than
|
rest of
|
flagellum
|
and
|
scape.
Queen and male castes:
Unknown.
Bionomics:
These ants nest in
rotten |
logs |
and |
forage |
|
individually
|
in the
|
leaf
|
litter during
|
the day.
|
They
|
occur at elevations greater than
900 m
a.s.l. on
| the |
island of Luzon.
Etymology:
Areté
(ἀρετή, Ancient Greek, excellence) +
idris
(ἴδρισ, Greek, ant) (WHEELER
1956
). Coincidentally,
arête
(French, ridge) also fits the fact that
A. clousei
sp.n.
was collected on a low ridge bordering a mountain
lake.
Comparative
notes: |
|
Aretidris
is
| unique |
among |
ant |
genera, with a
| combination |
of narrow-based mandibles with
|
a denticulate masticatory
|
margin,
|
gena with
|
a ridge
|
running from
|
the
|
dorsal
|
edge of the eye to the mandibular insertion, palp formula
3
:
2
,
|
convex propodeum armed with
a denticle
|
,
|
metapleural gland
|
orifice
|
at the apex
|
of the
|
propodeal lobe, and a
|
protuberance over
| the |
petiolar spiracle.
This genus shares some similar characters, e.g.,
bicarinate
|
median
|
clypeus
|
|
, with
Lordomyrma
|
EMERY
|
,
|
1897
. However,
Aretidris
has narrow-based mandibles, a genal ridge, and a convex propodeum, all characters absent in
|
Lordomyrma
as
|
currently
|
defined.
|
Lordomyrma
, moreover
|
, has an
| antennal |
scrobe (present but poorly
developed in
L. furcifera
| EMERY |
,
1897
,
L. infundibuli
DONISTHORPE
,
1940
|
, and
L.
crawleyi
|
MENOZZI,
1923
|
| ), |
long frontal
carina, and propodeal spines
|
, all characters absent in
Aretidris
(see
TAYLOR
2009, 2012
). LUCKY & SARNAT (
2010
)
|
found
that
Aretidris
|
is sister
|
to
|
Lordomyrma
| , |
essentially
|
disproving Bolton's hunch about the identity of "
|
Lordomyrma
spPH01"
| . WARD |
& al. (
2015
) improved the resolution of
the
|
phylogenetic
|
relationship
|
of these
|
two genera
|
and
|
recovered them
| in |
separate subclades within the newly expanded myrmicine tribe
Crematogastrini
FOREL,
1893
.
|
|
Aretidris
|
would
|
| have |
been included
in the
|
old
|
sense of the
|
myrmicine tribe
Stenammini
| ASHMEAD |
,
1905
(BOL-
TON
2003
).
Although BOLTON (
2003
) established well
the |
morphological |
diagnosis |
of |
Stenammini
|
, |
WARD |
& al. |
Figs. 1 - 6:
Aretidris buenaventei
sp.n.
(holotype). (1) Lateral view of body; (2) head in full-face view; (3) lateral closeup of propodeum and waist segments; (4) close-up of anterior head and mandibles, (5) dorsal view of body; (6) labels.
(
2015
) found many erstwhile stenammine genera distributed throughout the
Crematogastrini
clade. WARD & al. (
2015
) thus transferred fifteen extant genera out of the
Stenammini
into the
Crematogastrini
. Now included in the
Crematogastrini
are all the genera under consideration in this paper, namely,
Aretidris
(= Myrmicine Genus #
26
PH02 sensu WARD & al. (
2015
)),
Lordomyrma
,
Vollenhovia
MAYR,
1865
,
Romblonella
WHEELER,
1935
,
Calyptomyrmex
EMERY,
1887
,
Lasiomyrma
TERAYAMA & YA- MANE,
2000
and
Indomyrma
BROWN,
1986
.
WARD & al. (
2015
) were unable to sequence
Lasiomyrma
and
Indomyrma
, two endemic Asian genera. Neither genus is morphologically similar to
Aretidris
.
Lasiomyrma
has an anterior median clypeus produced into an obtuse angle,
11
-segmented antenna, elongate-triangular mandibles that usually close tightly with anterior clypeal margin (line drawing of frontal head shows a gap in
L. gracilinoda
TERAYAMA & YAMANE,
2000
), flat dorsum of promesonotum and propodeum, propodeal spines present, and a pedunculate petiole (TERAYAMA & YAMANE
2000
). In contrast,
Aretidris
has an entire anterior clypeal margin,
12
-segmented antenna, narrow-based triangular mandibles that always close with a gap between the mandibular basal margin and the anterior clypeal margin, convex dorsum of promesonotum and propodeum, propodeal armament reduced to denticles, and a sessile petiole.
Indomyrma
has reduced eyes with a total of less than
12
ommatidia, an antennal scrobe, albeit weakly developed, bounded dorsally by a distinct frontal carina, median clypeal margin expanded as a notched convex apron that barely covers basal borders of completely closed mandibles, flat dorsum of promesonotum and propodeum, erect hairs in bilateral positions on head, mesosoma, petiole and pospetiole, propodeal spines present, and a pedunculate petiole (
BROWN
1986
). In contrast,
Aretidris
has larger eyes with about eight ommatidia in its longest axis, no antennal scrobe, a short frontal carina, entire median clypeal margin without an apron, strongly convex dorsum of promesonotum and propodeum, erect hairs on head, mesosoma, petiole and postpetiole abundant but not in bilateral positions, propodeal armament reduced to denticles, and a sessile petiole.
WARD & al. (
2015
) found
Aretidris
(as Myrmicine Genus #
26
PH
02) to be a sister taxon to the genus
Vollenhovia
in the
Crematogastrini
. These two genera are not particularly similar morphologically, sharing only a couple of petiolar features: a protuberance over the petiolar spiracle (also found in
Gauromyrmex
MENOZZI,
1933
and
Romblonella
) and a lack of a petiolar peduncle. That
Aretidris
and
Vollenhovia
together are sister to
Calyptomyrmex
is even more unexpected and problematic. I can find no morphological similarities between
Aretidris
and
Calyptomyrmex
.
|