Cesare Baroni Urbani

University of Basel | UNIBAS · Institut für Natur-, Landschafts- und Umweltschutz, Biogeographie

A recent hypothesis on the origin of ant soldiers by Molet et al. (2012) is shown to be misleading since it is based on unfair, incomplete literature information and to be unscientific since it is not falsifiable

The diploid number of Lacerta sicula campestris is 2n = 38. All the chromosomes are telocentric and morphologically recognizable heterochromosomes are absent.

Abstract The respiratory metabolism of workers of Messor capitatus (Latreille) was measured using standard micro-Warburg techniques on single individuals. The experiments were carried out at 10, 20, 25, 30 and 40oC, and the respiratory quotient (RQ), measured for the same individuals at 30oC, was found to be 0.77. The specific respiratory rate (y,...

Abstract The preference in seed selection by Messor capitatus (Latreille) was studied with artificial seeds (weighted styropore spheres) in the laboratory and with natural seeds in the field. The laboratory experiments showed no strong preference for size of the artificial seeds in the range 3–8 mm (diameter). A mass of about 400 mg was selected wh...

Protanilla schoedli sp.n. is described from a gyne collected in Sri Lanka. This first described Protanilla gyne has eyes and wings, two plesiomorphic traits not shared with Leptanilla. The new species, moreover, allows considerable extension of the geographic range of this southern Palaearctic and Oriental genus.

This thickly written and information rich compendium appears precisely when its author retires. It crowns, in this way, the end of an active professional life entirely devoted to ant taxonomy. A " systematic list of higher taxa " including all supraspecific names referred to the Formicidae and a key to the extant subfamilies are followed by the two...

The first fossil ant from Borneo amber is described as Cataulacus plebeius sp.n. This species is very close to the recent South Indomalayan C. horridus Smith widespread in Borneo today. This discovery suggests a low rate of evolutionary change in the tropics since Miocene.

Two new species of Bradoponera are described from Baltic amber. B. wunderlichi sp. n. is described on a single dealate gyne and B. electrina sp. n. on a single worker. B. wunderlichi resembles in general body shape and sculpture the sole previously known species of the genus, B. meieri Mayr. B. wunderlichi differs from meieri mainly by the antennae...

Rediscovery of Prionomyrmex longiceps Mayr implies confirmation of the existence of two Baltic amber species of this genus and gives additional support to the inclusion in this same genus of the recent Australian species Prionomyrmex macrops (Clarke).

Full text available at http://antbase.org/ants/publications/20262/20262.pdf good luck!

Our study of the Hat Creek amber (Poinar et al. 1999) was undertaken to determine the range of the biota in the resin, to identify the plant that produced the resin, and to assess the future implications of these significant deposits. The study was in no way “compromised” by providing an alternative interpretation of the systematic position of the...

Two specimens of the Baltic amber monotypic ant genus Prionomyrmex, known only on a few specimens supposed to have been destroyed during the Second World War, are described as a new species, P. janzeni, P. janzeni shows remarkable similarities with the Recent Australian genus Nothomyrmecia. A parsimony analysis of the relationships between the thre...

Zwei neue fossile Arten neotropischer Leptothorax 'Nesomyrmex' werden anhand dominikanischer Bernsteinfunde (wahrscheinlich Miozän) beschrieben. L. caritatis, wird anhand zweier Exemplare beschrieben. L. caritatis steht der rezenten L. wilda Smith verwandtschaftlich nahe, welche aus Brownsville, Texas und aus Orchideenimporten unbestimmter mexikani...

Whole book available at https://archive.org/details/biostor-102758

The traditional hypothesis that ant soldiers originate from large size workers is rejected in favour of their direct origin from gynes. This conclusion is supported by the first report of soldiers smaller than workers, by an intercaste morphometric comparative analysis by means of D'Arcy Thompson's transformation grids and by phylogenetic studies o...

A new species of Technomyrmex (T. caritatis sp. n.) is described based on workers and larvae from Dominican amber (Oligocene to Lower Miocene). These are preserved with eggs and pupae of the same species and with five other insects in one amber piece found in the Palo Quemado Mine, near Santiago and in two separate amber pieces collected in Carlos...

The Indian antHarpegnathos saltator may be unique among insects in using its jumping capacity not only as an escape mechanism but also as a normal means of locomotion, and for catching its prey in flight. High-speed cinematography used to analyse the various phases of the jump suggests thatHarpegnathos employs a novel jumping mechanism to mediate t...

Three alternative hypotheses about the evolution of recruitment behaviour in ants, based on accounts in the literature, are compared by means of a cladistic analysis. The three hypotheses are the following:Hypothesis 1. Increasingly efficient recruitment behaviours exhibited by different ant species have been shaped by or are correlated with ant ph...

Perissomyrmex monticola n. sp. is described from Bhutan on three specimens, two workers and one dealate female. This is the second species of the genus. This genus has previously been recorded from Guatemala only. The discovery of P. monticola in Bhutan, as well as the probable phyletic relationships of the genus, strongly indicate that Perissomyrm...

. The higher phylogeny of the Formicidae was analysed using 68 characters and 19 taxa: the 14 currently recognized ant subfamilies plus 5 potentially critical infrasubfamilial taxa. The results justified the recognition of 3 additional subfamilies: Aenictogitoninae Ashmead (new status), Apomyrminae Dlussky & Fedoseeva (new status), and Leptanilloid...

