Technomyrmex brunneus Forel 1895
Creators: name: Yamane, Seiki
name: Leong, Chi-Man
name: Lin, Chung-Chi
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2018
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Formicidae
Technomyrmex
Technomyrmex brunneus

description: Technomyrmex brunneus Forel, 1895
(FIgS. 3–9)
Technomyrmex modiglianii var. angustior Forel, 1912: 71. Taiwan (Akau).
? Technomyrmex albipes var. brunneipes Forel: Terayama, 1991: 80 (in list, misidentification). Technomyrmex brunneus Forel: Bolton, 2007: 73; Terayama, 2009: 200 (in key), 239 (in list).
Worker diagnosis. MEASUREMENTS (N=10): TL 2–3, HW 0.59–0.70, HL 0.60–0.72, SL 0.58–0.70, CI 88–102, SI 91–100. WITH HEAD IN PROFILE, EYE LOCATED AT OR bEHIND MIDLENgTH OF HEAD (FIg. 3A). MANDIbLE WITH DISTINCT LONgITUDINAL gROOVE ALONg ITS OUTER MARgIN (FIg. 1E). DORSUM OF HEAD bEHIND LEVEL OF POSTERIOR MARgIN OF EYE WITHOUT STANDINg HAIRS. BODY ALMOST ENTIRELY bLACK, EXCEPT FOR TARSI OF LEgS YELLOWISH AND TIP OF ANTENNA bROWNISH (FIg. 3A).
Queen description. MEASUREMENTS (N=2). TL 3.5, 3.8; HW 0.81, 0.82; HL 0.80, 0.80; SL 0.71, 0.69; EW 0.15, 0.16; EL 0.23, 0.23; CI 101, 103; SI 88, 84. VERY SIMILAR TO WORKER IN STRUCTURE, PILOSITY AND COLORATION EXCEPT FOR MESOSOMA THAT bEARS WINgS. HEAD SLIgHTLY LONgER THAN OR ALMOST AS LONg AS bROAD. MANDIbLE WITH LONgITUDINAL gROOVE. ANTERIOR MARgIN OF CLYPEUS WITH NARROW AND SHALLOW MEDIAN EMARgINATION (FIg. 4C). ANTERIOR OCELLUS LARgER THAN POSTERIOR OCELLI. WITH MESOSOMA IN PROFILE, MESONOTUM ANTERIORLY gENTLY SLOPINg AND POSTERIORLY FLAT; MESOPLEURON DIVIDED INTO TWO PARTS bY WEAK AND INCOMPLETE SUTURE (FIg. 4A). PROPODEUM WITH SHORT DORSUM; SIDE OF PROPODEUM NOT DEMARCATED FROM METAPLEURON; DECLIVITY FLAT; SPIRACLE LOCATED ON PROPODEAL SIDE AT LEVEL OF MIDLENgTH OF DECLIVITY.
ALMOST ENTIRE SURFACE OF bODY VERY FINELY AND DENSELY PUNCTATE AND MAT; gASTER WITH MORE SUPERFICIAL PUNCTATION AND WEAKLY SHINY; MANDIbLE, PETIOLE AND COXAE OF LEgS MUCH MORE SHINY.
Winged male description. MEASUREMENTS (N=3). TL 2.5, HW 0.65–0.69, HL0.61–0.66, SL 0.20–0.24, EW 0.22–0.23, EL 0.30–0.31, CI 103–107, SI 31–35. HEAD (FIg. 6C) SLIgHTLY bROADER THAN LONg, WITH CONVEX LATERAL MARgINS AND bROADLY ROUNDED POSTERIOR MARgIN. CLYPEUS WITH ANTERIOR MARgIN STRAIgHT TO VERY SHALLOWLY EMARgINATE, POSTERIORLY DEMARCATED FROM FRONS bY DELICATE SUTURE. EYE LARgE, WITH HEAD IN FULL-FACE VIEW ITS MAXIMUM LENgTH SUbEqUAL TO DISTANCE FROM ITS POSTERIOR MARgIN TO SUMMIT OF HEAD, DISTINCTLY bREAKINg LATERAL MARgIN OF HEAD. OCELLI MUCH LARgER THAN IN qUEEN; POSTERIOR OCELLI WIDELY SEPARATED FROM EACH OTHER. ANTENNA 13-SEgMENTED; SCAPE SHORT, ONLY SLIgHTLY LONgER THAN SEgMENTS II (PEDICEL) AND III COMbINED. PRONOTUM VERY SHORT MEDIALLY ON DORSAL FACE, bUT LATERAL FACE LARgE. MESONOTUM MASSIVE AND ROUNDLY PRODUCED DORSALLY, WITH ANTERIOR SLOPE RATHER STEEP (FIg. 6A); MESOPLEURON DIVIDED INTO TWO PARTS bY INDISTINCT SUTURE (FIg. 6A), DEMARCATED FROM METAPLEURON bY DEEP SUTURE; MESOSCUTELLUM SEEN IN DORSAL VIEW VERY NARROW, STRONgLY NARROWED POSTERIORLY (FIg. 6B). METANOTUM VERY SHORT (jUST A MERE bAND); METAPLEURON NOT DEMARCATED FROM LATERAL FACE OF PROPODEUM; METAPLEURAL gLAND ORIFICE LARgE. PETIOLE HIDDEN bENEATH gASTER. GENITALIA VERY LARgE, EXPOSED, OCCUPYINg MORE THAN 1/3 OF ENTIRE gASTER.
