Odontomachus cephalotes Fr. Smith

Wilson EO, 1959, Studies on the ant fauna of Melanesia V. The tribe Odontomachini., Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 120, pp. 483-510 : 490

Odontomachus cephalotes Fr. Smith

(Fig. 4, no. 11)

Odontomachus cephalotes Fr. Smith , 1863, J. Proc. Linn. Soe. London, Zool., 7:19, worker. Type locality: Ceram. Crawley, 1922, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., (9)9:441, fig. 6; redescription of holotype.

Odontomachus ruficeps subsp. cephalotes, Emery , 1911, Nova Guinea, 9(2) Zool.: 250-251, diagnosis, variation, distribution.

Odontomachus ruficeps cephalotes var. cruenta Emery , 1911, ibid., p. 251, worker, queen. Original localities: Merauke and Etna Bay, Neth. New Guinea. NEW SYNONYMY.

Odontomachus ruficeps cephalotes var. fusca Emery , 1911, ibid., p. 251, worker. Type locality: Merauke, Neth. New Guinea. NEW SYNONYMY.

Odontomachus ruficeps subsp. cephalotes, Forel , 1911, Sitzber. Bayer. Akad. Wiss., (1911), p. 252, worker, variation.

Odontomachus ruficeps cephalotes var. ternatensis Forel , 1911, ibid., p. 252, worker. Type locality: Ternate. NEW SYNONYMY.

Odontomachus ruficeps cephalotes var. tamensis Stitz , 1912, Sitzber. Ges. Nat. Freunde Berlin, 9:503, fig. 7, worker. Type locality: Tami Islands, N-E. New Guinea. NEW SYNONYMY.

Odontomachus ruficeps subsp. aruanus Karawajew , 1925, Konowia, 4:295, fig. 14, worker. Type locality: Wammar Island, Aru Archipelago. NEW SYNONYMY.

Odontomachus ruficeps cephalotes var. longitudinalis Donisthorpe , 1940, Entomologist, 73:108-109, fig. 1, worker. Type locality: Camp Nok, Waigeo, 800 m. NEW SYNONYMY. (Syntype examined - MCZ.)

Material examined. WAIGEO: Camp Nok: ( longitudinalis Donisthorpe syntype). NETH. NEW GUINEA: Merauke (MCZ). PAPUA: Karema, Brown R. (Wilson, nos. 545, 553, 579); Bisianumu, 500 m. (Wilson, no. 615). N-E. NEW GUINEA: Sepalakambang, 1920 m., Saruwaged Ra. (E. J. Ford). AUSTRALIA: several series from various localities in North Queensland (MCZ).

Taxonomic note. This species shows considerable variation in several external characters. The sculpturing of the first gastric tergite usually consists of whorled, coarse striae, but in a minority of series from Queensland the striae are replaced by heavy shagreening. The pattern of pronotal sculpturing is also very variable. The petiolar node varies in shape from a form resembling that of O. papuanus to one resembling that of O. simillimus . The body color is typically blackish brown but is occasionally replaced locally by a lighter reddish brown.

Ecological notes. At Karema a colony was found nesting in a small rotting log on the floor of primary lowland rain forest. Workers from other colonies were found at the same locality foraging in leaf litter during the day.