Bajcaridris

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Bajcaridris
Bajcaridris theryi
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Formicinae
Tribe: Formicini
Genus: Bajcaridris
Agosti, 1994
Type species
Formica (Proformica) theryi, now Bajcaridris theryi
Diversity
3 species
(Species Checklist, Species by Country)

Bajcaridris theryi casent0101950 profile 1.jpg

Bajcaridris theryi

Bajcaridris theryi casent0101950 dorsal 1.jpg

Specimen Label

Agosti (1994) - Bajcaridris includes the three species Bajcaridris kraussii, Bajcaridris menozzii and Bajcaridris theryi. With the exception of theryi, which has recently been rediscovered (Espadaler & Cagniant, 1987), all the three species have rarely been collected since they were described (kraussii: Forel, 1895, 1902, Emery, 1899; menozzii: Santschi, 1923; theryi: Santschi, 1936). Their habitats are either in the oueds of the northern Sahara in Algeria (kraussii and menozzii) or in the meadows of the mountains of the Atlas in Morocco, where they are among the dominant ant species, building nests in the earth either below stones or with a distinct crater-shaped nest entrance (Espadaler & Cagniant, 1987).

Identification

Agosti (1994) - The workers differ by the combination of the following three characters from all the other ants of the tribe: dentition of the mandible with a small third tooth, clavate hairs and the first funicular segment which is longer than the two subsequent. The males are unique in the following combination of characters: the same size as the workers, a compressed head with distinct, large ocelli forming a socket, a unique subgenital plate with an unpaired median, caudal process, and a long pointed sagitta.

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Distribution

Distribution and Richness based on AntMaps

Species by Region

Number of species within biogeographic regions, along with the total number of species for each region.

Afrotropical Region Australasian Region Indo-Australian Region Malagasy Region Nearctic Region Neotropical Region Oriental Region Palaearctic Region
Species 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3
Total Species 2840 1735 3042 932 835 4378 1740 2862

Biology

Life History Traits

  • Mean colony size: ? (Greer et al., 2021)
  • Compound colony type: not parasitic (Greer et al., 2021)
  • Nest site: hypogaeic (Greer et al., 2021)
  • Diet class: ? (Greer et al., 2021)
  • Foraging stratum: ? (Greer et al., 2021)

Castes

Morphology

Worker Morphology

Explore-icon.png Explore: Show all Worker Morphology data or Search these data. See also a list of all data tables or learn how data is managed.

• Antennal segment count: 12 • Antennal club: absent • Palp formula: 6,4 • Spur formula: 1 simple, 1 simple • Eyes: >100 ommatidia • Scrobes: absent • Pronotal Spines: absent • Mesonotal Spines: absent • Propodeal Spines: absent • Petiolar Spines: absent • Caste: none or weak • Sting: absent • Metaplural Gland: present • Cocoon: present

Phylogeny

Formicinae
Myrmelachistini
Lasiini
Melophorini
Formicini
Gesomyrmecini

Gesomyrmex  (7 species, 12 fossil species)

Oecophyllini

Oecophylla  (15 species, 16 fossil species)

Plagiolepidini
Gigantiopini

Gigantiops  (1 species, 0 fossil species)

Santschiellini

Santschiella  (1 species, 0 fossil species)

Myrmoteratini

Myrmoteras  (41 species, 0 fossil species)

Camponotini

See Phylogeny of Formicinae for details.

Nomenclature

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

  • BAJCARIDRIS [Formicinae: Formicini]
    • Bajcaridris Agosti, 1994a: 99. Type-species: Formica (Proformica) theryi, by original designation.
    • [Bajcaridris Agosti, 1991: 295. Nomen nudum.]

Description

Based on Agosti (1994):

Worker

Formicini ants with the following combination of characters:

  1. Small (TL <1.4mm), shining ants.
  2. Mandible with 5 teeth, declining in size from apical to basal with the exception of the third tooth, which is distinctly smaller than the subsequent and the precedent.
  3. First funiculus segment longer than the two subsequent together.
  4. Frontal carina reduced to a bulge.
  5. Propodeal spiracle minute, ellipsoid.

Queen

Inferred ergatogyne, because X. Espadaler and H. Cagniant did not find a queen in nests they dug out (Espadaler & Cagniant, 1987).

Male

Formicini ants with the following modifications:

  1. Small males, of the same size as workers (TL < 1.4 mm), shining.
  2. Head compressed with a turban-like ocellar socket.
  3. Mandible short, subparallel.
  4. Terminal branches of the wing venation reduced.
  5. Subgenital plate with a median apical, truncated appendix with two apical claws.
  6. Stipes without median appendices.
  7. Volsella rotated about 90° caudally; digitus horizontal, the tip of the cuspis in situ as long as the stipes, dorsoventrally oriented.
  8. Sagitta with a ventrally elongated apex, in situ as long as stipes; ventral side with few distinct teeth, the lateral plate of the two-folded sagitta protruding almost as far as the median plate with the teeth.
  9. Few scattered long, erect hairs all over the body.
  10. Dense pilosity on the dorsal surface of the wings.

References

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