Polyrhachis latharis

Polyrhachis latharis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Formicinae
Tribe:	Camponotini
Genus:	Polyrhachis
Subgenus:	Myrma
Species group:	alexisi
Species:	P. latharis
Binomial name
	Polyrhachis latharis; Bolton, 1973 Specimen Labels

The type was collected from primary forest in a fogging sample. From its collection records it appears to be totally arboreal and is confined to densely forested regions.

Identification

Rigato (2016) - Among alexisi group species it is distinctive for its somewhat trapezoidal elongate head, whose sides are faintly concave in front of the eyes, quadrispinose petiole, and marginate pronotum and propodeum. Lateral propodeal margins run much closer to each other than the actual propodeal width.

Bolton (1973) - The nearest relative of latharis within the group appears to be Polyrhachis limitis, from which it is separated by the different development of the margination of the propodeum and other, more minor dissimilarities.

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: -2.31614° to -2.31614°.


North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Afrotropical Region: Congo, Ghana (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

Association with Other Organisms

Explore: Show all Associate data or Search these data. See also a list of all data tables or learn how data is managed.

This species is a host for the fungus Ophiocordyceps unilateralis (a parasitoid) (Quevillon, 2018) (encounter mode primary; direct transmission; transmission outside nest).
This species is a host for the fungus Ophiocordyceps unilateralis (a pathogen) (Shrestha et al., 2017).

Castes

Worker

Images from AntWeb


Holotype of Polyrhachis latharis. Worker. Specimen code casent0903460. Photographer Z. Lieberman, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by NHMUK, London, UK.

Nomenclature

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

latharis. Polyrhachis latharis Bolton, 1973b: 348, figs. 49, 60 (w.q.) GHANA.

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

Description

Worker

Holotype. TL 6.5, HL 1.45, HW 1.19, CI 82, SL 1.59, SI 133, PW 1.37, MTL 1.52.

Mandibles with five teeth. Anterior margin of clypeus projecting medially as a shallow, rectangular lobe, the corners of which are minutely dentate. Between these small teeth is a notch flanked by two denticles. Head broadest posteriorly, the sides converging in front. Sides of head convex behind level of eyes, weakly concave in front. Eyes convex, set well up on the sides of the head close to the frontal carinae and not breaking the outline of the sides in full-face view. Alitrunk antero-posteriorly compressed and expanded laterally, giving a swollen and foreshortened appearance in dorsal view. Pronotum armed with a pair of short spines, marginate for about half its length and with the dorsal surface strongly convex. Mesonotum not marginate, separated from the pronotum by the promesonotal suture which is represented by a break in the sculpturation. Propodeum unarmed, marginate laterally and with a weak transverse ridge separating the dorsum from the declivity. Metanotal groove represented only by a faint scoring across the sculpturation of the dorstim. In dorsal view the sides of the propodeum are expanded so that the total width of the segment is noticeably greater than the width between the lateral marginations. Declivity of propodeum very deep, shallowly concave. Scale large in proportion to alitrunk, equipped with four short spines. The dorsal pair are directed upwards, outwards and backwards, and the length of each spine is less than half the length separating them along the dorsal edge of the scale. The lateral pair of spines are smaller than the dorsals, and are dentiform. Anterior face of first gastral segment strongly concave.

Erect hairs absent from all dorsal surfaces of head, alitrunk and gaster. A very sparse, short pubescence present on all surfaces, difficult to see at low magnifications.

Clypeus, declivity of propodeum and gaster finery reticulate. Head and dorsal surfaces of alitrunk longitudinally striate-rugose, the rugae less regular on the pronotum and tending to a disorganised rugoreticulum laterally. Mesonotal rugae diverging posteriorly. Sides of pronotum and mesopleuron reticulate-rugose; sides of propodeum striate-rugose as the dorsum. Colour black, with the antenna! funiculi yellow-brown.

Paratype workers as holotype, but with the following range of dimensions: TL 6.5-7.0, HL1.40-1.46, HW 1.19-1.26, CI 82-90, SL 1.55-1.63, SI 124-133, PW 1.37-1.40, MTL 1.45-1.53 (3 measured). Paratype females as workers, with the usual modifications in the structure of the alitrunk found in this caste.

Rigato (2016) - HL 1.34, HW 1.15, CI 86, SL 1.50, SI 130, FW 0.36, FI 31, PW 1.28, WL 1.83, HTL 1.48.

Type Material

Holotype worker, GHANA: Eastern Region, Mount Atewa, by pyrethrum knockdown, sample A5/7, r2.vii.I969 (D. Leston) (The Natural History Museum).

Paratypes. 3 workers, 2 queens, same data as holotype, from pyrethrum knock-down samples A4/4 (queen), A5/5 (queen), A5/7, A6/6 and A6/7 (BMNH) (UG).

References

Bolton, B. 1973b. The ant genus Polyrhachis F. Smith in the Ethiopian region (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Entomology. 28:283-369. (page 348, figs. 49, 60 worker, queen described)
Rigato, F. 2016. The ant genus Polyrhachis F. Smith in sub-Saharan Africa, with descriptions of ten new species. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zootaxa. 4088:1–50.
Shrestha B, Tanaka E, Hyun MW, Han JG, Kim CS, Jo JW, Han SK, Oh J, Sung JM, Sung GH. 2017. Mycosphere Essay 19. Cordyceps species parasitizing hymenopteran and hemipteran insects. Mycosphere 8(9): 1424–1442 (DOI 10.5943/mycosphere/8/9/8).

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

Robson Simon Database Polyrhachis -05 Sept 2014