Notoncus ectatommoides

Notoncus ectatommoides
Notoncus ectatommoides
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Formicinae
Tribe:	Melophorini
Genus:	Notoncus
Species:	N. ectatommoides
Binomial name
Notoncus ectatommoides (Forel, 1892) Specimen labels
Synonyms
Notoncus foreli André, 1896 Notoncus foreli acuminata Viehmeyer, 1925 Notoncus foreli dentata Forel, 1910 Notoncus foreli subdentata Forel, 1910 Notoncus rodwayi Donisthorpe, 1941

Clark (1934) reported finding a small nest under a log.

Identification

Scutellum in the form of a slender, erect process, the apex of which may be in the form of a chisel point, an emarginate chisel point, a Y, a thick, pointed tooth, or some intermediate shape.

Keys including this Species

• Key to Notoncus Species

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: -18° to -42.6389°.

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

W. L. Brown (1955) described a mating flight of this species: In a cropped lawn at Montville, Queensland numerous small holes appeared, each opened by workers and accompanied by a minute pile of dark earthen particles. From these holes, males began to issue almost immediately in numbers, until within a few minutes there had accumulated on the surface a surprisingly large number of this sex and also a few workers. The males traveled aimlessly over the sward in low, flitting flight from one blade of grass to another, never rising more than a foot or so from the ground. Movement seemed to take place at random in all directions. Suddenly, however, the males of one area all rushed simultaneously to a single focal point, which proved to be a winged female emerging from a small hole. In a few seconds, the female was surrounded by a dense swarm of males in the form of a ball, which at times must have exceeded 2 cm in diameter. This ball moved in a half-tumbling, half-dragging motion over and among the densely packed grass blades, and held together for perhaps 20 seconds, after which the female escaped, flying straight upward. She appeared not to be encumbered by a male, and no males were seen to follow her for more than a foot above the ground; she flew steadily, and soon passed out of sight.

Meanwhile, the lawn had become dotted with similar balls of frenzied males, each surrounding a female in a fashion similar to the first. Obviously, many more males than females were involved in this particular flight. On each occasion, the female left the ball after 20-30 seconds and flew straight upward.

Castes

Images from AntWeb

Worker. Specimen code casent0173309. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by CDRS, Galapagos, Ecuador.

Worker. Specimen code casent0010856. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by UCDC, Davis, CA, USA.

Specimen code CAS0172026-Antwiki.jpg. .

Nomenclature

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

• ectatommoides. Camponotus ectatommoides Forel, 1892c: 333 (q.) AUSTRALIA. Emery, 1895g: 353 (w.); Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1968: 206 (l.); Imai, Crozier & Taylor, 1977: 346 (k.). Combination in Notoncus: Emery, 1895g: 353. Senior synonym of acuminata, dentata, foreli, rodwayi, subdentata: Brown, 1955d: 485.
• foreli. Notoncus foreli André, 1896b: 256 (w.) AUSTRALIA. Forel, 1915b: 90 (q.); Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1968: 208 (l.). Junior synonym of ectatommoides: Brown, 1955d: 485.
• dentata. Notoncus foreli var. dentata Forel, 1910b: 68 (w.) AUSTRALIA. Junior synonym of ectatommoides: Brown, 1955d: 486.
• subdentata. Notoncus foreli var. subdentata Forel, 1910b: 68 (w.) AUSTRALIA. Viehmeyer, 1925a: 37 (q.m.). Junior synonym of ectatommoides: Brown, 1955d: 486.
• acuminata. Notoncus foreli var. acuminata Viehmeyer, 1925a: 37 (w.) AUSTRALIA. Junior synonym of ectatommoides: Brown, 1955d: 486.
• rodwayi. Notoncus rodwayi Donisthorpe, 1941j: 206 (q.) AUSTRALIA. Junior synonym of ectatommoides: Brown, 1955d: 486.

