Tetraponera aethiops

Tetraponera aethiops
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Pseudomyrmecinae
Genus:	Tetraponera
Species group:	rufonigra
Species:	T. aethiops
Binomial name
	Tetraponera aethiops; Smith, F., 1877 Specimen Label
Synonyms
	Sima spininoda André, 1892;

This species is a specialist inhabitant of the ant-plant Barteria fistulosa.

At a Glance

• Ant-plant specialist

Identification

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 6.61667° to -2.226388889°.


North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Afrotropical Region: Cameroun, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Nigeria, South Africa (type locality), Uganda.

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

Nomenclature

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

aethiops. Tetraponera aethiops Smith, F. 1877b: 71 (w.) SOUTH AFRICA. Santschi, 1911g: 207 (m.); Forel, 1913c: 352 (q.); Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1956: 392 (l.). Combination in Sima: Dalla Torre, 1893: 53; in Sima (Pachysima): Emery, 1912b: 97; in Pachysima: Wheeler, W.M. 1918c: 305; in Tetraponera: Ward, 1990: 487. Senior synonym of spininoda: Emery, 1912b: 97; Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 801. See also: Arnold, 1916: 175; Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 114.
spininoda. Sima spininoda André, 1892a: 51 (w.q.) GABON. Junior synonym of aethiops: Emery, 1912b: 97.

Description

References

André, E. 1892a. Matériaux myrmécologiques. Rev. Entomol. (Caen) 11: 45-56.
Arnold, G. 1916. A monograph of the Formicidae of South Africa. Part II. Ponerinae, Dorylinae. Ann. S. Afr. Mus. 14: 159-270 (page 175, see also)
Barassé, V., Touchard, A., Téné, N., Tindo, M., Kenne, M., Klopp, C., Dejean, A., Bonnafé, E., Treilhou, M. 2019. The peptide venom composition of the fierce stinging ant Tetraponera aethiops (Formicidae: Pseudomyrmecinae). Toxins 11, 732 (doi:10.3390/toxins11120732).
Bolton, B. 1995b. A new general catalogue of the ants of the world. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 504 pp. (Catalogue)
Dalla Torre, K. W. von. 1893. Catalogus Hymenopterorum hucusque descriptorum systematicus et synonymicus. Vol. 7. Formicidae (Heterogyna). Leipzig: W. Engelmann, 289 pp. (page 53, Combination in sima)
Egbon, I.N., Osabuohien, I.P. 2022. First checklist, species richness and diversity of leaf-litter dwelling ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in ancient Benin moat, Nigeria. Animal Research International 19(3): 4634–4642.
Emery, C. 1912b. Études sur les Myrmicinae. [I-IV.]. Ann. Soc. Entomol. Belg. 56: 94-105 (page 97, Combination in Sima (Pachysima))
Emery, C. 1912b. Études sur les Myrmicinae. [I-IV.]. Ann. Soc. Entomol. Belg. 56: 94-105 (page 97, Senior synonym of spininoda)
Forel, A. 1913c. Fourmis de Nigérie. Rev. Zool. Afr. (Bruss.) 2: 352-353 (page 352, queen described)
Rocha, F.H., Lachaud, J.-P., Hénaut, Y., Pozo, C., Pérez-Lachaud, G. 2020. Nest site selection during colony relocation in Yucatan Peninsula populations of the ponerine ants Neoponera villosa (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Insects 11, 200 (doi:10.3390/insects11030200).
Santschi, F. 1911g. Nouvelles fourmis du Congo et du Benguela. Rev. Zool. Afr. (Bruss.) 1: 204-217 (page 207, male described)
Smith, F. 1877b. Descriptions of new species of the genera Pseudomyrma and Tetraponera, belonging to the family Myrmicidae. Trans. Entomol. Soc. Lond. 1877: 57-72 (page 71, worker described)
Ward, P. S. 1990. The ant subfamily Pseudomyrmecinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): generic revision and relationship to other formicids. Syst. Entomol. 15: 449-489 (page 487, Combination in Tetraponera)
Ward, P. S. 2022. The ant genus Tetraponera (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the Afrotropical region: taxonomic review and key to species. Zootaxa 5102 (1):1-70 (doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5102.1.1).
Ward, P. S. 2022. The ant genus Tetraponera (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the Afrotropical region: taxonomic review and key to species. Zootaxa 5102 (1):1-70 (doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5102.1.1).
Ward, P.S. 2006. The ant genus Tetraponera in the Afrotropical region: synopsis of species groups and revision of the T. ambigua-group. Myrmecologische Nachrichten 8: 119-130.
Ward, P.S., Downie, D.A. 2005. The ant subfamily Pseudomyrmecinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): phylogeny and evolution of big-eyed arboreal ants. Systematic Entomology 30:310-335 (doi:10.1111/j.1365-3113.2004.00281.x).
Wheeler, G. C.; Wheeler, J. 1956. The ant larvae of the subfamily Pseudomyrmecinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 49: 374-398 (page 392, larva described)
Wheeler, W. M. 1918c. A study of some ant larvae, with a consideration of the origin and meaning of the social habit among insects. Proc. Am. Philos. Soc. 57: 293-343 (page 305, Combination in Pachysima)
Wheeler, W. M. 1922b. Ants of the American Museum Congo expedition. A contribution to the myrmecology of Africa. II. The ants collected by the American Museum Congo Expedition. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 45: 39-269 (page 114, see also)
Wheeler, W. M. 1922j. Ants of the American Museum Congo expedition. A contribution to the myrmecology of Africa. VIII. A synonymic list of the ants of the Ethiopian region. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 45: 711-1004 (page 801, Senior synonym of spininoda)
Xiong, Z., He, D., Guang, X., Li, Q. 2023. Novel tRNA gene rearrangements in the mitochondrial genomes of poneroid ants and phylogenetic implication of Paraponerinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Life 1310, 2068 (doi:10.3390/life13102068).

