Romblonella

Romblonella
Romblonella opaca worker
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmicinae
Tribe:	Crematogastrini
Genus:	Romblonella Wheeler, 1935
Type species
Rombonella grandinodis Wheeler, 1935
Diversity [1]
8 species

Romblonella is a genus of myrmicine ants.

Systematics

Romblonella is probably the sister taxon to Stereomyrmex . Closely related genera are Leptothorax and Cardiocondyla . ^[2]

Biology

Very little is known about these uncommon ants. Most species were found to nest in twigs on trees and to forage on low vegetation. ^[3]

Description

R. opaca: a) lateral view; b) head, dorsal view; c) thorax and petiole, dorsal view

Workers of R. opaca are about 4 mm long. They have a small sting. R. opaca was described from four specimens found on Romblon Island, Philippines, by Wheeler (1935). ^[4] However, the species had already been described by F. Smith in 1861 as Myrmica opaca, which had been collected at Tondano, Sulawesi by Alfred Russel Wallace. ^[5]

R. elysii workers are 2 mm long. They were originally described as Crematogaster from a few workers from the Solomon Islands. ^[6] R. heatwolei workers are almost 4 mm long. ^[2]

Only for R. palauensis and R. heatwolei have males been described. ^[2]

Distribution

Romblonella is found from the Philippines south through New Guinea, with one species known from Australia. The distribution stretches to the islands of the western South Pacific.^{[ citation needed ]}

Name

The genus is named after the locality where the type species was found.^{[ citation needed ]}

Species

• Romblonella elysii (Mann, 1919) — Malapina, Big Nggela: Solomon Islands
• Romblonella heatwolei Taylor, 1991 — Wyer Island: Torres Strait: Queensland: Australia
• Romblonella opaca (F. Smith, 1861) — Philippines, Indonesia
• Romblonella palauensis M. R. Smith, 1953 — Auluptagel, Urukthapal, Babelthaub: Palau: Caroline Islands
• Romblonella scrobifera (Emery, 1897) ^[7]  — Aitape, Manus Province, East Sepik Province, Morobe Province, East New Britain Province: New Guinea
• Romblonella townesi M. R. Smith, 1953 — Mount Lasso: Tinian Island: Northern Mariana Islands
• Romblonella vitiensis M. R. Smith, 1953 — Wakaya Island: Fiji Islands
• Romblonella yapensis M. R. Smith, 1953 — Yap Island: Caroline Islands

Images

• 
  Specimen of a Romblonella opaca
• 
  Specimen of a Romblonella palauensis
• 
  Specimen of a Romblonella scrobifera

Footnotes

1. Bolton, B. (2014). "Romblonella". AntCat. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
2. Taylor, Robert W. (1991): Notes on the ant genera Romblonella and Willowsiella, with comments on their affinities, and the first descriptions of Australian species. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae). Psyche97: 281-298. PDF
3. Australian Ants Online: Genus Romblonella
4. Wheeler, William M. (1935): Two new genera of myrmicine ants from Papua and the Philippines. Proceedings of the New England Zoological Club 15: 1-9. PDF
5. Smith 1861: 47
6. Mann 1919: 319
7. length c. 3 mm, as Tetramorium scrobiferum, Emery 1897: 587

References

• Emery, Carlo (1897): Formicidarum species novae vel minus cognitae in collectione Musaei Nationalis Hungarici, quas in Nova Guinea, colonia germanica, collegit L. Biro. Termeszetrajzi Fuzetek20: 571-599. PDF
• Mann, William M. (1919): The ants of the British Solomon Islands. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology of Harvard College63: 273-391. PDF
• Smith, Frederick (1861): Catalogue of hymenopterous insects collected by Mr. A. R. Wallace in the Islands of Ceram, Celebes, Ternate, and Gilolo. Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London, Zoology6: 36-48. PDF
• ITIS: Genus Romblonella

Further reading

• Smith, Marion R. (1953): A revision of the genus Romblonella W. M. Wheeler (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Proceedings of the Hawaiian Entomological Society 15: 75-80. PDF

External links

• Media related to Romblonella at Wikimedia Commons