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Sunday, April 24, 2011

Pheidole Sp7.

The worker (minor) of this Pheidole species at 1.2 mm makes it just 0.2 mm longer than a typical Oligomyrmex worker. The queen is very dark brown to almost black in color. The majority of Pheidole species are monogynous but there are quite a number that are polygnous. Most Pheidole species are also dimorphic but there are some exceptions.


Size comparison of Pheidole species
 Size comparison. Center is an 0.8 mm Oligomyrmex worker, top a very common small Pheidole species sp1, bottom a typical size Pheidole worker at 2.9 mm and left Pheidole sp7 worker at 1.2 mm.
The ant in the center is an Oligomyrmex minor worker, one of the tiniest of ant at 0.8 mm. Top - the most common small Pheidole species which is found all over Malaysia and S'pore is 1.8 mm. There are several other similar size species but most are larger. Bottom, this is the 'typical' size Pheidole worker 2.9 mm. It is around the size of the worker of Pheidologeton diversus. The one on the left is the currently discussed species at 1.2 mm. I had to 'freeze' these specimens in order to photograph them together. They all soon recovered and went their separate ways. But you can't do this with termites.


a 1.5 mm major worker of a small Pheidole species
 The major worker of a small Pheidole species at 1.5 mm.
A 1.2 mm minor worker of Pheidole ant
Pheidole sp a worker and major tending to some brood.

Pheidole ant

workers and major worker of a small Pheidole ant
Major and minor workers of Pheidole sp.

Minor soldiers of Pheidole sp wih larvae and pupae.

The alate gyne of Pheidole sp is very dark brown to almost black in color.


 Pheidole ant


See also:


Taxonomy:
No rank: cellular organisms 131567
Superkingdom (Domain): Eukaryota 2759
No rank: Opisthokonta 33154
Kingdom: Metazoa 33208
No rank: Eumetazoa 6072
No rank (Subkingdom): Bilateria 33213
No rank (Branch): Protostomia 33317
No rank (Infrakingdom): Ecdysozoa
No rank (Superphylum): Panarthropoda 88770
Phylum: Arthropoda 6656
No rank (Subphylum): Mandibulata 197563
No rank: Pancrustacea 197562
Subphylum (Epiclass): Hexapoda 6960
Class: Insecta 50557
No rank (Subclass): Dicondylia 85512
Subclass (Infraclass): Pterygota 7496
Infraclass: Neoptera 33340
Cohort: Holometabola
Order: Hymenoptera 7399
Suborder Apocrita 7400
Infraorder: Aculeata 7434
Superfamily: Formicoidea
Family: Formicidae 36668
Subfamily: Myrmicinae 34695
Tribe: Pheidolini 144015
Genus: Pheidole 190769


Updated: 2022 03 15
First Posted: 2011 04 24
© 2011 - 2022 Quah. All rights reserved.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

Odontomachus Rixosus.

Odontomachus rixosus is another trapjaw ant about the same size as the black Odontomachus simillimus which is common and found everywhere in this location. Odontomachus rixosus is not as common and found only in heavily wooded areas.


Odontotermes rixosus ant with a Odontotermes termite soldier.

Odontotermes rixosus worker with an Odontotermes termite worker.



Odontomachus rixosus worker
A worker of Odontomachus rixosus. 
Worker of Odontomachus rixosus. Odontomachus rixosus are monomorphic with only one worker caste.
 

Odontomachus rixosus subspecies
This first species recorded in these images have three front teeth on each of the mandibles with a center tooth right between the the top and bottom teeth. Aside from the ability to catapult itself by snapping it jaws shut on the ground or any hard surface as is common with most species in genus this species is able to jump a short height of 10 to 20 mm and a similar distance. Both workers and gyne are able to perform his hopping feat.


Odontomachus rixosus workers measuring at 10mm the workers are the same in body length as Odontomachus simillimus.
Odontomachus rixosus
Top view of Odontomachus rixosus worker.

Odontomachus rixosus
Close-up showing the three frontal teeth of the mandibles of this species of Odontomachus rixosus. In this subspecies the middle tooth is between the first and second whereas in the common species the middle tooth is on the bottom tooth.

Odontomachus rixosus gyne or queen
A gyne of Odontomachus rixosus.


An Odonotmachus rixosus queen with her brood. Odontomachus rixosus are polygynous.
Odontomachus rixosus nest.
An alate gyne of Odontomachus rixosus.


Male of Odontomachus rixosus. Like those of Odontomachus simillimus and also that of Diacamma the males or drones leave the nest soon after eclosing (hatching out from their pupa stage). They are neither fed or cared for by the workers once they eclosed.


Odontomachus rixosus subspecies.
This second species looks almost the same as the first except that the middle tooth is not directly in between the top and bottom teeth but closer to the bottom such that it might appeared to be attached to the bottom tooth. This second species also do not jump like the first species.
Second subspecies of Odontomachus rixosus.

Lateral view of a worker of Odontomachus rixosus

Top frontal view of a worker of the trapjaw ant Odontomachus rixosus.


Close-uo of Odontomachus rixosus species showing what appears to be just two front teeth on each mandible.

But if you closely observe in the above picture the image of Odontomachus rixosus shows a third middle tooth adjacent and partial merged with (i.e. attached to) the lower or bottom tooth.

A close-up of the head of the Odontomachus rixosus worker showing the middle third tooth attached almost as a tooth of the bottom or lower tooth of the mandible.


Taxonomy:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Class: Insecta
Subclass: Pterygota
Infraclass: Neoptera
Order: Hymenoptera
Suborder: Apocrita
Infraorder: Aculeata
Superfamily: Vespoidea
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Ponerinae
Genus: Odontomachus
Species: rixosus


Last Updated: 2013 10 03
First Posted: 2011 04 12
© Quah 2011 - 2013. All rights reserved.

