Anonychomyrma extensa

Anonychomyrma extensa
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Dolichoderinae
Tribe:	Leptomyrmecini
Genus:	Anonychomyrma
Species:	A. extensa
Binomial name
Anonychomyrma extensa (Emery, 1887) Specimen Labels

Type material of this taxon could not be located by Heterick and Shattuck (2011). However, the figure provided by Emery (1887, fig. 26) matches specimens of Anonychomyrma held in Australian National Insect Collection and is unlike species of Iridomyrmex known from the vicinity of this species’ type locality. In this species the pronotum is relatively high and is set off from the mesonotum by an angle, and the propodeum is high and dome-like. This configuration differs from known Indonesian species of Iridomyrmex. Therefore, this name is treated as belonging to Anonychomyrma rather than Iridomyrmex.

Distribution

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Indo-Australian Region: Indonesia (type locality), New Guinea.

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

Anonychomyrma species are common in moist to semi-arid forested areas (and are less common in rain forests). They nest either in soil with or without coverings, or arboreally in living or dead wood. Workers forage in conspicuous trails on the ground and on tree trunks. Although not studied in detail, they seem to be general predators and also collect plant juices. Some species are associated with the caterpillars of selected butterflies. Nest sizes are moderate to large, ranging from 500 to tens of thousands of workers. When disturbed, most species elevate their gasters and release strong, acrid smelling chemicals as a defensive measure. While similar to Iridomyrmex in general habitat preferences and ecology, most Anonychomyrma prefer moister sites and are predominately arboreal. Iridomyrmex species occur in drier sites and are predominantly terrestrial.

Nomenclature

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

• extensa. Iridomyrmex extensus Emery, 1887a: 251, pl. 4, fig. 26 (w.) NEW GUINEA (Indonesia).
  • Type-material: syntype workers (number not stated).
  • [Note: Shattuck, 1994: 104, cites 1w syntype MHNG.]
  • Type-locality: Indonesia: Irian Jaya, Hatam (O. Beccari).
  • Type-depositories: MHNG, MSNG.
  • Combination in Anonychomyrma: Heterick & Shattuck, 2011: 165.
  • Status as species: Dalla Torre, 1893: 169; Emery, 1913a: 24; Shattuck, 1994: 10; Bolton, 1995b: 217.
  • Distribution: Indonesia (Irian Jaya).

Type Material

• Syntype, workers, Hatam (probably SW of Manokwari, Arfak Mountains, West Papua, Indonesia (Zimmerman, 1967)), Indonesia; (not examined by Heterick and Shattuck, 2011).

References

• Heterick, B.E. & Shattuck, S.O. 2011. Revision of the ant genus Iridomyrmex. Zootaxa 2845: 1-175.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

• Emery C. 1887. Catalogo delle formiche esistenti nelle collezioni del Museo Civico di Genova. Parte terza. Formiche della regione Indo-Malese e dell'Australia. [part]. Ann. Mus. Civ. Stor. Nat. 24(4): 209-258.
• Emery C. 1913. Hymenoptera. Fam. Formicidae. Subfam. Dolichoderinae. Genera Insectorum 137: 1-50.
• Emery, C. "Catalogo delle formiche esistenti nelle collezioni del Museo Civico di Genova. Parte terza. Formiche della regione Indo-Malese e dell'Australia." Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale Giacomo Doria (Genova) (2) 4, no. 24 (1887): 209-258.
• Heterick B. E., and S. Shattuck. 2011. Revision of the ant genus Iridomyrmex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zootaxa 2845: 1-174.
• Janda M., G. D. Alpert, M. L. Borowiec, E. P. Economo, P. Klimes, E. Sarnat, and S. O. Shattuck. 2011. Cheklist of ants described and recorded from New Guinea and associated islands. Available on http://www.newguineants.org/. Accessed on 24th Feb. 2011.
• Orivel J., P. Klimes, V. Novotny, and M. Leponce. 2018. Resource use and food preferences in understory ant communities along a complete elevational gradient in Papua New Guinea. Biotropica 10.1111/btp.12539
• Shattuck S. O. 1994. Taxonomic catalog of the ant subfamilies Aneuretinae and Dolichoderinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). University of California Publications in Entomology 112: i-xix, 1-241.
• Viehmeyer H. 1912. Ameisen aus Deutsch Neuguinea gesammelt von Dr. O. Schlaginhaufen. Nebst einem Verzeichnisse der papuanischen Arten. Abhandlungen und Berichte des Königlichen Zoologischen und Anthropologische-Ethnographischen Museums zu Dresden 14: 1-26.