Species: Amblyopone australis

Current Valid Name:

Taxonomic History (provided by Barry Bolton, 2023)

Amblyopone australis Erichson, 1842 PDF: 261, pl. 5, fig. 7 (w.) AUSTRALIA (Tasmania). Australasia. Primary type information: Type-material: holotype (?) worker. Type-locality: Australia: Tasmania (“Vandiemensland”). Type-depository: unknown, perhaps lost. Type notes: 1) No indication of number of specimens is given. 2) Shattuck & McArthur, 1995: 121, report that the material was collected at Tasmania, Woolnorth Station (A. Schayer). 3) Not located among Erichson’s material at MNHU by Shattuck & McArthur, 1995: 121. AntCat AntWiki HOL

Taxonomic history

Smith, 1858a PDF: 109 (q.m.); Wheeler & Wheeler, 1952a PDF: 116 (l.); Imai et al., 1977 PDF: 347 (k.).

Status as species: Smith, 1858a PDF: 109; Roger, 1861a PDF: 48; Roger, 1863b PDF: 20; Mayr, 1863a PDF: 394; Mayr, 1886c PDF: 359; Emery, 1887f PDF: 446; Dalla Torre, 1893 PDF: 13; André, 1896d PDF: 260; Forel, 1907j PDF: 263; Forel, 1910b PDF: 1; Emery, 1911e PDF: 25; Emery, 1914a PDF: 179; Forel, 1915b PDF: 1; Poulton, 1922: 120; Clark, 1925b PDF: 137; Wheeler, 1927c PDF: 4 (redescription); Clark, 1928c: 39; Clark, 1929b PDF: 121; Wheeler, 1933i: 74; Clark, 1934c PDF: 52; Wilson, 1958c PDF: 142; Brown, 1958h PDF: 13 (redescription); Brown, 1960a: 167, 198; Wilson & Taylor, 1967b PDF: 102; Taylor, 1979 PDF: 835; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 19; Taylor, 1987a PDF: 6; Bolton, 1995b: 61; Shattuck & McArthur, 1995: 121; Don, 2007: 50; Heterick, 2009 PDF: 132; Sarnat et al., 2013 PDF: 69.

Senior synonym of Amblyopone australis cephalotes: Brown, 1958h PDF: 14; Brown, 1960a: 167; Taylor, 1987a PDF: 7; Bolton, 1995b: 61.

Senior synonym Amblyopone australis fortis: Brown, 1958h PDF: 13; Brown, 1960a: 167; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 19; Taylor, 1987a PDF: 6; Bolton, 1995b: 61.

Senior synonym of Amblyopone australis foveolata: Brown, 1958h PDF: 13; Brown, 1960a: 167; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 19; Taylor, 1987a PDF: 6; Bolton, 1995b: 61.

Senior synonym of Amblyopone australis laevidens: Wilson, 1958c PDF: 142; Brown, 1958h PDF: 13; Brown, 1960a: 167; Bolton, 1995b: 61.

Senior synonym of Amblyopone cephalotes maculata: Brown, 1958h PDF: 14; Brown, 1960a: 167; Bolton, 1995b: 61.

Senior synonym of Amblyopone australis minor: Brown, 1958h PDF: 13; Brown, 1960a: 167; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 19; Taylor, 1987a PDF: 6; Bolton, 1995b: 61.

Senior synonym of Amblyopone nana: Wilson, 1958c PDF: 142; Brown, 1958h PDF: 13; Brown, 1960a: 167; Taylor, 1987a PDF: 7; Bolton, 1995b: 61.

Senior synonym of Amblyopone australis obscura: Brown, 1958h PDF: 13; Brown, 1960a: 167; Taylor & Brown, 1985: 19; Taylor, 1987a PDF: 6; Bolton, 1995b: 61.

Material of the unavailable names Amblyopone australis cephalotes howensis, Amblyopone australis cephalotes norfolkensis, Amblyopone australis obscura pallens, Amblyopone australis laevidens queenslandica referred here by: Brown, 1958h PDF: 13; Brown, 1960a: 167; Bolton, 1995b: 61.

