Myrmecia fulvipes

Myrmecia fulvipes
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmeciinae
Tribe:	Myrmeciini
Genus:	Myrmecia
Species group:	mandibularis
Species:	M. fulvipes
Binomial name
	Myrmecia fulvipes; Roger, 1861 Specimen Labels
Synonyms
	Myrmecia fulvipes barbata Wheeler, W.M., 1933; Myrmecia piliventris femorata Santschi, 1928;

Photo Gallery

Myrmecia fulvipes worker with mites near base of mandible. The mites are currently hypopus stage, a phoretic stage where the mites don’t feed on their host, but simply use it as a means of dispersal. Photo by Jordan Dean.

Identification

Keys including this Species

Key to Australian Myrmecia Species

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: -27.88333333° to -43.31666946°.


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

Castes

Worker

Images from AntWeb


Syntype of Myrmecia fulvipes. Worker. Specimen code casent0915407. Photographer Will Ericson, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by MNHN, Paris, France.

Nomenclature

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

fulvipes. Myrmecia fulvipes Roger, 1861a: 36 (w.) AUSTRALIA (no state data).
- Type-material: holotype worker.
- Type-locality: Australia: (no further data).
- Type-depository: MNHN.
- Clark, 1943: 145 (q.m.); Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1971d: 249 (l.); Imai, Crozier & Taylor, 1977: 345 (k.).
- Combination in M. (Pristomyrmecia): Emery, 1911d: 21;
- combination in M. (Promyrmecia): Wheeler, W.M. 1933i: 69;
- combination in Promyrmecia: Clark, 1943: 145;
- combination in Myrmecia: Brown, 1953j: 21.
- Status as species: Mayr, 1862: 726 (in key); Roger, 1863b: 23; Mayr, 1863: 430; Mayr, 1876: 93 (in text); Dalla Torre, 1893: 20; Emery, 1911d: 21; Forel, 1913g: 173; Wheeler, W.M. 1933i: 69; Clark, 1934c: 52; Clark, 1943: 145 (redescription); Clark, 1951: 165 (redescription); Brown, 1953j: 21; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 10; Taylor, 1987a: 43; Ogata, 1991a: 359; Ogata & Taylor, 1991: 1638 (in key); Bolton, 1995b: 271.
- Senior synonym of barbata: Brown, 1953j: 21; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 10; Taylor, 1987a: 43; Ogata & Taylor, 1991: 1630; Bolton, 1995b: 271.
- Senior synonym of femorata: Brown, 1953j: 21; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 10; Taylor, 1987a: 43; Ogata & Taylor, 1991: 1630; Bolton, 1995b: 271.
- Distribution: Australia.
barbata. Myrmecia (Promyrmecia) fulvipes subsp. barbata Wheeler, W.M. 1933i: 71 (w.q.) AUSTRALIA (Victoria).
- Type-material: 11 syntype workers, 1 syntype queen.
- Type-localities: Australia: New South Wales, Dorrigo (W. Heron), Victoria, Belgrade (= Belgrave) (no collector’s name).
- Type-depository: MCZC.
- Subspecies of fulvipes: Clark, 1943: 146.
- Junior synonym of femorata: Clark, 1951: 158.
- Junior synonym of fulvipes: Brown, 1953j: 21; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 10; Taylor, 1987a: 43; Ogata & Taylor, 1991: 1630; Bolton, 1995b: 271.
femorata. Myrmecia (Pristomyrmecia) piliventris var. femorata Santschi, 1928e: 466 (w.) AUSTRALIA (Victoria).
- Type-material: 4 syntype workers.
- Type-locality: Australia: Victoria, Franktown (C. Barrett).
- Type-depository: NHMB.
- Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1971d: 252 (l.).
- Combination in M. (Promyrmecia): Wheeler, W.M. 1933i: 70;
- combination in Promyrmecia: Clark, 1943: 142.
- Subspecies of fulvipes: Wheeler, W.M. 1933i: 70.
- Subspecies of piliventris: Clark, 1943: 142 (redescription); Clark, 1951: 158 (redescription).
- Junior synonym of fulvipes: Brown, 1953j: 21; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 10; Taylor, 1987a: 43; Ogata & Taylor, 1991: 1630; Bolton, 1995b: 271.

Type Material

Myrmecia fulvipes: Holotype, worker, Australia, Australia, Musee National d'Histoire Naturelle.
Myrmecia (Pristomyrmecia) piliventris femorata: Syntype, worker(s), Frankston (as Franktown), Victoria, Australia, The Natural History Museum.
Myrmecia (Promyrmecia) fulvipes barbata: Syntype, worker(s), queen(s), Dorrigo, New South Wales; Belgrave (as Belgrade), Victoria, Australia.

Description

Karyotype

2n = 50 (Australia) (Hirai et al., 1996).
n = 30, 2n = 60 (Australia) (Imai et al., 1977).
2n = 48 (Australia) (Meyne et al., 1995; Hirai et al., 1996).

References

Badejo, O., Skaldina, O., Gilev, A., Sorvari, J. 2020. Benefits of insect colours: a review from social insect studies. Oecologia. (doi:10.1007/s00442-020-04738-1).
Brown, W. L., Jr. 1953j. Revisionary notes on the ant genus Myrmecia of Australia. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 111: 1-35.
Clark, J. 1943. A revision of the genus Promyrmecia Emery (Formicidae). Mem. Natl. Mus. Vic. 13: 83-149 (page 145, Combination in Promyrmecia)
Clark, J. 1951. The Formicidae of Australia. 1. Subfamily Myrmeciinae: 230 pp. CSIRO, Melbourne. [(31.xii).1951.]
Emery, C. 1911e. Hymenoptera. Fam. Formicidae. Subfam. Ponerinae. Genera Insectorum 118: 1-125 (page 21, Combination in M. (Pristomyrmecia))
Imai, H. T.; Crozier, R. H.; Taylor, R. W. 1977. Karyotype evolution in Australian ants. Chromosoma (Berl.) 59: 341-393 (page 345, karyotype described)
Lorite, P., Palomeque, T. 2010. Karyotype evolution in ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), with a review of the known ant chromosome numbers. Myrmecological News 13: 89-102.
Roger, J. 1861a. Die Ponera-artigen Ameisen (Schluss). Berl. Entomol. Z. 5: 1-54 (page 36, worker described)
Wheeler, G. C.; Wheeler, J. 1971d. Ant larvae of the subfamily Myrmeciinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Pan-Pac. Entomol. 47: 245-256 (page 249, larva described)
Wheeler, W. M. 1933i. Colony founding among ants, with an account of some primitive Australian species. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, viii + 179 pp. (page 69, Combination in M. (Promyrmecia))

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

Andersen A. N., T. D. Penman, N. Debas, and M. Houadria. 2009. Ant community responses to experimental fire and logging in a Eucalypt forest of south-eastern Australia. Forest Ecology and Management 258: 188-197.
Brown W. L., Jr. 1953. Revisionary notes on the ant genus Myrmecia of Australia. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology

111: 1-35.

CSIRO Collection
Clay R. E., and K. E. Schneider. 2000. The ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) fauna of coastal heath in south-west Victoria: effects of dominance by Acacia sophorae and management actions to control it. Pacific Conservation Biology 6: 144-151.
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.
Taylor R. W. 1987. A checklist of the ants of Australia, New Caledonia and New Zealand (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization) Division of Entomology Report 41: 1-92.
Taylor R. W., and D. R. Brown. 1985. Formicoidea. Zoological Catalogue of Australia 2: 1-149.