaternata Myrmecia haskinsorum Myrmecia pilosula Myrmecia pilosula Myrmecia (near pilosula)

Based on Mera-Rodríguez et al. (2023).

Nomenclature

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

• analis. Myrmecia analis Mayr, 1862: 725 (in key), 728 (w.) AUSTRALIA (no state data).
  • Type-material: holotype (?) worker.
  • [Note: no indication of number of specimens is given.]
  • Type-locality: Australia (“New Holland”): (no further data).
  • Type-depository: NHMW.
  • Clark, 1927: 34 (q.).
  • Status as species: Roger, 1863b: 23; Mayr, 1863: 430; Mayr, 1876: 96; Dalla Torre, 1893: 19; Emery, 1911d: 20; Clark, 1927: 34; Wheeler, W.M. 1933i: 42; Clark, 1951: 53 (redescription); Taylor & Brown, 1985: 6; Taylor, 1987a: 41; Ogata, 1991a: 358; Ogata & Taylor, 1991: 1637 (in key); Bolton, 1995b: 270; Heterick, 2009: 120.
  • Senior synonym of atriscapa: Clark, 1927: 34; Clark, 1951: 53; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 6; Taylor, 1987a: 41; Ogata & Taylor, 1991: 1628; Bolton, 1995b: 270.
  • Distribution: Australia.
• atriscapa. Myrmecia atriscapa Crawley, 1925b: 580 (w.) AUSTRALIA (Western Australia).
  • Type-material: syntype workers (number not stated).
  • Type-locality: Australia: Western Australia, Albany, no. 324 (J. Clark).
  • Type-depository: OXUM.
  • Junior synonym of analis: Clark, 1927: 34; Clark, 1951: 54; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 6; Taylor, 1987a: 41; Ogata & Taylor, 1991: 1628; Bolton, 1995b: 270.

Type Material

• Myrmecia analis: Holotype, worker, Australia (as New Holland), Australia, Naturhistorisches Museum Wien, Vienna.
• Myrmecia atriscapa Crawley, 1925: Syntype, 1 worker, Albany, Western Australia, Australia, Australian Museum.
• Myrmecia atriscapa Crawley, 1925: Syntype, 4 workers, Albany, Western Australia, Australia, Clark,J., ANIC32-005960, Australian National Insect Collection.
• Myrmecia atriscapa Crawley, 1925: Syntype, worker(s), Albany, Western Australia, Australia, Oxford University Museum of Natural History.

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

Description

Crawley (1925) - Length 14 mm. (without mandibles); length of mandibles 3.4 mm.

Colour like a dark M. vindex, head somewhat darker; mandibles castaneous with teeth dark brown; scapes, except the extremities, dark brown; legs slightly paler than thorax; gaster deep black except the two apical segments and a wide lozenge-shaped patch on the middle of the second segment (varying in distinctness in different specimens), which are castaneous.

Legs pilose, but less so than in forficata, scapes with only a faint pubescence. There is a short pilosity on the body and a thin grey pubescence most abundant on gaster.

Head broader than long, narrowing behind the eyes more than in forficata, the occipital angles not so rounded as in regularis, but more like a small forficata. Clypeus emarginate, but not impressed in centre as in forficata. Scapes pass the occiput by one-quarter of their length. Epinotum moderately long, not sharply pointed in front. First node from above oval, narrower in front; in profile rising abruptly in front (even more so than in forficata), where it is highest, thence sloping down to the rounded posterior border. The stalk is intermediate between vindex and forficata, but nearer the former; the length of the node is 1.4 that of the stalk, while in typical examples of vindex the proportion is 1.2 and in forficata 2.6. The stalk is a little longer than in race simillima, Sm., of forficata. Second node as broad as long, more than twice as wide behind as in front, the sides of the posterior third almost parallel.

Entire head longitudinally rugose, with the space between eyes and antennal sockets reticulate. Pronotum transversely striate, the striae not clean-cut, but wavy and arched. Some specimens have one or two central longitudinal lines. Rest of thorax: and epinotum with, similar but only transverse striation. Petiole circularly rugose-striate; postpetiole and first segment of gaster entirely smooth and shining, the remaining segments microscopically reticulate.

References

• Clark, J. 1927. The ants of Victoria. Part III. Vic. Nat. (Melb.) 44: 33-40 (page 34, queen described,, Senior synonym of atriscapa)
• Clark, J. 1951. The Formicidae of Australia. 1. Subfamily Myrmeciinae: 230 pp. CSIRO, Melbourne. [(31.xii).1951.]
• Crawley, W. C. 1925b. New ants from Australia. - II. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. 9(16): 577-598.
• Heterick, B. E. 2009a. A guide to the ants of South-western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 76: 1-206. Part 2.
• Heterick, B.E. 2021. A guide to the ants of Western Australia. Part I: Systematics. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 86, 1-245 (doi:10.18195/issn.0313-122x.86.2021.001-245).
• Heterick, B.E. 2022. A guide to the ants of Western Australia. Part II: Distribution and biology. Records of the Western Australian Museum, supplement 86: 247-510 (doi:10.18195/issn.0313-122x.86.2022.247-510).
• Mayr, G. 1862. Myrmecologische Studien. Verh. K-K. Zool.-Bot. Ges. Wien 12: 649-776 (page 728, worker described)
• Mera-Rodríguez, D., Jourdan, H., Ward, P.S., Shattuck, S., Cover, S.P., Wilson, E.O., Rabeling, C. 2023. Biogeography and evolution of social parasitism in Australian Myrmecia bulldog ants revealed by phylogenomics. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 186, 107825 (doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2023.107825).