[Note: the four unavailable names above were previously referred to as provisional junior synonyms by Brown, 1958h PDF: 13.]

Lieberman et al., 2022 10.1002/jmor.21471 PDF: 693 (worker mesosoma, metasoma anatomy)

Taxon Page Images:

An Amblyopone australis worker found under a stone in Horsnell Gully Conservation Park, Adelaide, SA (image by Júlio Chaul, 31.viii.2013)

// Distribution

Distribution:

  Geographic regions (According to curated Geolocale/Taxon lists):
    Asia: Indonesia
    Oceania: Australia, Lord Howe Island, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Norfolk Island, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands
  Biogeographic regions (According to curated Bioregion/Taxon lists):
    Australasia, Indomalaya
  Native to (according to species list records):
    Australasia, Indomalaya bioregions

Distribution Notes:

North Island

Biology:

various habitats

Notes:

first record in NZ; 1876 (Brown 1958)

Taxonomic Treatment (provided by Plazi)

Treatment Citation: Smith, F., 1858, Catalogue of the hymenopterous insects in the collection of the British Museum. Part VI. Formicidae., London: British Museum

1. Amblyopone australisHNS. Pl. VII. figs. 21-24. B.M.

Amblyopone australis, ErichsHNS. Wiegm. Archiv (1842), p. 260 [[worker]].

Worker. Length 3 lines.-Shining ferruginous, or rufopiceous; sparingly pubescent. Head large, the vertex and front down to the insertion of the antennae, finely but rather distantly punctured; a deep central channel extends from the middle of the bead to its anterior margin; on each side the head is obliquely striated; the mandibles longitudinally striated. Thorax: the prothorax rounded in front, convex, subglobose, punctured on the sides, the disk impunctate; the metathorax oblong, the sides parallel, truncate posteriorly, rather obliquely so. Abdomen oblong, smooth and shining, with the apex pale rufo-testaceous.

The female has the head more strongly punctured, the mesothorax much larger, and the scutellum developed; the wings subhyaline, with the nervures testaceous; the prothorax, metathorax, and sides of the node of the peduncle strongly punctured.

Male. Length 2 1/2 lines.-Black, shining and pubescent: head and thorax strongly punctured; the head transverse, the eyes large and lateral; antenna; elongate, filiform; the antennae, tibiae and tarsi rufo-testaceous; wings as in the female.

Erichson only describes the worker of this species: the male and female are in the Museum Collection.

Specimen Habitat Summary

Found most commonly in these habitats: 45 times found in Rainforest, 7 times found in Wet sclerophyll, 2 times found in wet sclerophyll forest, 6 times found in Marri forest, 1 times found in Eucalyptus tall open-forest, 2 times found in wet schlero, 3 times found in eucalypt woodland, 2 times found in Montane rainforest, 1 times found in Dense sclerophyll, woodland, 1 times found in Kowhsi forest, ...

Found most commonly in these microhabitats: 18 times Ex rotting log, 12 times from dead Rimu tree, 6 times Under stone, 3 times ex rotten log, 5 times Sieved Litter, 4 times nest ex rotton log, 3 times Under log, 3 times Nest under stone, 3 times nest in soil, under stone, 3 times Zoraptera stage, rotting log, 2 times In soil, under log, ...

Collected most commonly using these methods: 6 times direct collection, 6 times Berlesate, 2 times Pitfall, 1 times Pitfall 47, 1 times Litter extraction, 1 times Manual sampling, 1 times mixed bait in soil probe.

Elevations: collected from 30 - 2300 meters, 824 meters average

Collect Date Range: collected between 1875-01-01 00:00:00.0 and 2015-08-08 00:00:00.0

Type specimens: syntype of Amblyopone australis fortis: casent0102519; syntype of Amblyopone laevidens: casent0903793; syntype of Amblyopone obscura: casent0902632; type of Amblyopone australis: focol0832, casent0104575; type of Amblyopone cephalotes maculata: focol0833, focol0834, casent0104578; type of Amblyopone ferruginea longidens: casent0104576

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Species: Amblyopone australis Erichson, 1842

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