Anonychomyrma scrutator

Anonychomyrma scrutator
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Dolichoderinae
Tribe:	Leptomyrmecini
Genus:	Anonychomyrma
Species:	A. scrutator
Binomial name
Anonychomyrma scrutator (Smith, F., 1859) Specimen Labels
Subspecies
Anonychomyrma scrutator batesi Forel, 1911

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: -0.93333° to -13.73333°.

North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

• Source: AntMaps

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.

Castes

.	Owned by Museum of Comparative Zoology.

Images from AntWeb

Syntype of Anonychomyrma scrutator batesi. Worker. Specimen code casent0909562. Photographer Z. Lieberman, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by MHNG, Geneva, Switzerland.

Syntype of Anonychomyrma scrutator. Worker. Specimen code casent0901922. Photographer Will Ericson, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by OUM, Oxford, UK.

Nomenclature

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

• scrutator. Formica scrutator Smith, F. 1859a: 138 (w.) INDONESIA (Aru Is).
  • Type-material: syntype workers (number not stated).
  • [Note: Donisthorpe, 1932c: 452, cites 2w syntypes OXUM; (confirmed by Bolton (unpublished notes) 1978).]
  • Type-locality: Indonesia: Aru Is, “Aru” (A.R. Wallace).
  • Type-depository: OXUM.
  • Karavaiev, 1926d: 439 (q.m.).
  • Combination in Iridomyrmex: Emery, 1887a: 250;
  • combination in Anonychomyrma: Shattuck, 1992a: 14.
  • Status as species: Mayr, 1863: 420; Dalla Torre, 1893: 170; Smith, F. 1871a: 307; André, 1896b: 260 (in key); Emery, 1897d: 572; Emery, 1911b: 532; Emery, 1913a: 26; Viehmeyer, 1914c: 529; Karavaiev, 1926d: 438 (redescription); Donisthorpe, 1932c: 452; Chapman & Capco, 1951: 191; Shattuck, 1994: 8; Bolton, 1995b: 66.
  • Distribution: Indonesia (Aru Is).
  • Current subspecies: nominal plus batesi.

The following notes on F. Smith type specimens have been provided by Barry Bolton (details):

Formica scrutator

Two worker syntypes in Oxford University Museum of Natural History. Labelled “Aru.”

References

• Emery, C. 1887b [1886]. 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[=(2)(4): 241-256 (page 250, combination in Iridomyrmex)
• Karavaiev, V. 1926d. Ameisen aus dem Indo-Australischen Gebiet. Treubia 8: 413-445 (page 439, queen, male described)
• Shattuck, S. O. 1992a. Review of the dolichoderine ant genus Iridomyrmex Mayr with descriptions of three new genera (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). J. Aust. Entomol. Soc. 31: 13-18 (page 14, combination in Anonychomyrma)
• Smith, F. 1859a. Catalogue of hymenopterous insects collected by Mr. A. R. Wallace at the islands of Aru and Key. [part]. J. Proc. Linn. Soc. Lond. Zool. 3: 132-158 (page 138, worker described)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

• CSIRO Collection
• Donisthorpe, Horace. 1941. The Ants of Japen Island, Dutch New Guinea (Hym. Formicidae). The Transactions of the Royal Entomological Society of London. 91(2):51-64.
• 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. 1911. Formicidae. Résultats de l'expédition scientifique néerlandaise à la Nouvelle-Guinée en 1903 sous les auspices de Arthur Wichmann. Nova Guinea 5: 531-539.
• 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.
• Gay H., and R. Hensen. 1992. Ant specificity and behaviour in mutualisms with epiphytes: the case of Lecanopteris (Polypodiaceae). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 47: 261-284.
• Gullan P. J., R. C. Buckley, and P. S. Ward. 1993. Ant-tended scale insects (Hemiptera: Coccidae: Myzolecanium) within lowland rainf forest trees in Papua New Guinea. Journal of Tropical Ecology 9(1): 81-91.
• 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.
• Karavaiev V. 1926. Ameisen aus dem Indo-Australischen Gebiet. Treubia 8: 413-445.
• Lucky A., E. Sarnat, and L. Alonso. 2011. Ants of the Muller Range, Papua New Guinea, Chapter 10. In Richards, S. J. and Gamui, B. G. (editors). 2013. Rapid Biological Assessments of the Nakanai Mountains and the upper Strickland Basin: surveying the biodiversity of Papua New Guinea’s sublime karst environments. RAP Bulletin of Biological Assessment 60. Conservation International. Arlington, VA.
• 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.
• Snelling R. R. 1998. Insect Part 1: The social Hymenoptera. In Mack A. L. (Ed.) A Biological Assessment of the Lakekamu Basin, Papua New Guinea, RAP 9. 189 ppages
• Snelling R. R. 2000. Ants of the Wapoga river area, Irian Jaya, Indonesia. In Mack, Andrew L. and Leeanne E. Alonso (eds.). 2000. A Biological Assessment of the Wapoga River Area of Northwestern Irian Jaya, Indonesia. RAP Bulletin of Biological Assessment 14, Conservation International, Washington, DC.
• 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.
• Viehmeyer H. 1914. Papuanische Ameisen. Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift 1914: 515-535.
• Wilson E. O. 1959. Some ecological characteristics of ants in New Guinea rain forests. Ecology 40: 437-447.