Rhytidoponera aciculata species group
Murrumbateman, NSW
Identify this sighting
| Rhytidoponera aciculata species group | JonLewis | 9 Nov 2021 | |
| Rhytidoponera sp. (genus) | JonLewis | 4 Oct 2021 | |
| Rhytidoponera sp. (genus) | SimoneC | 2 Oct 2021 |
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User's notes
Large black ground nesting ant, not aggressive, not metallic. Not at all sure about the suggested ID, the head shape seems different to the Rhytidoponera species on CNM
3 comments
4 Oct 2021
Hi Simone, this is a new species for CNM (well done!) and you correctly identified the genus (well done again!) but the bad news is that I can't be sure which species it is. It could be Rhytidoponera punctiventris, but there are quite a few Rhytidoponera species which look a lot like this. I may be able to make some progress on it when I can get back into Canberra, hopefully not too far away. Cheers, Jon
4 Oct 2021
Thanks Jon, Let me know if there are any features you need a clearer view of and I will try to get photos of them.
9 Nov 2021
Hi Simone, a second sighting of this ant prompted me to give it a better name. Within the genus Rhytidoponera, there are a number of "species groups" which contain multiple species which have similar attributes. The species group which contains the species R. punctiventris is called the "R. aciculata species group". R. punctiventris is still the most likely species ID for your ant as it is very common but I still can't be sure enough to call it that species. Cheers, Jon
Location information
- Coordinates 149.051072-34.978286
- Altitude 590.9m
- Places Murrumbateman, NSW
Sighting information
- 16 - 100 Abundance
- 2 Oct 2021 04:33 PM Recorded on
- SimoneC Recorded by
- 12mm to 25mm Animal size
Collections
- Insects Ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) SimoneC Canberra & Southern Tablelands NatureMapr Rhytidoponera aciculata species group
Species information
- Rhytidoponera aciculata species group Scientific name
- Common name
- Not Sensitive
- Local native
- Non-invasive or negligible
- 336.84m to 749.06m Recorded at altitude
Record quality
Quality score
6 / 7
- Images or audio
- More than one media file
- Verified by an expert moderator
- GPS evidence of location
- Description
- Additional attributes
- Nearby sighting(s) of same species