Post B1hM0WTuIVAlHpHFMe by spacelizard@aus.social
 (DIR) More posts by spacelizard@aus.social
 (DIR) Post #B1hM0OZHicikkBjQdU by spacelizard@aus.social
       2025-12-28T04:44:20Z
       
       0 likes, 1 repeats
       
       Ant Mastodon, can you ID this little lady? Spotted in the Glass House Mountains, south east Queensland.I'm fairly sure it's a Spiny Ant from the genus Polyrhachis, but not sure if the species is P. ammon, P. brisbanensis, or something else.@futurebird #Ant #AntsOfMastodon #Ants
       
 (DIR) Post #B1hM0WTuIVAlHpHFMe by spacelizard@aus.social
       2025-12-28T05:18:25Z
       
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       I saw a lizard too, which I can't completely ID either.I'm pretty sure it's a Snake Eyed Skink from the genius Cryptoblepharus, but I'm not sure of the species.#Lizard #LizardsOfMastodon #Skink #SkinksOfMastodon #LizardPosting
       
 (DIR) Post #B1hM0egxlqMykdRmpE by spacelizard@aus.social
       2025-12-28T05:57:19Z
       
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       This was all while walking the Tibrogargan Circuit. It's a nice short easy walk. The scenery was good, but I do tend to be distracted by the little things.The walk: https://strava.app.link/BjkCwA7wsZb
       
 (DIR) Post #B1hM4TQ9cOkGx8PD1s by futurebird@sauropods.win
       2025-12-28T06:04:58Z
       
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       @spacelizard I was *so* excited to tell you "Spiny Ant from the genus Polyrhachis" but that is all I can do without looking at the books. Which I will do in a moment.
       
 (DIR) Post #B1hMjjxF3F8C6VYkk4 by futurebird@sauropods.win
       2025-12-28T06:12:25Z
       
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       @spacelizard Did she have those little fuzzy gold hairs on the top of her head at all?I'm torn between Polyrhachis uncaria and Polyrhachis ammon based on the lit. which also says these two are hard to tell apart.
       
 (DIR) Post #B1hN7evPP1pzSH6jHE by spacelizard@aus.social
       2025-12-28T06:16:41Z
       
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       @futurebird I didn't notice any signs of golden hair on her head. It was only on her gaster, as far as I could tell.
       
 (DIR) Post #B1hNDjTRP2TNIhvDWa by futurebird@sauropods.win
       2025-12-28T06:17:52Z
       
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       @spacelizard FYI Hagiomyrma are a "species group" which I have come to understand means that even myrmecologists will get them mixed up. (It really means there is variation over a large region, and some questions about hybrids maybe existing. So they put everyone in a subgenus. )
       
 (DIR) Post #B1hOg4pPhX45aoHLt2 by futurebird@sauropods.win
       2025-12-28T06:34:11Z
       
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       @spacelizard Polyrhachis ammon would be my guess then.  However this is a tricky one!
       
 (DIR) Post #B1hOugNOtWzE6I8m0W by spacelizard@aus.social
       2025-12-28T06:36:47Z
       
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       @futurebird Ah, yes, I see. Looking at iNaturalist it shows many "sub-genera" within Polyrhachis, including the Hagiomorpha species group, and within Hagiomorpha it has many "complexes" of similar species, including the Ammon-group Spiny Ants, which includes both P. ammon and P. uncaria.I guess this is the sort of thing that happens when you have over 600 species in a genius.
       
 (DIR) Post #B1hPcd7gLuYokekCKe by spacelizard@aus.social
       2025-12-28T06:44:42Z
       
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       @futurebird Thanks.She certainly was a good looking ant. Still photos don't really do justice to their golden sheen.
       
 (DIR) Post #B1hX4bOh3qk9BezDM0 by umbrella@aus.social
       2025-12-28T08:08:11Z
       
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       @futurebird @spacelizard loading the first photo into Seek app comes back with the same result. Polyrhachis ammon.https://www.inaturalist.org/pages/seek_app