Strumigenys guttulata

Strumigenys guttulata
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmicinae
Tribe:	Attini
Genus:	Strumigenys
Species:	S. guttulata
Binomial name
	Strumigenys guttulata; Forel, 1902 Specimen Labels

Known from the central coastal region of Queensland. One collection was made from a nest under a rock. Another was from the litter in a lowland rainforest.

Identification

Bolton (2000) - A member of the horvathi complex in the Strumigenys horvathi-group. Easily distinguished from members of the emdeni-complex as guttulata has a much broader mandibular lamella and a shallow and poorly defined posterior portion to the scrobe.

The ANIC material of guttulata contains two queens that appear to belong to this species. Although probably correctly associated I reserve some doubt, because the queens have apicoscrobal and pronotal humeral hairs present, features that are absent from the workers. Humeral hairs occur in workers only in a New Guinean species of this complex, Strumigenys snellingi. The queen of this species remains unknown and workers referable to snellingi have not been found in Australia.

The Malesian Strumigenys horvathi is very closely related to guttulata and the two may eventually prove to be inseparable. However, samples currently assigned to horvathi differ from guttulata by having a smooth patch on the katepisternum and a postpetiole disc that is unsculptured or at most weakly shagreenate.

Keys including this Species

Key to Australian Strumigenys Species

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: -11.599243° to -21.15°.


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.

Elevation Range

Occurrence at collecting sites during elevational surveys of rainforest in the Eungella region, Queensland, Australia (Burwell et al., 2020).
Species	Elevation (m asl)
Species	200	400	600	800	1000	1200
Strumigenys guttulata	20-30
Shading indicates the bands of elevation where species was recorded. Numbers are the percentage of total samples containing this species.

Biology

Castes

Nomenclature

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

guttulata. Strumigenys guttulata Forel, 1902h: 458 (w.) AUSTRALIA. See also: Brown, 1973c: 264; Bolton, 2000: 975.

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

Description

Worker

Bolton (2000) - TL 2.3-2.8, HL 0.65-0.77, HW 0.47-0.59, CI 69-78, ML 0.22-0.26, MI 32-36, SL 0.29-0.40, SI 60-70, PW 0.25-0.32, AL 0.62-0.77 (20 measured).

Characters of horvathi-complex. Inner margin of mandible with a broad translucent cuticular lamella that commences at mandible base and is abruptly truncated just proximal of the curved-spiniform preapical tooth; maximum width of lamella nearly equal to length of preapical tooth. When mandibles fully closed inner margins of lamellae meet or even slightly overlap. Outer curvature of eyes visible in full-face view, not concealed by upper scrobe margins. Ventrolateral margin of head in front of eye evenly and quite distinctly concave (but without a preocular notch such as is seen in Strumigenys mayri and its allies), the concavity masked in full-face view by the preocular carina. With head in profile the scrobe weak behind the level of the eye, shallow, poorly defined and without sharp margins. Dorsal surfaces of head and promesonotum densely clothed with orbicular ground-pilosity. Posteriorly on mesonotum these hairs may be more elevated than elsewhere but there are no erect hairs anywhere on the cephalic and alitrunk dorsa. First gastral tergite with numerous erect stiff hairs that are slightly thickened or flattened apically, or weakly remiform. Dorsum of head and alitrunk reticulate-punctate but sculpture much concealed by ground-pilosity. Side of alitrunk entirely reticulate to reticulate-punctate, without a smooth area on katepisternum. Disc of postpetiole reticulate-shagreenate to reticulate-punctate.

Type Material

Bolton (2000) - Syntype workers, AUSTRALIA: Queensland, Mackay (Turner) (The Natural History Museum) [examined].

Syntype, 1 worker, Mackay, Queensland, Australia, Turner, ANIC32-017767, Australian National Insect Collection.
Syntype, worker(s), Mackay, Queensland, Australia, The Natural History Museum.

References

Bolton, B. 2000. The ant tribe Dacetini. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute. 65:1-1028. (page 975, fig. 530 redescription of worker)
Brown, W. L., Jr. 1973c. The Indo-Australian species of the ant genus Strumigenys: groups of horvathi, mayri and wallacei. Pac. Insects 15: 259-269 (page 264, review of worker)
Burwell, C.J., Nakamura, A. 2020. Rainforest ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) along an elevational gradient at Eungella in the Clarke Range, Central Queensland coast, Australia. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland 125: 43-63.
Emery, C. 1924f [1922]. Hymenoptera. Fam. Formicidae. Subfam. Myrmicinae. [concl.]. Genera Insectorum 174C: 207-397 (page 321, catalogue)
Forel, A. 1902j. Fourmis nouvelles d'Australie. Rev. Suisse Zool. 10: 405-548 (page 458, worker described)
Shattuck, S. O. 1999. Australian ants. Their biology and identification. Collingwood, Victoria: CSIRO Publishing, xi + 226 pp. (page 168, see also)
Taylor, R. W.; Brown, D. R. 1985. Formicoidea. Zool. Cat. Aust. 2:1- 149: 1-149, 30 (page 88, catalogue)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

Andersen A. N., M. Houadria, M. Berman, and M. van der Geest. Rainforest ants of the Tiwi Islands: a remarkable centr of endemism in Australia's monsoonal tropics. Insectes Sociaux 59: 433-441.
Bolton, B. 2000. The Ant Tribe Dacetini. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute 65
Brown W. L., Jr. 1973. The Indo-Australian species of the ant genus Strumigenys: groups of horvathi, mayri and wallacei. Pac. Insects 15: 259-269.
Taylor R. W. 1987. A checklist of the ants of Australia, New Caledonia and New Zealand (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). CSIRO (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization) Division of Entomology Report 41: 1-92.