STANDINg PILOSITY VERY POOR, SEEN ONLY IN ANTERIOR PORTION OF HEAD AROUND MOUTHPARTS INCLUDINg ANTERIOR MARgIN OF CLYPEUS, ON gASTRAL VENTER AND AROUND TIP OF gASTER; FRONTAL CARINA LACKINg ANY STANDINg HAIRS; ALL HAIRS ON VENTRAL SURFACES OF MESOSOMA AND gASTER APPRESSED. BODY ALMOST ENTIRELY bLACK; MANDIbLE, MAXILLARY AND LAbIAL PALPI, ANTENNAL SEgMENT II YELLOWISH; TARSI OF ALL LEgS WHITISH.
IN WINg VENATION, THE qUEEN AND WINgED MALE ARE VERY SIMILAR TO EACH OTHER (FIgS. 5, 7).
Wingless male description. MEASUREMENTS (N=3). TL 2.5, HW 0.61–0.65, HL 0.59–0.63, SL 0.22–0.24, EW 0.17–0.18, EL 0.23, CI 103–105, SI 35–38. IN gENERAL HAbITUS SIMILAR TO WORKER, bUT EASILY SEPARAbLE FROM THE LATTER bY THE PRESENCE OF OCELLI (NOTE THAT INTERCASTE FEMALES OFTEN WITH OCELLI) AND EXPOSED gENITALIA. HEAD SIMILAR TO THAT OF WINgED MALE. PRONOTUM LONgER AND MESONOTUM LESS MASSIVE THAN IN WINgED MALE. WITH MESOSOMA IN PROFILE, MESONOTUM STRONgLY AND ROUNDLY CONVEX DORSALLY; MESOPLEURON NOT DIVIDED INTO UPPER AND LOWER PORTIONS; MESOSCUTELLUM NOT DIFFERENTIATED. METANOTAL gROOVE DISTINCT, WITHOUT FLAT DORSUM OF METANOTUM; METAPLEURON NOT DEMARCATED FROM PROPODEAL SIDE. GENITALIA EXPOSED bUT MUCH SMALLER THAN IN WINgED MALE.
STANDINg PILOSITY POOR, CONFINED TO ANTERIOR MARgIN OF CLYPEUS, MANDIbLE, VENTER AND TIP OF gASTER AND COXAE OF ALL LEgS. ALMOST ENTIRE bODY DARK REDDISH bROWN; ANTENNA LIgHTER WITH SEgMENT II (PEDICEL) YELLOWISH; MANDIbLE YELLOWISH; TARSI OF ALL LEgS WHITISH.
