My translation is here:
www.geocities.com/proverb_one7/Untitled-1.html
The original text is here:
page 63 (120 KB)
page 64 (100 KB)
page 65 (100 KB)
page 66 (96 KB)
Any suggestions for the translation?
Thanks.
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nugi81 |
Camponotus subgenera key |
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I think this is mainly for the ant docs. Using Google Translate, I attempted to translate Emery's Genera Insectorum (1925) key to the old world subgenera of Camponotus from French to English. I'm aware that this is a difficult genus and the key is outdated. How reliable is this key, anyway? How can I identify Camponotus beyond genus level?
My translation is here: www.geocities.com/proverb_one7/Untitled-1.html The original text is here: page 63 (120 KB) page 64 (100 KB) page 65 (100 KB) page 66 (96 KB) Any suggestions for the translation? Thanks.
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Dr Ant |
Re: Camponotus subgenera key | #1 | ||
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I did a little work to improve the google translation, and have saved it as an html document. Since I don't have a personal web page, I can email it to you, Nugi, for posting. (See a p.m. from me at your ezboard inbox.) Even with the language clarified, it is still a long and cumbersome key.
I know that there will soon be published a key to Australian species, and those of Europe, Japan and North America can be keyed, but not those of Africa or tropical Asia. |
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nugi81 |
Re: thanks! | #2 | ||
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Thanks Dr Ant! This would also enhance my translation. I'll share this with a friend working at the local ant museum.
There are online species keys for Australia in Steve Shattuck's site, African species in Brian Taylor's, and Japanese species in Japanese Ant Image Database. I haven't really used them or any other Camponotus keys. I posted your translation too here. I did a little censusing for my area. The result can be found here.Three subgenera aren't included in the key (Rhinomyrmex, Myrmotemnus, and Myrmopalpella), but two of them are monotypic. Cheers! |
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Dr Ant |
Re: thanks! | #3 | ||
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Glad to help. That google translator probably could do better if it would improve its dictionaries. Because of the work of Forel, Emery and others, French is a rather important language for reading the older taxonomic literature on ants.
The Australian and African sites don't really have species keys, but the Australian situation will be remedied soon and Brian Taylor will no doubt prepare one for the African species eventually. Additional comments: 1) The recent phylogenetic work on ants has shown that some Camponotus species may be more closely related to some Polyrhachis than to other Camponotus. 2) Bolton (2003, pp. 26-27) wrote this about the subgenera of these two intertwined groups. "Camponotus has dozens of meaningless subgenera, and the subgenera within Polyrhachis, despite recent work, refuse to make sense." 3) Clearly, a very sweeping and thorough phylogenetic study of these ants is needed, with the hope that it could result in a much revised classification that actually will be useful and reflect more closely the evolutionary relationships of their great number of species. |
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antdude |
Re: thanks! | #4 | ||
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Dr Ant: The problem with computer translators is that they totally suck. It's like robots. They're not advanced enough. We still need to rely on old fashion humans to do the correct translations.
"The shadows now so long do grow,... That brambles like tall cedars show,... Molehills seem mountains, and the ant... Appears a monstrous elephant." --Charles Cotton's poem /\___/\ / /\ /\ \ Ant (aka AntDude), Your Host & Fearless Overlord| |o o| | \ _ / The Ant Farm's Message Board and Ant's Quality Foraged Links (AQFL). ( ) |
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nugi81 |
Re: Re: thanks! | #5 | ||
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Difficulties in subgeneric classifications of Camponotus and Polyrhachis have been encountered by past revisers (e.g. Forel, Emery, Hung, Dorow) as there were so many transition between subgenera. I guess that's why Steve Shattuck suggested not to use subgeneric classification but use species groups instead.
I still need to learn these subgeneric groupings, though, since it would be very difficult to grasp all the species at once. A friend from Thai (Nawee Noon-anant) in Seiki Yamane's lab is working on Polyrhachis, nobody I know of takes on Oriental Camponotus. We have lots of translator software CDs here which may perform better than free online translators. The CDs are pirated, though, and I avoid having to use them. |
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