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Prolasius wheeleri
| Prolasius wheeleri | |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Formicinae |
| Tribe: | Melophorini |
| Genus: | Prolasius |
| Species: | P. wheeleri |
| Binomial name | |
| Prolasius wheeleri McAreavey, 1947
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| Synonyms | |
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Commonly found in both the Darling Range and the Swan coastal plain. Workers have been collected in intercept traps on Wandoo and Powderbark Wandoo trunks at Dryandra (Heterick 2009).
Identification
Heterick (2009) - A large medium-brown to blackish species in which the cuticle is dull, and stout setae occur on the pronotum and, in some populations, the mesonotum. Workers collected in coastal woodlands growing on white sand in the lower west coast and south-west districts tend to be darker and hairier than those collected in the thicker forests of the Darling range.
Keys including this Species
Distribution
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. |
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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
Images from AntWeb
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| Worker. Specimen code casent0281473. Photographer Z. Lieberman, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. | Owned by PSWC, Philip S. Ward Collection. |
   
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| Worker. Specimen code casent0172167. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. | Owned by ANIC, Canberra, Australia. |
Nomenclature
The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.
- wheeleri. Prolasius wheeleri McAreavey, 1947: 22 (w.) AUSTRALIA.
- reticulata. Prolasius reticulata McAreavey, 1947: 22, pl. 1, figs. 14, 15 (w.) AUSTRALIA.
- Junior synonym of wheeleri: Heterick, 2021: 18.
Type Material
- Prolasius wheeleri: Holotype, worker, King's Park, Perth, Western Australia, Australia, Museum Victoria, Melbourne.
- Prolasius reticulata: Syntype, worker(s), Mundaring, Western Australia, Australia, Museum Victoria, Melbourne.
Description
References
- 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).
- McAreavey, J. 1947. New species of the genera Prolasius Forel and Melophorus Lubbock (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Mem. Natl. Mus. Vic. 15: 7-27 (page 22, worker described)
References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics
- Heterick B. E. 2009. A guide to the ants of south-western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum Supplement 76: 1-206.
- McAreavey J. 1947. New species of the genera Prolasius Forel and Melophorus Lubbock (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Memoirs of the National Museum of Victoria 15: 7-27.