Genus Melophorus Lubbock, 1883

Museums

Regional Maps

• Melophorus Lubbock, J. 1883. Observations on Ants, Bees and Wasps - Part X. With a Description of a New Genus of Honey-Ant. Journal of the Linnean Society of London, Zoology 17: 41-52 [17 Apr. 1883] [51 pl. 2].

  Type species:

   Melophorus bagoti Lubbock, 1883 by monotypy.
• Erimelophorus Wheeler, W.M. 1935. Myrmecological notes. Psyche (Cambridge) 42: 68-72 [71] [described with subgeneric rank in Melophorus Lubbock, 1883].

  Type species:

   Melophorus wheeleri Forel, 1910 by original designation.
• Trichomelophorus Wheeler, W.M. 1935. Myrmecological notes. Psyche (Cambridge) 42: 68-72 [71] [described with subgeneric rank in Melophorus Lubbock, 1883].

  Type species:

   Melophorus hirsutus Forel, 1902 by original designation.

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Brown, W.L. jr 1955. A revision of the Australian ant genus Notoncus Emery, with notes on the other genera of Melophorini. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard 113: 469-494 [474]

Introduction

Thorough revision of genus by Heterick et al. (2017), who recognised seven clades — Melophorus aeneovirens, M. anderseni, M. biroi, M. fulvihirtus, M. ludius, M. majeri and M. potteri, further subdivided into species complexes and containing a total of 93 species. However recent work by Andersen et al. (2020) indicates that there may be 30 species in the M. rufoniger species complex alone and that the genus may contain over 1000 species.

Distribution

States

Australian Capital Territory, New South Wales, Northern Territory, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia

IBRA and IMCRA regions

IBRA

ACT, NSW, NT, Qld, SA, Vic, WA: Avon Wheatbelt (AW), Brigalow Belt North (BBN), Coolgardie (COO), Esperance Plains (ESP), Eyre Yorke Block (EYB), Flinders Lofty Block (FLB), Gascoyne (GAS), Geraldton Sandplains (GS), Great Sandy Desert (GSD), Jarrah Forest (JF), Mallee (MAL), Murray Darling Depression (MDD), Mulga Lands (ML), Murchison (MUR), Naracoorte Coastal Plain (NCP), NSW North Coast (NNC), NSW South Western Slopes (NSS), Nullarbor (NUL), Riverina (RIV), Sydney Basin (SB), South East Coastal Plain (SCP), South East Corner (SEC), South Eastern Highlands (SEH), South Eastern Queensland (SEQ), Swan Coastal Plain (SWA), Victorian Volcanic Plain (VVP) ; ACT, NSW, Qld, SA, Vic, WA: Kanmantoo (KAN) ; NSW, NT, Qld, SA, Vic, WA: Australian Alps (AA), Arnhem Coast (ARC), Brigalow Belt South (BBS), Broken Hill Complex (BHC), Burt Plain (BRT), Carnarvon (CAR), Channel Country (CHC), Central Kimberley (CK), Central Mackay Coast (CMC), Cobar Peneplain (CP), Central Ranges (CR), Cape York Peninsula (CYP), Daly Basin (DAB), Desert Uplands (DEU), Dampierland (DL), Davenport Murchison Ranges (DMR), Darling Riverine Plains (DRP), Einasleigh Uplands (EIU), Finke (FIN), Flinders (FLI), Gawler (GAW), Gibson Desert (GD), Gulf Coastal (GUC), Gulf Plains (GUP), Great Victoria Desert (GVD), Hampton (HAM), Little Sandy Desert (LSD), MacDonnell Ranges (MAC), Mitchell Grass Downs (MGD), Mount Isa Inlier (MII), Nandewar (NAN), New England Tablelands (NET), Northern Kimberley (NK), Ord Victoria Plain (OVP), Pine Creek (PCK), Pilbara (PIL), Simpson Strzelecki Dunefields (SSD), Stony Plains (STP), Sturt Plateau (STU), Tanami (TAN), Victoria Bonaparte (VB), Victorian Midlands (VM), Warren (WAR), Wet Tropics (WT), Yalgoo (YAL) ; NSW, NT, Qld, SA, WA: Darwin Coastal (DAC) ; NSW, NT, Qld, WA: Gulf Fall and Uplands (GFU) ; NT, Qld, WA: Arnhem Plateau (ARP), Central Arnhem (CA)

General References

Andersen, A.N., Hoffmann, B.D. & Oberprieler, S.K. 2020. Megadiversity in the ant genus Melophorus: The M. rufoniger Heterick, Castalanelli and Shattuck species group in the Top End of Australia’s Northern Territory. Diversity 12(386): 1-14

Heterick, B.E., Castalanelli, M. & Shattuck, S.O. 2017. Revision of the ant genus Melophorus (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). ZooKeys 700: 1–420

History of changes