Aenictus boltoni

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Aenictus boltoni
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Dorylinae
Genus: Aenictus
Species group: rotundatus
Species complex: mariae
Species: A. boltoni
Binomial name
Aenictus boltoni
Gomez, 2022

Identification

This species can be separated from the rest of the mariae complex species as dorsopropeum is mainly smooth (reticulated in Aenictus hitai) and does not present the lateropropodeal pubescence characteristic of Aenictus steindachneri.

Separation from A. mariae minors as in the following table.

Postpetiolar shape PPI Metapropodeal suture
A. boltoni Low, semispherical 113 [107–127] Visible, both laterally and dorsally
A. mariae High, subquadrate with straight parallel anterior and posterior sides 138 [130–150] Faint and not discernible in minors

This species does not present a marked allometry (CSR 114) as the other three species (CSR 131 for A. mariae and >170 for A. hitai and A. steindachneri) and seems to have a smaller maximum size (HW < 0.42 against 0.52 for mariae or 0.69 for steindachneri), though this can be due to a lack of material as the four species have similar minimum sizes (HW> 0.28 for hitai and >0.36 for the rest).

Also, this species seems to be distributed in West Africa, while the other three inhabit Southern and Western Africa and their distribution don’t seem to overlap.

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 9° to 6°.

 
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate
  • Source: Gomez, 2022

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Afrotropical Region: Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria (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.

  • boltoni. Aenictus boltoni Gómez, 2022: 49, figs. 32A-D, 33 (w.) NIGERIA.

Type Material

Description

References