Crematogaster rufotestacea

Crematogaster rufotestacea
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmicinae
Tribe:	Crematogastrini
Genus:	Crematogaster
Species:	C. rufotestacea
Binomial name
	Crematogaster rufotestacea; Mayr, 1876 Specimen Labels
Synonyms
	Crematogaster dispar Forel, 1902; Crematogaster rufotestacea dentinasis Santschi, 1929;

This hypogaeic ant is very common on the mainland in the vicinity of Margaret River, Pemberton and Augusta, where it forms populous colonies under stones deeply imbedded in the soil (Wheeler 1934). Colonies are often found in cryptic situations such as inside rotting logs or within moss (Heterick 2009).

Identification

Heterick (2009) - A small, yellowish-and-brown species in which the promesonotum is often smooth and shining.

Wheeler (1934) - The brown females measure 7-8 mm. and are very large compared with the yellow workers, which are only 2-2.5 mm. in length. The female larvae are nearly spherical.

Keys including this Species

Key to Crematogaster of the southwestern Australian Botanical Province

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: -24.96535° to -31.89499°.


North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Australasian Region: Australia (type locality).

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

Images from AntWeb


Syntype of Crematogaster dispar. Worker. Specimen code casent0908375. Photographer Z. Lieberman, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by MHNG, Geneva, Switzerland.

Nomenclature

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

rufotestacea. Crematogaster rufotestacea Mayr, 1876: 109 (w.) AUSTRALIA (New South Wales).
- Type-material: syntype workers (number not stated).
- Type-locality: Australia: New South Wales, Sydney (no collector’s name).
- Type-depository: NHMW.
- Emery, 1914b: 184 (q.); Crawley, 1922c: 23 (m.).
- Combination in C. (Orthocrema): Emery, 1922e: 133.
- Status as species: Dalla Torre, 1893: 85; Forel, 1902h: 412; Emery, 1914b: 184; Emery, 1922e: 133; Crawley, 1922c: 23; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 63; Taylor, 1987a: 23; Bolton, 1995b: 161.
- Senior synonym of dentinasis: Heterick, 2021: 13.
- Senior synonym of dispar: Heterick, 2021: 13.
- Distribution: Australia.
dentinasis. Crematogaster (Orthocrema) rufotestacea st. dentinasis Santschi, 1929f: 89 (w.q.m.) AUSTRALIA (New South Wales).
- Type-material: syntype workers, syntype queens, syntype males (numbers not stated).
- Type-locality: Australia: New South Wales, Mittagong (W.W. Froggatt) (received from Forel).
- Type-depository: NHMB.
- Subspecies of rufotestacea: Taylor & Brown, 1985: 63; Taylor, 1987a: 23; Bolton, 1995b: 151.
- Junior synonym of rufotestacea: Heterick, 2021: 13.
dispar. Crematogaster sordidula r. dispar Forel, 1902h: 412 (w.q.m.) AUSTRALIA (Victoria).
- Type-material: syntype workers, syntype males (numbers not stated), 1 syntype queen.
- Type-locality: Australia: Victoria, Bendigo (W.W. Froggatt).
- Type-depositories: ANIC, MHNG.
- Combination in C. (Orthocrema): Emery, 1922e: 132.
- Subspecies of sordidula: Wheeler, W.M. 1909a: 27; Forel, 1910b: 31; Forel, 1915b: 54.
- Status as species: Emery, 1922e: 132; Wheeler, W.M. 1934d: 145; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 61; Taylor, 1987a: 22; Bolton, 1995b: 152; Heterick, 2009: 147.
- Junior synonym of rufotestacea: Heterick, 2021: 13.

Type Material

Cremastogaster rufotestacea: Holotype, worker (damaged), Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, Naturhistorisches Museum Wien, Vienna.
Cremastogaster sordidula dispar: Syntype, 3 workers, Bendigo, Victoria, Australia, Australian National Insect Collection.
Cremastogaster sordidula dispar: Syntype, worker(s), queen(s), male(s), Bendigo, Victoria, Australia, Musee d'Histoire Naturelle Genève.
Crematogaster (Orthocrema) rufotestacea dentinasis: Syntype, worker(s), queen(s), male(s), Mittagong, New South Wales, Australia, The Natural History Museum.

Taxonomic Notes

Heteric (2021): Santschi distinguishes the worker of his subspecies Crematogaster rufotestacea dentinasis (Santschi) based on size, minor differences in the appearance of the vertex, the clypeal denticles and the metanotal groove, and the smaller eye. Based on the appearance of type images for both taxa, these differences should be regarded as trivial. Crematogaster rufotestacea is also clearly the senior synonym of C. dispar Forel.

Description

References

Crawley, W. C. 1922e. New ants from Australia (concluded from vol. ix. p. 449). Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. 9(10): 16-36 (page 23, male described)
Emery, C. 1914a. Formiche d'Australia e di Samoa raccolte dal Prof. Silvestri nel 1913. Boll. Lab. Zool. Gen. Agrar. R. Sc. Super. Agric. 8: 179-186 (page 184, queen described)
Emery, C. 1922c. Hymenoptera. Fam. Formicidae. Subfam. Myrmicinae. [part]. Genera Insectorum 174B: 95-206 (page 133, Combination in C. (Orthocrema))
Heterick, B.E. 2021. A guide to the ants of Western Australia. Part I: Systematics. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 86, 1-245 (doi:10.18195/issn.0313-122x.86.2021.001-245).
Heterick, B.E. 2022. A guide to the ants of Western Australia. Part II: Distribution and biology. Records of the Western Australian Museum, supplement 86: 247-510 (doi:10.18195/issn.0313-122x.86.2022.247-510).
Mayr, G. 1876. Die australischen Formiciden. J. Mus. Godeffroy 12: 56-115 (page 109, worker described)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

Clay R. E., and K. E. Schneider. 2000. The ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) fauna of coastal heath in south-west Victoria: effects of dominance by Acacia sophorae and management actions to control it. Pacific Conservation Biology 6: 144-151.
Forel A. 1910. Formicides australiens reçus de MM. Froggatt et Rowland Turner. Rev. Suisse Zool. 18: 1-94
Wheeler W. M. 1934. Contributions to the fauna of Rottnest Island, Western Australia. No. IX. The ants. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 20: 137-163.