Subject: Fwd: your corrections at EPOW Date: Thu, 04 Dec 2003 23:11:36 -0700 From: "Bruce Marcot" To: brucem@spiritone.com -----Original Message----- From: Marcus Stüben To: brucem@taos-telecommunity.org Date: Thu, 04 Dec 2003 17:51:54 +0100 Subject: your corrections at EPOW Dear Bruce, thank you very much for your corrections about the Matabele ant on http://www.taos-telecommunity.org/epow/EPOW-Archive/archive_2003/EPOW- 030811.htm There is just one thing that could be misleading: The picture shows a raiding party of Dorylus sp. (Dorylinae) which name is correctly given in your update and which is called "Matabele ant" as you were told by the African collegues you met in Zambia. The subtitle tells the reader about "Matabele Ants (Megaponera foetens)" which is a Ponerinae which is correct. The problem is that the trivial name "Matabele ant" is used as a synonym for both Dorylus and Megaponera species, but the literature citations are just telling us something about Megaponera, which is in their evolution, ecology and ethology something different in comparison to Dorylus. The latter is a real army ant, Megaponera could be seen as "on the way in the evolution of army ant behaviour". Please, don't mind, but I would suggest to title the very nice picture "Matabele ant: Dorylus sp., Dorylinae" and give a short notice that there are also other taxa like Megaponera foetens which have a kind of "army ant behaviour" or "Matabele ant behaviour" (which means: behaviour of warriors) . with best wishes Yours, Marcus P.S.: If you like, we could show a video (mpg-file) of the other Matabele ant, Megaponera foetens, at EPOW, just let me know and I would sent you a video of a raid. -- Dipl. Biol. Marcus Stüben DFG-Graduiertenkolleg "Arthropodenverhalten" Theodor-Boveri-Institut für Biowissenschaften der Universität Würzburg (Biozentrum) Lehrstuhl Tierökologie und Tropenbiologie (Zoologie III.) Am Hubland 97074 Würzburg Germany Tel: +49-(0)931-888-4355 Fax: +49-(0)931-888-4352 e-mail: stueben@biozentrum.uni-wuerzburg.de marcus.stueben@gmx.net