Monday, April 04, 2011

Odontotermes sp4.

This is the smallest species of Odontotermes I have encountered so far. The soldiers at just 5 mm long is almost as small as Microtermes and can easily be mistaken for such without careful examination.

Odontotermes gyne and workers
The reproductives of this small Odontotermes are the same normal size that is common among most Odontotermes species in this location.
 The workers of this small Odontotermes termite species are dimorphic but the soldiers typical of Odontotermes are monomorhic.



The nymph of a reproductive of Odontermes sp.

A close-up of the soldier of this Odontotermes termite species (5 mm).


Top view of a soldier of this small species of Odontotermes termite.

The worker of this Odontotermes termite is just slightly over 3mm.

A minor worker of Odontotermes termite with a nymph (or 'larva')

A major worker, a minor worker and a nymph of Odontotermes sp.

Fungus of this Odontotermes species.



See also other species of this genus:



Taxonomy
No rank: cellular organisms
Superkingdom (Domain): Eukaryota
No rank: Opisthokonta
Kingdom: Metazoa
No rank: Eumetazoa
No rank (Subkingdom): Bilateria
No rank (Branch): Protostomia
No rank (Infrakingdom): Ecdysozoa
No rank (Superphylum): Panarthropoda
Phylum: Arthropoda
No rank (Subphylum): Mandibulata
No rank: Pancrustacea
Subphylum (Epiclass): Hexapoda
Class: Insecta
No rank (Subclass): Dicondylia
Subclass (Infraclass): Pterygota
Infraclass: Neoptera
No rank: Polyneoptera
No rank (Superorder): Dictyoptera
Order: Blattodea
Superfamily: Blattoidea
No rank: Termitoidae 1912919
Family: Termitidae 46569
Subfamily: Macrotermitinae 62955
Genus: Odontotermes 60587


Species List:
001. adampurensis
002. agilis
003. akengeensis
004. amanicus
005. anamallensis
006. anceps
007. angustatus
008. angustignathus
009. angustipennis
010. annulicornis
011. apollo
012. aquaticus
013. assmuthi
014. aurora
015. badius
016. bellahunisensis
017. bequaerti
018. bhagwatii
019. billitoni
020. boetonensis
021. bomaensis
022. boranicus
023. borgoriensis
024. bottegoanus
025. boveni
026. brunneus
027. buchholzi
028. butteli
029. caffrariae
030. capensis
031. celebensis
032. ceylonicus
033. classicus
034. conignathus
035. culturarum
036. denticulatus
037. diana
038. dimorphus
039. distans
040. dives
041. djampeensis
042. domesticus
043. ebeni
044. egregius
045. elgonensis
046. erodens
047. escherichi
048. fallax
049. feae
050. feaeoides
051. fidens
052. flammifrons
053. fockianus
054. fontanellus
055. formosanus
056. foveafrons
057. fulleri
058. fuyangensis
059. ganpati
060. garambae
061. giriensis
062. globicola
063. grandiceps
064. grassei
065. gravelyi
066. guptai
067. gurdaspurensis
068. hageni
069. hainanensis
070. holmgreni
071. horai
072. horni
073. incisus
074. indicus
075. indrapurensis
076. interveniens
077. iratus
078. javanicus
079. kapuri
080. karawajevi
081. karnyi
082. kibarensis
083. koenigi
084. kulkarnii
085. lacustris
086. latericius
087. latialatus
088. latigula
089. latiguloides
090. latissimus
091. lautus
092. lobintactus
093. longignathus
094. longigula
095. longzhouensis
096. luoyangensis
097. maesodensis
098. magadalenae
099. makassarensis
100. malaccensis
101. maladictus
102. malelaensis
103. maliki
104. mathuri
105. maximus
106. mediocris
107. meridionalis
108. microdentatus
109. microps
110. minutus
111. mirganjensis
112. mohandi
113. monodon
114. montanus
115. mukimbunginis
116. neodenticulatus
117. nilensis
118. nolaensis
119. obesus
120. oblongatus
121. okahandjae
122. ostentans
123. palmquisti
124. paradenticulatus
125. paralatigula
126. parallelus
127. paraoblongatus
128. parvidens
129. patruus
130. pauperans
131. peshawarensis
132. planiceps
133. praevalens
134. preliminaris
135. pretoriensis
136. prodives
137. profeae
138. proformosanus
139. prolatigula
140. proximus
141. pujiangensis
142. pyriceps
143. qianyangensis
144. ramulosus
145. rectanguloides
146. redemanni
147. rehobothensis
148. robustus
149. rothschildianus
150. salebrifrons
151. sarawakensis
152. schmitzi
153. scrutor
154. sellathorax
155. shanglinensis
156. sikkimensis
157. silamensis
158. silvaticus
159. silvestrii
160. silvicolus
161. simalurensis
162. simplicidens
163. sinabangensis
164. singsiti
165. sjostedti
166. smeathmani
167. snyderi
168. somaliensis
169. stanleyvillensis
170. stercorivorus
171. sudanensis
172. sundaicus
173. takensis
174. tanganicus
175. taprobanes
176. terricola
177. tragardhi
178. transvaalensis
179. vaishno
180. vulgaris
181. wallonensis
182. wuzhishanensis
183. yadevi
184. yaoi
185. yarangensis
186. yunnanensis
187. zambesiensis
188. zulunatalensis
189. zunyiensis

Last Updated: 2011 12 25
© 2011 - 2012 Quah. All rights reserved.