Myopias maligna punctigera

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Myopias maligna punctigera
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Ponerinae
Tribe: Ponerini
Genus: Myopias
Species: M. maligna
Subspecies: M. maligna punctigera
Trinomial name
Myopias maligna punctigera
(Emery, 1900)

Myopias maligna punctigera Fig 19 TH01- WJT-160.jpg

Myopias maligna punctigera Fig 20 TH01- WJT-160.jpg

This species was collected from rotten wood on the forest floor in lowland primary evergreen forest in southernmost Thailand. (Jaitrong, Tasen & Guénard, 2018)

Identification

Jaitrong, Tasen & Guénard (2018) - Body 11.40–11.50 mm in total length (large size). With head in full-face view subrectangular, posterolateral corner bluntly angulated; masticatory margin of mandibles with 7–8 teeth; median clypeal process slightly shorter than broad, subrectangular, widened forward, its anterior margin straight; lateral margin and anterior margin of median clypeal lobe meet forming sharp angle; eyes relatively large and convex, with 12–15 ommatidia along the longest axis; antennal scape robust and enlarged toward apical portion, reaching posterior margin of head; in profile, anteroventral corner of head without bluntly angled process; petiole rectangular or cylindrical, almost as long as high; subpetiolar process well developed, with concave ventral outline, with a downward pointed triangular denticle at anteroventral corner, and with a pair of small posteriorly pointed denticles at posteroventral corners. Dorsum of head, mesosoma and dorsum of petiole with dense foveae, with area between foveae smooth and shiny; ventral surface of head with sparse foveae; scape smooth and shiny; mandible largely smooth and shiny, with a few small punctures; metasoma and legs smooth and shiny with a few small punctures. Body entirely reddish brown to dark brown.

Thailand Myopias species: This species is easily distinguished from the other species as follows: large body size; posterolateral corner of head bluntly angulated; masticatory margin of mandible with 7–8 teeth; anterior margin of median clypeal lobe straight.

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Narathiwat Province, Thailand and Mentawei Islands, Indonesia.

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: -2.218684° to -2.218684°.

 
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Indo-Australian Region: Indonesia (type locality).
Oriental Region: Thailand.

Distribution based on AntMaps

AntMapLegend.png

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.
pChart

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.
pChart

Biology

Castes

Nomenclature

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

  • punctigera. Trapeziopelta maligna var. punctigera Emery, 1900d: 663 (w.) INDONESIA (Sumatra: Mentawei Is).
    • Type-material: syntype workers (number not stated).
    • Type-locality: Indonesia: Sumatra, Mentawei Is, Sipora I., Sereinu (E. Modigliani).
    • Type-depository: MSNG.
    • Combination in Myopias: Bolton, 1995b: 270.
    • Subspecies of maligna: Emery, 1911d: 93; Chapman & Capco, 1951: 76; Bolton, 1995b: 270; Jaitrong, Tasen & Guénard, 2018: 158 (redescription).
    • Distribution: Indonesia (Sumatra), Thailand.

Unless otherwise noted the text for the remainder of this section is reported from the publication that includes the original description.

Jaitrong, Tasen & Guénard (2018) - While this subspecies might represent a valid species, we did not directly examine the type specimens of Myopias maligna and the description by Smith (1861) is unfortunately rather uninformative. The exact taxonomic position of M. maligna and M. maligna punctigera thus deserve further work, outside the scope of this study.

Description

Worker

Jaitrong, Tasen & Guénard (2018) - Non-type workers (n = 10): TL 11.40–11.50, HL 2.05–2.15, HW 1.85–1.90, SL 1.55–1.65, ED 0.45–0.50, ML 1.55–1.60, PW 1.35–1.40, MSL 3.10–3.20, PL 0.95–1.05, PH 1.00–1.05, DPW 0.80–0.88, CI 88–90, SI 84–89, OI 24–26, MI 74–76, LPI 105, DPI 84–89.

Type Material

Jaitrong, Tasen & Guénard (2018) - Syntype worker, INDONESIA: Mentawei I., Sipora, Sereinu, Museo Civico di Storia Naturale, Genoa, AntWeb image examined.

References