Aphaenogaster gamagumayaa (lat.) - cave species of ants (Formicidae) of the genus Aphaenogaster from the subfamily Myrmicinae . Endemic to Japan and the world's second troglobiontic species of ants [1] .
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| Aphaenogaster gamagumayaa Naka & Maruyama, 2018 |
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 | Aphaenogaster gamagumayaa ant in a cave. |
Content
- 1 Etymology
- 2 Distribution
- 3 Description
- 4 notes
- 5 Literature
- 6 References
Etymology
The species name A. gamagumayaa in the Ryuk language means a cave dweller [1] .
Distribution
Southern Japan ( Ryukyu ): Okinawa Island. All working ants were collected deep inside the limestone cave from bat guano , about 20 meters from the cave entrance (probably from one anthill). The cave area is about 25 m 2 (2-3 m in height). The sun does not penetrate there and the hall is completely dark, and during the study period (from August to October 2017) it was consistently cooler (<25 ° C in the afternoon) than the outer perimeter of the cave (28–32 ° C). The cave does not contain pools or streams, but the atmosphere is usually humid and the substrate is clay soil [1] .
Description
Small myrmycin ants, slender about 5 mm long, yellow. It differs from another East Asian species in a more elongated narrow slender body, very long legs and antennae, reduced eyes. Among Japanese species, it is most similar to Aphaenogaster irrigua Watanabe & Yamane, 1999 , which has been described from the Ryukyu archipelago. It differs from A. irrigua in lighter yellow color and smaller eyes (eye length EL = 0.19 x TmL versus 0.38 x TmL in A. irrigua ), the basal margin of the mandibles is weakly dentate, and the scape is more elongated and narrower (length scapus SL = 2.28 x of the width of the head HW versus 1.53 x HW in the second species). Antennae 12-segmented, mace of 4 segments. The stalk between the breast and the abdomen consists of two segments: the petiolus and postpetiolus (the latter is clearly separated from the abdomen). Ants were found in the lower part (at the bottom) of the cave with guano bats . Some working ants were seen dragging particles of this guano. When a person approached, the ants stopped, moved their antennae, assessing the situation and hiding in the holes at the bottom of the cave [1] .
The species was first described in 2018 by Japanese entomologists Takeru Naka , Okinawa-shi, Okinawa and Munetoshi Maruyama ; The Kyushu University Museum, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka , Japan [1] .
Previously, only one truly troglobiontic species of ants was known: Leptogenys khammouanensis Roncin & Deharveng, 2003 from Laos [2] . Other species (including Aphaenogaster cavernicola Donisthorpe, 1938 ( India ), A. cardenai (Espadaler, 1981) ( Spain ), A. cecconii Emery, 1894 ( Crete ), Nylanderia myops (Mann, 1920) ( Cuba ) and N pearsei Wheeler, 1938 ( Mexico ) was observed both in caves and outside the caves, and they do not have characteristic troglobiont characters [1] [3] [4] [5] .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 Takeru Naka, Munetoshi Maruyama. Aphaenogaster gamagumayaa sp. nov .: the first troglobiotic ant from Japan (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae) (English) // Zootaxa : Journal. - Auckland , New Zealand : Magnolia Press, 2018 .-- Vol. 4450, no. 1 . - P. 135-141. - ISSN 1175-5326 . - DOI : 10.11646 / zootaxa.4450.1.10 .
- ↑ Roncin E. & Deharveng L. Leptogenys khammouanensis sp. nov. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). A possible troglobitic species of Laos, with a discussion on cave ants (English) // Zoological Science: Journal. - Tokyo, 2003 .-- Vol. 20. - P. 919-924. - DOI : 10.2108 / zsj.20.919 .
- ↑ Tinaut A. & López, F. Ants and caves: sociability and ecological constraints (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) (Eng.) // Sociobiology: Journal. - 2001. - Vol. 37. - P. 651-659.
- ↑ Wheeler, WM (1938). Ants from the caves of Yucatan, pp. 251-255. In: Pearse, AS, Fauna of the caves of Yucatan. Carnegie Institution of Washington Publication, 491, 10150304
- ↑ Wilson, EO The trinidad cave ant Erebomyrma (= Spelaeomyrmex ) urichi (Wheeler), with a comment on cavernicolous ants in general (English) // Psyche: Journal. - 1962. - Vol. 69. - P. 62-72. - DOI : 10.1155 / 1962/54863 .
Literature
- Arnoldi K.V. Overview of the genus Aphaenogaster (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of the fauna of the USSR (Russian) // Zoological Journal : Journal. - M. , 1976 . - Vol. 55, No. 7 . - P. 1019-1026.
- Roncin E. & Deharveng L. Leptogenys khammouanensis sp. nov. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). A possible troglobitic species of Laos, with a discussion on cave ants (English) // Zoological Science: Journal. - Tokyo, 2003 .-- Vol. 20. - P. 919–924. - DOI : 10.2108 / zsj.20.919 .
Links
- Aphaenogaster gamagumayaa. The First Troglobiotic Ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae) from Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan. (eng.) . Species New to Science . novataxa.blogspot.com (July 23, 2018). - Taxonomy. Date of treatment August 25, 2017.
- Aphaenogaster Mayr, 1853 . AntWeb . California Academy of Sciences . - Taxonomy. Date of treatment August 25, 2017.
- Aphaenogaster Mayr, 1853 . biolib.cz. - Taxonomy. Date of treatment July 25, 2018.