Review of the ant genus Aenictus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Australia with notes on A. ceylonicus (Mayr)
Author
Shattuck, Steven O.
text
Zootaxa
2008
1926
1
19
journal article
10.5281/zenodo.184817
e5c56f88-2105-49a1-99e0-39eb486f9c64
1175-5326
184817
Aenictus orientalis
(Karavaiev)
,
n. stat.
Eciton
(
Aenictus
)
ceylonicus
subsp.
orientalis
Karavaiev,
1926
:
423
(junior synonym of
A. ceylonicus
by
Wilson,
1964
:
452
; new status as valid species).
Aenictus papuanus
Donisthorpe,
1941
:
129
(junior synonym of
A. ceylonicus
by
Wilson,
1964
:
452
; removed from synonymy with
A. ceylonicus
,
new synonym
of
A. orientalis
).
Aenictus similis
Donisthorpe,
1948
:
131
(junior synonym of
A. ceylonicus
by
Wilson,
1964
:
452
; removed from synonymy with
A. ceylonicus
,
new synonym
of
A. orientalis
).
Types
.
Eciton
(
Aenictus
)
ceylonicus
subsp.
orientalis
: Three
worker
syntypes
from Wammar, Aru
Island
,
Indonesia
(
ANIC
, examined).
Aenictus papuanus
: Two
worker
syntypes
from Malufu, Wharton Range,
Papua New Guinea
(
MCZC
, examined).
Aenictus similis
: Fourteen
worker
syntypes
from Maffin Bay, Irian Jaya,
Indonesia
(
2 in
MCZC
, examined).
Comments.
In this species the pronotal humeral angles are well developed, causing the anterodorsal surface of the pronotum to be nearly vertical, in dorsal view the area between the humeral angles is weakly convex to weakly concave. This is in contrast to the otherwise similar
A. prolixus
and
A. turneri
where the humeral angles are weakly developed and the anterodorsal section of the pronotum is gradually sloping, the area between the humeral angles being moderately convex. In addition,
A. orientalis
can be separated from
A. prolixus
by the shorter scapes (SI
65–82
vs.
89–96
) and from
A. turneri
by the yellow head and legs which contrast with the yellow-red mesosoma (the body is essentially uniform in colour in
A. turneri
). This species is known from eastern
Indonesia
and New
Guinea
.