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Stigmatomma zwaluwenburgi

Taxonomic History (provided by Barry Bolton, 2017)

Overview:

Amblyopone zwaluwenburgi is a rarely encountered ant known only from scattered collections across several islands in the Pacific and Indian oceans, including Hawaii, Fiji and Christmas Island. The native range of the species is unknown, but its presence on Hawaii suggests a capacity for human-mediated dispersal and establishment. Although little is known about the ecology of A. zwaluwenburgi, the lack of eyes, elaborate mandibles and collection records point towards the species being a specialist predator in hypogaeic microhabitats.

Distribution Notes:

Native range: Unknown.
Introduced range: Hawaii; Christmas Island; Fiji.

Fiji. Viti Levu
Hawaii. Oahu (last collected in 1945)

Biology:

Amblyopone zwaluwenburgi is only known from three islands in the Pacific: Christmas Island (Framenau & Thomas, 2008; Taylor, 1990), Fiji (Sarnat & Economo, 2012), and Hawaii (Williams, 1946). The species is evidently quite rare. It has not been seen in Hawaii since its original collection in 1945 (Reimer, 1994), and was collected only once in Fiji. The native range is not known, but Wilson and Taylor (1967) concurred with Browns (1960) prediction that, the species has been introduced into Hawaii from Melanesia or the East Indies. Amblyopone zwaluwenburgi is evidently a hypogaeic ant that can tolerate disturbed habitats. The Hawaii collection was made from the soil of a sugar cane field (Williams, 1946), and the Fiji collection was made from a litter sample taken from coastal area with abundant populations of introduced and widespread species (Sarnat & Economo, 2012).

Identification:

Amblyopone zwaluwenburgi is a small brownish-yellow species with a square head, no eye facets and long slender mandibles. The mandibles of the examined specimen appear armed with a long pointed apical tooth, a minute subapical tooth, a strong third tooth and three minute basal teeth. In his redescription of the species, based on a paratype worker, Onoyama (1999) mentioned that there are four teeth basal to the third.

Taxonomic Notes:

In his redescription of the species, based on a paratype worker, Onoyama (1999) mentions that there are four mandibular teeth basal to the third.

References:

(Framenau & Thomas, 2008; Onoyama, 1999; Reimer, 1994; Sarnat & Economo, 2012; Taylor, 1990; Williams, 1946).

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