Comparison of genitalia between winged and wingless males. WINgED MALES HAVE SIgNIFICANTLY LARgER gENITALIA THAN WINgLESS MALES: FOR INSTANCE, CAPSULE APPROXIMATELY 3.4 TIMES, PENISVALVA 1.6 TIMES, AND VOLSELLA 1.6 TIMES AS LONg AS THOSE IN THE LATTER (FIg. 9). MOREOVER, WINgED AND WINgLESS MALES HAVE DISTINCTLY DIFFERENT MORPHOLOgIES IN gENITAL CAPSULE, AbDOMINAL STERNUM IX, AND VOLSELLA. THE TELOMERE (FIg. 9B) IS IN LATERAL VIEW ELONgATE WITH SUbPARALLEL UPPER AND LOWER MARgINS AND ROUND APEX IN WINgED MALES (bUT THICKER WITH CONVEX LOWER MARgIN AND ACUTE APEX IN WINgLESS MALES). THE STERNUM IX (FIg. 9D) IN DORSAL VIEW HAS WELL-DEVELOPED POSTEROLATERAL CORNERS AND A DEEP MEDIAN NOTCH IN THE FORMER (WITH WEAKER POSTEROLATERAL CORNERS AND A SHALLOWER MEDIAN NOTCH IN THE LATTER). THE VALVURA (FIg. 9E) IS THICKER IN THE FORMER THAN IN THE LATTER. THE VENTRAL MARgIN OF THE VOLSELLA (FIg. 9F) bEARS A WELL-DEVELOPED HOOK IN THE FORMER (bUT THE HOOK SMALLER AND EqUIPPED WITH A SERIES OF SMALL TEETH IN THE LATTER). THUS, THE STRUCTURE OF gENITAL SCLERITES SHOWS REMARKAbLE DIFFERENCES bETWEEN WINgED AND WINgLESS MALES (SEE ALSO OgATA et al., 1996).
Distribution. TROPICAL TO WARM TEMPERATE ASIA FROM SRI LANKA THROUgH INDIA AND CHINA TO JAPAN (BOLTON, 2007; JAPANESE ANT DATAbASE, 2003; SHIMANA AND YAMANE, 2009). IT WAS RECENTLY FOUND IN NEW GUINEA TO bE A DOMINANT ANT IN A LOWLAND SECONDARY FOREST (KLIMES et al., 2015).
Specimens examined (NMNS, SKYC, TFRI). NANTOU COUNTY: 2 WORKERS, SHEN MU, 23.5221˚N, 120.8399˚E, 11.II.2012, S. H. LIN LEg. (OTFA19); 18 WORKERS, HUISUN EXP. FOREST (500–800 M ALT.), 24.0896°N, 121.0305°E, 27–30.IV.2017, C. M. LEONg LEg.; 1 WORKER, JIHYUETAN (SUN MOON LAKE), 1.III.1988, S. AOKI LEg. TAINAN COUNTY: 1 WORKER, HSIA TOU TSAI, 23.0716°N, 120.5190°E, 10.VII.2011, S.H. LIN LEg. TAIPEI COUNTY: 1 WORKER, FU JHOU SHAN, 25.0177°N, 121.5524°E 30.IX.2016, C.M. LEONg LEg. (CWFA04); 10 WORKERS, 10 WINgED MALES, 10 WINgLESS MALES, 10 ALATE & 10 DEALATE qUEENS FROM A COLONY, FU JHOU SHAN, 25.0177°N, 121.5524°E, 21.X.2017, C.M. LEONg LEg. (CML20170521-COL.-1); 12 WORKERS, TAMSUI, 26.III.2012, T. YAMASAKI LEg.; 6 WORKERS, WULAI (NEAR FIELD STATION), 20.IV.2010, NEST IN DEAD STEM, SK. YAMANE LEg. (TW10-SKY-02); 11 WORKERS, WULAI, 20.IV.2010, LOWER VEgETATION, SK. YAMANE LEg.; 4 WORKERS, FUSHAN (600–650 M ALT.), 22–23.IX.1997, SK. YAMANE LEg.; 3 WORKERS, WA CHIH SHIN, 24.0934°N, 121.0311°E, 5.X.2012, S. H. LIN LEg. (OTFA21). YUNLIN COUNTY: 2 WORKERS, PINg TINg, 10.VII.2010, S. H. LIN LEg. (OTFA03 & 04).
Remarks. THIS TRAMP SPECIES IS VERY COMMON AND WIDELY DISTRIbUTED IN TAIWAN. HOWEVER, bIOLOgICAL INFORMATION IS STILL LIMITED. A COLONY WAS FOUND IN A DEAD STEM OF A TREE IN WULAI. ONE OF US (CML) LOCATED ANOTHER COLONY IN DRY DECAYED WOOD IN FU JHOU SHAN, FROM WHICH NUMEROUS WORKERS, WINgED AND WINgLESS MALES, AND WINgED qUEENS WERE COLLECTED (FOR INTERCASTES AND WINgLESS SEXUALS, SEE TSUjI et al., 1991, YAMAUCHI et al., 1991, AND OgATA et al., 1996).
description: Published as part of Yamane, Seiki, Leong, Chi-Man & Lin, Chung-Chi, 2018, Taiwanese species of the ant genus Technomyrmex (Formicidae: Dolichoderinae), pp. 35-56 in Zootaxa 4410 (1) on pages 39-44, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4410.1.2, http://zenodo.org/record/1221204