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

André E. 1892. Matériaux myrmécologiques. Rev. Entomol. (Caen) 11: 45-56.
Dejean A., F. Azemar, R. Cereghino, M. Leponce, B. Corbara, J. Orivel, and A. Compin. 2015. The dynamics of ant mosaics in tropical rainforests characterized using the SelfOrganizing Map algorithm. Insect Science doi: 10.1111/1744-7917.12208
Eidmann H. 1944. Die Ameisenfauna von Fernando Poo. 27. Beitrag zu den Ergebnissen der Westafrika-Expedition. Zool. Jahrb. Abt. Syst. Ökol. Geogr. Tiere 76: 413-490.
Forel A. 1913. Fourmis de Nigérie. Revue Zoologique Africaine (Brussels) 2: 352-353.
IZIKO South Africa Museum Collection
Menozzi C. 1942. Formiche dell'isola Fernando Poo e del territorio del Rio Muni (Guinea Spagnola). 24. Beitrag zu den wissenschaftlichen Ergebnissen der Forschungsreise H. Eidmann nach Spanisch-Guinea 1939 bis 1940. Zoologischer Anzeiger 140: 164-182.
Santschi F. 1911. Nouvelles fourmis du Congo et du Benguela. Revue Zoologique Africaine (Brussels) 1: 204-217.
Stitz H. 1910. Westafrikanische Ameisen. I. Mitteilungen aus dem Zoologischen Museum in Berlin 5: 125-151.
Stitz H. 1916. Formiciden. Ergebnisse der Zweiten Deutschen Zentral-Afrika Expedition 1: 369-405.
Ward P. S., and D. A. Downie. 2005. The ant subfamily Pseudomyrmecinae: phylogeny and evolution of big-eyed arboreal ants. Systematic Entomology 30: 310-335.
Wheeler W. M. 1922. Ants of the American Museum Congo expedition. A contribution to the myrmecology of Africa. II. The ants collected by the American Museum Congo Expedition. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 45: 39-269.
Wheeler W. M. 1922. Ants of the American Museum Congo expedition. A contribution to the myrmecology of Africa. VIII. A synonymic list of the ants of the Ethiopian region. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 45: 711-1004