Taxonomic history
Emery, 1902c: 32 (w.); Wheeler, 1922: 88 (m.).Senior synonym of Plectroctena minor insularis: Bolton, 1974c PDF: 324.Senior synonym of Plectroctena minor liberiana: Bolton, 1974c PDF: 324.Senior synonym of Plectroctena minor perusta: Bolton, 1974c PDF: 324.Senior synonym of Plectroctena gabonensis: Bolton & Brown, 2002 PDF: 12.Ann. Soc. ent. Belgique, vol. 56, p. 150 (1912), [[worker]].
Uganda: Ibanda, dans la zone inferieure des monts Ruwenzori (1.400 m., 1909), 1 [[worker]] un peu plus grand que le type qui est du Benguela.
A single apterous female from Akenge from the stomach of a toad (Bufo polycercus); a single worker from Niapu from the stomach of a frog (Xenopus tropicalis); Stanleyville, [[worker]], [[queen]], [[male]] (Lang and Chapin).
Female (apterous).- Length about 12 mm.
Smaller than the winged female and with slightly smaller eyes. Ocelli present. The thorax of the same shape as in the winged female but without wing insertions. The tint of the body is a little more reddish than in the winged female.
Male (hitherto undescribed).-
Head broader than long, broadly rounded behind, the eyes large, moderately convex, about half as long as the sides of the head. Mandibles very small, blunt, edentate. Clypeus rather convex, with feebly and broadly excised anterior border. Antennae long, filiform; scape about two-thirds as long as the second funicular joint, first funicular joint broader than long. Thorax broader through the wing insertions than the head, narrowed in front; premesonotal suture very deeply impressed. Mesonotum rather flat, with a median pit in front and well-developed Mayrian furrows. Scutellum convex, with a median sulcus so that it appears bituberculata. Base of epinotum somewhat longer than the declivity which is concave and strongly marginate on the sides and above. Petiole narrower, higher than long, the node truncated anteriorly and posteriorly and rounded above and on the sides; its ventral tooth triangular, short and rather acute. Postpetiole broader than long, convex above and sharply constricted off from the gaster, its anterior ventral border projecting as a transverse welt. Gaster of the usual shape, pygidium bluntly pointed at the tip. Legs moderately long and slender. Wings rather short (7.8 mm.).
Shining, finely punctate; thorax more or less rugulose, the pronotum finely, the pleurae more coarsely, the scutellum and upper portion of the base of the epinotum reticulately rugose, the latter very coarsely. Upper portion of petiolar node very smooth and shining.
Hairs yellowish, present only along the posterior borders of the gastric segments. Pubescence grayish, very fine, covering the gaster, head, and legs.
Black; mouth, mandibles, tibial spurs, and articulations of the legs, ventral portion of petiole, posterior and especially lateral, margins of the gastric segments, red. Wings uniformly brownish, veins and pterostigma dark brown.
The series from Stanleyville consists of a single worker, three females, and two males, all from the same colony. Another male from the same locality and with a different number is considerably larger (13 mm.) and evidently belongs to the same species but probably represents a distinct variety which cannot be named without the worker or female.
Plectroctena minor is een mierensoort uit de onderfamilie van de Ponerinae.[1][2] De wetenschappelijke naam van de soort is voor het eerst geldig gepubliceerd in 1892 door Emery.
Bronnen, noten en/of referenties
Plectroctena minor (лат.) — вид муравьёв (Formicidae) из подсемейства Ponerinae. Эндемики Африки (Берег Слоновой Кости, Габон, Гана, Заир, Камерун, Нигерия, Экваториальная Гвинея)[1].
Тропические хищные муравьи буровато-чёрного цвета. Длина тела рабочих от 15,2 до 17,6 мм. Мандибулы самок и рабочих длинные; глаза расположены в переднебоковых углах головы у места прикрепления челюстей. Усики самок и рабочих 12-члениковые (у самцов — 13). Длина головы рабочих 3,32—3,60 мм (ширина — 3,12—3,33 мм), длина скапуса усиков — 2,32—2,48 мм. Скутеллюм самцов выпуклый, голова у них шире своей длины, мезонотум сверху уплощённый[2]. Семьи немногочисленные (до 300 муравьёв). Охотятся на многоножек (Diplopoda, Spirostreptida)[3]. При невозможности транспортировки добычи одним рабочим, он мобилизует от 2 до 5 фуражиров, прокладывая феромонную тропу от муравейника[4]. Вид был открыт и впервые описан в 1892 году итальянским мирмекологом Карлом Эмери[1].
Plectroctena minor (лат.) — вид муравьёв (Formicidae) из подсемейства Ponerinae. Эндемики Африки (Берег Слоновой Кости, Габон, Гана, Заир, Камерун, Нигерия, Экваториальная Гвинея).
