Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Type: Article
Published: 2022-09-05
Page range: 152-164
Abstract views: 442
PDF downloaded: 33

Updating the taxonomy of the ant genus Myrmecina (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in China with descriptions of three new species

Department of Organismic and Evolutional Biology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, 26 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
Biodiversity and Biocomplexity Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Onna, Japan.
School of Resources and Environment, Baoshan University, Baoshan city, Yunnan Province, China.
CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, China.
Biodiversity and Biocomplexity Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Onna, Japan.
School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Hymenoptera Ant diversity taxonomic identification key species inventory Hengduan Mountains Gaoligong Mountains Xishuangbanna Yunnan

Abstract

In this study, we present a taxonomic update for the ant genus Myrmecina in China that includes 14 species in total. A recent survey of the leaf litter ant fauna in China’s Hengduan Mountains collected three unknown Myrmecina species, which we describe here as Myrmecina eowilsoni sp. nov., M. gaoligongensis sp. nov., and Myrmecina pierceae sp. nov. These new species are clearly distinguishable from all the other species in the genus. We provide an update to the identification key of Chinese Myrmecina, as well as a diagnostic discussion and high-quality specimen images. In addition, Myrmecina raviwonghei Jaitrong, Samung, Waengsothorn & Okido 2019 is reported for the first time from China.

 

References

  1. AntMaps (2022) Genus: Myrmecina Curtis, 1829. Available from http://www.antmaps.org./ (accessed 20 June 2022).
    Bharti, H., Guénard, B., Bharti, M. & Economo, E.P. (2016) An updated checklist of the ants of India with their specific distributions in Indian states (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). ZooKeys, 551, 1–83. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.551.6767
    Bolton, B. (2020) An online catalog of the ants of the world. Available from http://antcat.org./ (accessed 25 June 2022).
    Buschinger, A. & Schreiber, M. (2002) Queen polymorphism and queen-morph related facultative polygyny in the ant, Myrmecina graminicola (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Insectes sociaux, 49, 344–353. https://doi.org/10.1007/PL00012658
    Emery, C. (1898) Beiträge zur Kenntniss der palaearktischen Ameisen. Öfversigi af Finska Vetenskaps-Societetens Förhandlingar, 40, 124–151.
    Evenhuis, N.L. (2022) The insect and spider collections of the world website. Available from http://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/codens (accessed 20 June 2022)
    Forel, A. (1912) H. Sauter’s Formosa–Ausbeute: Formicidae. Entomologische Mitteilungen, 1, 45–81. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.part.25894
    Guénard, B., Weiser, M.D., Gómez, K., Narula, N. & Economo, E.P. (2017) The Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics (GABI) database: synthesizing data on the geographic distribution of ant species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Myrmecological News, 24, 83–89. https://doi.org/10.25849/myrmecol.news_024:083
    Huang, J.H., Huang, Y. & Zhou, S.Y. (2008) A new species of the genus Myrmecina Curtis, 1829 (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from Hunan Province, China. Acta Zootaxonomica Sinica, 33, 275–278.
    Ito, F. (1996) Colony characteristics of an Indonesian myrmecine ant Myrmecina sp. (Hymenoptera, Formicidae, Myrmicinae): polygynous reproduction by ergatoid queens. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 89, 550–54. https://doi.org/10.1093/aesa/89.4.550
    Jaitrong, W., Samung, Y., Waengsothorn, S. & Okido, H. (2019) A new species of the ant genus Myrmecina Curtis, 1829 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae, Myrmicinae) from Thailand. Far Eastern Entomologist, 383, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.25221/fee.383.1
    Janicki, J., Narula, N., Ziegler, M., Guénard, B. & Economo, E.P. (2016) Visualizing and interacting with large-volume biodiversity data using client-server web-mapping applications: The design and implementation of antmaps.org. Ecological Informatics, 32, 185–193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoinf.2016.02.006
    Liu, C., Guénard, B., Hita, Garcia, F., Yamane, S., Blanchard, B., Yang, D.R. & Economo, E.P. (2015) New records of ant species from Yunnan, China. ZooKeys, 477, 17–78. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.477.8775
    Liu, C., Fischer, G., Hita Garcia, F., Yamane, S., Liu, Q., Peng, Y.Q., Economo, E.P., Guénard, B. & Pierce, N. (2020) Ants of the Hengduan Mountains: a new altitudinal survey and updated checklist for Yunnan Province highlight an understudied insect biodiversity hotspot. ZooKeys, 978, 1–171. https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.978.55767
    Masuko, K. (1994). Specialized Predation on Oribatid Mites by Two Species of the Ant Genus Myrmecina (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Psyche (Cambridge), 101, 159–173. https://doi.org/10.1155/1994/96412
    Ohkawara, K., Ito, F. & Higashi, S. (1993) Production and reproductive function of intercastes in Myrmecina graminicola nipponica colonies (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Insectes Sociaux, 40, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01338828
    Okido, H., Ogata, K. & Hosoishi, S. (2020) Taxonomic revision of the ant genus Myrmecina in Southeast Asia (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Bulletin of the Kyushu University Museum, 17, 1–108.
    Satria, R. & Yamane, S.K. (2019) Two new species of the ant genus Myrmecina (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae) from Sumatra. Zoosystematica Rossica, 28 (1), 183–193. https://doi.org/10.31610/zsr/2019.28.1.183
    Shattuck, S. (2009) A revision of the Australian species of the ant genus Myrmecina (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zootaxa, 2146, 1–21. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.2146.1.1
    Talbot, M. (1957) Populations of ants in a Missouri woodland. Insectes Sociaux, 4, 375–384. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02224157
    Terayama, M. (1985) Two new species of the ant genus Myrmecina (Insecta; Hymenoptera; Formicidae) from Japan and Taiwan. Edaphologia, 32, 35–40.
    Terayama, M., Kubota, S. & Eguchi, K. (2014) Encyclopedia of Japanese ants. Asakura Shoten, Tokyo, Japan, 278 pp.
    Wheeler, W.M. (1921) Chinese ants. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, 64, 529–547.
    Wong, M.K.L. & Guénard, B. (2016) First confirmed record of the ant genus Myrmecina (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from the Malay Peninsula: description of a new species and a key to Myrmecina species from Sundaland. Journal of Hymenoptera Research, 50, 129–140. https://doi.org/10.3897/JHR.50.8652
    Zhou, S.Y. (2001) Ants of Guangxi. Guangxi Normal University Press, Guilin, China, 255 pp.
    Zhou, S.Y., Huang, J.H. & Ma, L.B. (2008) Two new species of the ant genus Myrmecina (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), with a key to Chinese species. Sociobiology, 52, 283–291.