Strumigenys tetraphanes

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Strumigenys tetraphanes
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Tribe: Attini
Genus: Strumigenys
Species: S. tetraphanes
Binomial name
Strumigenys tetraphanes
Brown, 1954

Strumigenys tetraphanes casent0178327 profile 1.jpg

Strumigenys tetraphanes casent0178327 dorsal 1.jpg

Specimen labels

Known from numerous wet forest habitat litter-samples.

Identification

A member of the arnoldi complex in the Strumigenys arnoldi-group.

Bolton (1983) - The enormously expanded antennal scapes make tetraphanes one of the most easily recognized Afrotropical Strumigenys and this character, coupled with the form of the mandibles, pilosity, head width and sculpture, should make confusion of tetraphanes with any other species impossible.

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 6.417222222° to -2.283333333°.

 
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Afrotropical Region: Cameroun, Gabon, Kenya, Uganda (type locality).

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.

  • tetraphanes. Strumigenys tetraphanes Brown, 1954k: 30 (w.) UGANDA. See also: Bolton, 1983: 395; Bolton, 2000: 597.

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

Description

Worker

Bolton (1983) - TL 2.0-2.2, HL 0.54-0.60, HW 0.51-0.57, CI 91-97, ML 0.19-0.22, MI 34-37, SL 0.28-0.30, SI 52-55, PW 0.30-0.32, AL 0.50-0.58 (4 measured).

Mandibular apices each with a fork of 2 spiniform teeth, without intercalary teeth or denticles, the upper tooth of the apical fork very long, more than 0.5 X ML. Preapical armament of each blade of 2 teeth, the proximal long and strongly spiniform, 2-3 times longer than the small distal preapical tooth. Upper scrobe margins sharply divergent behind, the head broad behind the midlength and almost as broad as long. Eyes not visible in full-face view, small, conspicuously much smaller than the maximum width of the scape. Preocular notch absent, the ventral surface of the head without a transverse preocular groove or impression. Antennal scapes flattened and enormously expanded anteriorly into a large lobe which about equals the clypeus in area. Leading edges of scapes with a row of broad shallowly spoon-shaped hairs. Dorsum of head from posterior clypeal margin to about the midlength densely clothed with very broad shallowly spoon-shaped hairs which appear scale-like to suborbicular in full-face view; such hairs also fringe the upper scrobe margins. Behind the midlength the cephalic ground-pilosity is much smaller, about the same as on the clypeus; the difference in size between these hairs and the broad scale-like hairs is striking. Dorsum of head with a transverse row of 4 longer narrowly clavate hairs close to the occipital margin, without a pair situated close to the highest point of the vertex. Head densely reticulate-punctate. Pronotal humeri lacking flagellate or any other kind of projecting hair. Mesonotum with a single pair of strongly clavate hairs. Ground-pilosity of dorsal alitrunk of small flattened hairs which are almost appressed. With the alitrunk in profile the sides of the pronotum thickly and bluntly marginate. Anterior portion of mesonotum shallowly convex, the posterior portion depressed behind the level of the clavate hairs and shallowly transversely impressed. Propodeal teeth subtended by broad infradental lamellae. Sides of pronotum reticulate-punctate, the pleurae and sides of the propodeum mostly smooth, with punctures peripherally. Dorsal alitrunk, petiole and postpetiole reticulate-punctate. Spongiform appendages of pedicel segments well developed. In profile the petiole with a straight narrow ventral strip; ventral spongiform lobe of postpetiole equal to or slightly smaller than the exposed area of the postpetiolar disc in profile, equalling or slightly larger than the lateral lobe. Basigastral costulae sharply developed but short. Petiole, postpetiole and gaster dorsally with stout hairs which are swollen or clavate apically. Colour brown.

Type Material

Bolton (1983) - Holotype worker, UGANDA: 5 miles (8 km) N. of Kampala, Kawanda Exp. St., 15.ii.1949, soil sample under elephant grass (G. Salt) (Museum of Comparative Zoology) [examined].

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • Bolton B. 1983. The Afrotropical dacetine ants (Formicidae). Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History). Entomology 46: 267-416.
  • Bolton, B. 2000. The Ant Tribe Dacetini. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute 65
  • IZIKO South Africa Museum Collection
  • Ross S. R. P. J., F. Hita Garcia, G. Fischer, and M. K. Peters. 2018. Selective logging intensity in an East African rain forest predicts reductions in ant diversity. Biotropica 1-11.
  • Yeo K., and A. Hormenyo. 2007. A Rapid Survey of Ants in Ajenjua Bepo and Mamang River Forest Reserves, Eastern Region of Ghana. Pp 27-29. In McCullough, J., P. Hoke, P. Naskrecki, and Y. Osei-Owusu (eds.). 2008. A Rapid Biological Assessment of the Ajenjua Bepo and Mamang River Forest Reserves, Ghana. RAP Bulletin of Biological Assessment 50. Conservation International, Arlington, VA, USA.