Terataner foreli

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Terataner foreli
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Tribe: Crematogastrini
Genus: Terataner
Species: T. foreli
Binomial name
Terataner foreli
(Emery, 1899)

Terataner foreli casent0102232 profile 1.jpg

Terataner foreli casent0102232 dorsal 1.jpg

Specimen Label

At a Glance • Ergatoid queen  

Identification

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Malagasy Region: Madagascar (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

Ergatoid queen described by Alpert (1992).

No alate or dealate queens occur in any of the Malagasy Terataner species. Colonies are almost always monogynous with a single reproductive, an ergatoid queen, that differs only slightly from corresponding workers. This reproductive lacks both wings and ocelli, and has an almost normal, worker-like thorax. The ergatoid queen is externally distinguishable from workers only by very subtle characters (e.g., small spines or tubercles below the mesonotal groove; a unique pattern of rugae on the sides of the pronotum) that vary among species. Ergatoid queens have ovaries bearing two to three ovarioles.

Worker

Images from AntWeb

Terataner foreli casent0102093 head 1.jpgTerataner foreli casent0102093 profile 1.jpgTerataner foreli casent0102093 dorsal 1.jpgTerataner foreli casent0102093 label 1.jpg
Syntype of Terataner foreliWorker. Specimen code casent0102093. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by MSNG, Genoa, Italy.
Terataner foreli casent0102136 head 1.jpgTerataner foreli casent0102136 profile 1.jpgTerataner foreli casent0102136 dorsal 1.jpgTerataner foreli casent0102136 label 1.jpg
Syntype of Terataner foreliWorker. Specimen code casent0102136. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by MSNG, Genoa, Italy.
Terataner foreli casent0102232 head 1.jpgTerataner foreli casent0102232 profile 1.jpgTerataner foreli casent0102232 dorsal 1.jpgTerataner foreli casent0102232 label 1.jpg
Worker. Specimen code casent0102232. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by NHMUK, London, UK.
Terataner foreli casent0109508 head 1.jpgTerataner foreli casent0109508 profile 1.jpgTerataner foreli casent0109508 dorsal 1.jpgTerataner foreli casent0109508 label 1.jpg
Worker. Specimen code casent0109508. Photographer Erin Prado, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by CAS, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Terataner foreli casent0101703 head 1.jpgTerataner foreli casent0101703 profile 1.jpgTerataner foreli casent0101703 dorsal 1.jpgTerataner foreli casent0101703 label 1.jpg
Syntype of Terataner foreliWorker. Specimen code casent0101703. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by MHNG, Geneva, Switzerland.

Nomenclature

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

  • foreli. Atopomyrmex foreli Emery, 1899f: 274, figs. (w.m.) MADAGASCAR.
    • Type-material: syntype workers, syntype putative males (numbers not stated).
    • Type-locality: Madagascar: Baia di Antongil, 1897-98 (A. Mocquerys).
    • Type-depository: MSNG.
    • Combination in Terataner: Emery, 1912b: 103.
    • Status as species: Emery, 1899f: 274; Emery, 1912b: 103; Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 1029; Emery, 1924d: 242; Bolton, 1981b: 296; Alpert, 1992: 119; Bolton, 1995b: 403; Hita Garcia, Fischer, et al. 2017a: 11 (in key).
    • Distribution: Madagascar.

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

Description

Type Material

Bolton (1981) - Syntype workers, Madagascar: Baia di Antongil, 1897-98 (A. Mocquerys) (Museo Civico di Storia Naturale, Genoa) [examined].

References

  • Alpert, G. 1992. Observations on the genus Terataner in Madagascar (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Psyche 99: 117-127.
  • Cantone S. 2018. Winged Ants, The queen. Dichotomous key to genera of winged female ants in the World. The Wings of Ants: morphological and systematic relationships (self-published).
  • Emery, C. 1899e. Formiche di Madagascar raccolte dal Sig. A. Mocquerys nei pressi della Baia di Antongil (1897-1898). Bull. Soc. Entomol. Ital. 31: 263-290 (page 274, figs. worker, male described)
  • Emery, C. 1912b. Études sur les Myrmicinae. [I-IV.]. Ann. Soc. Entomol. Belg. 56: 94-105 (page 103, Combination in Terataner)
  • Fisher, B. L. 1997a. Biogeography and ecology of the ant fauna of Madagascar (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). J. Nat. Hist. 31: 269-302 (see also)
  • Bolton, B. 1981. A revision of six minor genera of Myrmicinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the Ethiopian zoogeographical region. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Entomology. 43:245-307. PDF
  • Wheeler, W. M. 1922k. Ants of the American Museum Congo expedition. A contribution to the myrmecology of Africa. IX. A synonymic list of the ants of the Malagasy region. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 4 45: 1005-1055 (see also)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • Alpert G. D. 1992. Observations on the genus Terataner in Madagascar (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Psyche (Cambridge) 99: 117-127.
  • Emery C. 1912. Études sur les Myrmicinae. [I-IV.]. Annales de la Société Entomologique de Belgique 56: 94-105.
  • Fisher B. L. 1997. Biogeography and ecology of the ant fauna of Madagascar (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Journal of Natural History 31: 269-302.
  • Fisher B. L. 2003. Formicidae, ants. Pp. 811-819 in: Goodman, S. M.; Benstead, J. P. (eds.) 2003. The natural history of Madagascar. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, xxi + 1709 pp.
  • Wheeler W. M. 1922. Ants of the American Museum Congo expedition. A contribution to the myrmecology of Africa. IX. A synonymic list of the ants of the Malagasy region. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 45: 1005-1055