Type Material

• Camponotus ectatommoides: Holotype, queen (probable), probably (South) Australia, Australia, Museo Civico di Storia Naturale, Genoa.
• Notoncus foreli acuminata: Syntype, worker(s), probably Liverpool or Trial Bay, New South Wales, Australia, Berlin Museum für Naturkunde der Humboldt-Universität or Museum für Tierkunde.
• Notoncus foreli: Holotype, worker, Western Australia (but probably "Australian Alps"), Australia, Musee National d'Histoire Naturelle.
• Notoncus foreli dentata: Syntype, 1 worker, Gembrook, Victoria, Australia, Forel,A., ANIC32-018812, Australian National Insect Collection.
• Notoncus foreli dentata: Syntype, worker(s), Gembrook, Victoria, Australia, Musee d'Histoire Naturelle Genève.
• Notoncus foreli subdentata: Syntype, workers, Forest Reefs, New South Wales, Australia, Australian National Insect Collection.
• Notoncus foreli subdentata: Syntype, worker(s), Forest Reefs, New South Wales, Australia, Musee d'Histoire Naturelle Genève.
• Notoncus rodwayi: Holotype, queen, Nowra, New South Wales, Australia, The Natural History Museum.

Description

Karyotype

• n = 22, 2n = 44 (Australia) (Imai et al., 1977).

References

• André, E. 1896d. Fourmis nouvelles d'Asie et d'Australie. Rev. Entomol. (Caen) 15: 251-265.
• Brown, W. L., Jr. 1955. A revision of the Australian ant genus Notoncus Emery, with notes on the other genera of Melophorini. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 113: 471-494 (page 485, Senior synonym of acuminata, dentata, foreli, rodwayi and subdentata)
• Cantone S. 2017. Winged Ants, The Male, Dichotomous key to genera of winged male ants in the World, Behavioral ecology of mating flight (self-published).
• Cantone S. 2018. Winged Ants, The queen. Dichotomous key to genera of winged female ants in the World. The Wings of Ants: morphological and systematic relationships (self-published).
• Clark, J. 1934c. Ants from the Otway Ranges. Mem. Natl. Mus. Vic. 8:48-73.
• Emery, C. 1895h. Descriptions de quelques fourmis nouvelles d'Australie. Ann. Soc. Entomol. Belg. 39: 345-358 (page 353, worker described, Combination in Notoncus)
• Forel, A. 1892c. Die Ameisen Neu-Seelands. Mitt. Schweiz. Entomol. Ges. 8: 331-343 (page 333, queen described)
• Hoffmann, B., Eldridge, J., Marston, C. 2023. The first eradication of an exotic ant species from the entirety of Australia: Pheidole fervens. Management of Biological Invasions, 14(4), 619–624 (doi:10.3391/mbi.2023.14.4.03).
• Imai, H. T.; Crozier, R. H.; Taylor, R. W. 1977. Karyotype evolution in Australian ants. Chromosoma (Berl.) 59: 341-393 (page 346, karyotype described)
• Jacobs, S. 2020. Population genetic and behavioral aspects of male mating monopolies in Cardiocondyla venustula (Ph.D. thesis).
• Wheeler, G. C.; Wheeler, J. 1968a. The ant larvae of the subfamily Formicinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): supplement. Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 61: 205-222 (page 206, larva described)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

• Brown W. L., Jr. 1955. A revision of the Australian ant genus Notoncus Emery, with notes on the other genera of Melophorini. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 113: 471-494.
• Chong C-S., L. J. Thomson, and A. A. Hoffmann. 2011. High diversity of ants in Australian vineyards. Australian Journal of Entomology 50: 7-21.
• House A. C. Burwell, and S. Brown. 2006. Ant assemblages in Brigalow regrowth vegetation. Ecological Management and Restoration 7(2): 136-140.
• Lowery B. B., and R. J. Taylor. 1994. Occurrence of ant species in a range of sclerophyll forest communities at Old Chum Dam, north-eastern Tasmania. Australian Entomologist 21: 11-14.
• Mann V. 2013. Using insect biodiversity to measure the effectiveness of on-farm restoration plantings. Master of Environmental Management at the School of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Tasmania 111 pages.
• Nooten S. S., P. Schultheiss, R. C. Rowe, S. L. Facey, and J. M. Cook. Habitat complexity affects functional traits and diversity of ant assemblages in urban green spaces (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Myrmecological News 29: 67-77.
• Sinclair J. E., and T. R. New. 2004. Pine plantations in south eastern Australia support highly impoverished ant assemblages (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Journal of Insect Conservation 8: 277-286.
• Stevens M. M., D. G. James, K. J. O'Malley, and N. E. Coombes. 1998. Seasonal variations in foraging by ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in two New South Wales citrus orchards. Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 38: 889-896.
• Szabó J. 1910. Formicides nouveaux ou peu connus des collections du Musée National Hongrois. [part]. Ann. Hist.-Nat. Mus. Natl. Hung. 8: 364-368.