Abundant literature references suggest that seeds, in order to increase their dispersal capacity, developed elaiosomes in order to attract the ants (myrmecochory). Ants have even been reported to consume the elaiosomes only and to carry the remaining seeds out of the nest. Under standard laboratory conditions, foragers of Messor semirufus—a seed-ha...

Full text avalable at http://antbase.org/ants/publications/6336/6336.pdf

Last instar larvae ofLasius niger under standard laboratory conditions and abundant food supply feed on conspecific eggs and, if forced to a choice, show a significant statistical preference for trophic versus fertilized eggs (approx. 60% of the trials observed). On the other hand, they are unable to discriminate between kin and non-kin eggs, both...

Messor capitatus and M. structor often coexist in narrow sympatry in central Italy and show very similar food preferences. These two species differ markedly from each other in their recruitment mechanism. By measuring the foragers’ efficiency in transporting seeds into the nest, it appears that both species show a remarkable tendency to «re-create»...

According to the hymenopteran pedigree, gynes have a higher coefficient of relatedness with their sons (1/2) than with brothers (1/4). When suddenly confronted with brothers at birth, such females, which can presumably often lay unfertilized eggs, may show fratricidal behaviour in order to grow their own sons. Such a behaviour is assumed to be rewa...

The family Formicidae is redefined on the basis of all common characters shared by its members, which allows a hypothetical sketch of its unknown presumed ancestor. The first cladistic analysis is presented of internal ant phylogeny at the subfamily level, based on the 10 extant subfamilies commonly recognized in the literature. Although some weakn...

The occurence of stridulation during recruitment of nestmates to food sources, already assumed from behavioural evidence in the literature for other ant species, has been recorded for the first time inMessor capitatus (Latreille). Stridulation occurs at the feeding site. It may also occur during the “waggle” display in the nest, but this cannot be...

The karyotypes of 94 species of Indian ants were examined. Their chromosome numbers range almost continuously between n=5 and 38, though the frequency distribution is bimodal with a remarkable antimode at n=11 and two modal points at n=10 and 15. Based on this bimodal distribution, Indian ants were classified into two groups: Lower-numbered species...

A new clustering method for binary data is proposed. The method is based on the new concept of homogeneity within a set of two or more operational taxonomic units. It should entirely replace the previous procedure of calculating a similarity coefficient, in which the results need to be worked out by a second, logically entirely different, method of...

The well known Jaccard's association coefficient has been calculated on perfectly random infinite samples of different n size and a statistical table with the corresponding probability values is presented.

Baroni-Urbani, C. (Natural History Museum, Augustinergasse 2, CH-4051 Basel, Switzerland), and Buser, M. W. (Department of Nuclear Physics, 2 Klingelbergstrasse 82, and Computing Center, Klingelbergstrasse 70, University of Basle, CH-4000 Basel, Switzerland) 1976. Similarity of binary data. Syst. Zool. 25:251–259 .—A set of intuitively obvious prop...

In a densely populated pasture near Hammond, La., Solenopsis invicta Buren mounds have an aggregate distribution with an average mound density of 0.0096/m. Only 2 other ant species, Monomorium minimum (Buckley) and Paratrechina arenivaga (Wheeler), were common. A native fire ant, S. xyloni McCook, occurred in the soil under several large trees. Ran...

Assuming a mutation can either appear spontaneously or be transmitted with a certain probability from parents to their offsprings, we have derived a general set of nonlinear equations describing the evolution of a mutation within a large subdevided population consisting of one species and occupying a large territory. We show that this equation has...

Obwohl eine funktionelle Monogynie bei Ameisen, der grossen ethologischen Plastizitt dieser Tiere wegen, nur sehr schwer nachweisbar ist, enthalten die Beobachtungen vonBaroni-Urbani (1968) anMyrmecina graminicola bemerkenswerte Hinweise auf 3 der fnf vonPardi bei Wespen festgestellten klassischen Merkmale dieses Verhaltens. Trotz zahlreichen Liter...

Sans résumé

High-altitude Appennine grassland ant communities were studied by sampling two stations with very different exposures and plant associations. In spite of these differences, the distribution of the ant population is very similar in the two stations, and it is probable that the situation found on Monte Terminillo also exists on most of the high altit...

Résumé L'auteur, au moyen d'observations régulières dans une colonie digynique expérimentale deMyrmecina graminicola, prouve la présence d'un rapport de domination entre les deux femelles. L'agressivité de la femelle α contre la β est déterminée par la présence des larves et des ouvrières, mais les ouvrières ne participent nullement au choix ou à l...

The conformation of the laminae volsellares of the european populations of Solenopsis seems to be unique among Formicidae. On the basis of this character they are separated from the genus Solenopsis s. str. (neotropical) to form another genus bearing the name Diplorhoptrum Mayr.

The ecological distribution of the ants of the Conero Mountain riviera has been studied by regular sampling of five stations chosen as representative of the different types of environment of the region. In only two of the five, the maccliia of holmoak and the glades of the macehia, docs the population seem to be quite stable and perhaps of old sett...