Australian species of the ant genus Dolichoderus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
Author
Shattuck, Steven O.
Author
Marsden, Sharon
text
Zootaxa
2013
3716
2
101
143
journal article
10.11646/zootaxa.3716.2.1
f685afba-b823-44c6-8ec9-f931fee7647a
1175-5326
248496
E76C890A-DC27-4B8A-90CD-41D10682E8FA
Dolichoderus clarki
Wheeler
(
Fig. 5
)
Dolichoderus tristis
Clark, 1930: 254
(junior primary homonym of
tristis
Mann
, 1916: 463
, replaced with
Dolichoderus clarki
by Wheeler 1935:69).
Dolichoderus clarki
Wheeler, 1935: 69
(new replacement name for
Dolichoderus tristis
Clark, 1930: 254
).
Types
.
2 worker
syntypes
from Bulli (
1 in
MVMA,
1 in
AMSA);
16 worker
syntypes
from Hampton, near Jenolan Caves (
1 in
MCZC,
15 in
AMSA); additional material from Bondi and Cooma (not examined), New South
Wales
.
Diagnosis
. Pronotum and propodeum with elongate spines; pronotal spines short, directed anteriorly, approximately parallel to the longitudinal axis of the body, in dorsal view a line drawn between their tips intersects the pronotal collar; first gastral tergite with abundant short erect hairs and gaster with golden pubescence (less obvious in older specimens); antennae, tips of propodeal spines and legs dark brown to black, at most only slightly lighter in colour than body and generally the same colour as body.
This species most closely resembles
D. doriae
but can be differentiated by the dark coloured legs, in contrast to the yellow legs found in
D. doriae
.
Worker description
. See
Fig. 5
. The available material shows slight variation in leg colour, which is most commonly black but in some individuals is slightly lighter (reddish-black). Otherwise all specimens are similar to that figured.
Measurements
(n=5). CI 95–97; EI 17–19; EL 0.27–0.32; HL 1.65–1.76; HW 1.59–1.69; ML 2.52–2.71; MTL 1.64–1.89; PronI 65.13–77.06; PronW 1.10–1.22; SI 110–115; SL 1.74–1.95.
Material examined
.
Australian Capital Territory
: Blundells Creek,
3km
E of Picadilly Circus (Weir, Lawrence & Johnson) (ANIC);
New South
Wales
: Belanglo State Forest (Gush,T.) (ANIC); Como (Schrader,H.P.) (ANIC); Dalrymple Forest, Pymble, Sydney (Lowery,B.B.) (ANIC); Hampton (Musgrave,A.) (ANIC); Kembla (collector unknown) (ANIC); Narrabeen (Froggatt, W.W.) (); Pymble (McAreavey,J.) (ANIC); Royal NP, track just S of Garawarra (Ward,P.S.) (ANIC); Thirroul (Gush,T.) (ANIC); Wallerawang (Lowery,B.B.) (ANIC).
Comments
.
D. clarki
is found in wet sclerophyll woodlands of central coastal New South
Wales
and the ACT. Workers forage on the ground and on low vegetation. Its glandular compounds were examined by Cavill and Hinterberger (1960a, 1960b) while notes on its venom and venom apparatus were provided by Blum and Hermann (1978).