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
48551
10.5281/zenodo.184817
e5c56f88-2105-49a1-99e0-39eb486f9c64
1175-5326
184817
Aenictus aitkenii
Forel
, rev. stat.
Aenictus aitkenii
Forel, 1901
: 475
(junior synonym of
A. aratus
by
Wilson, 1964
: 446
; revised status as valid species).
Aenictus aratus
var.
asiatica
Forel, 1911
: 453
(junior synonym of
aratus
by
Wilson, 1964
: 446
; removed from synonymy with
A. aratus
,
new synonym
of
A. aitkenii
).
Types
.
Aenictus aitkenii
: Worker
syntypes
from Kanara, Thana and Travancore,
India
(not examined).
Aenictus aratus
var.
asiatica
: Worker
syntype
from
Sri Lanka
(not examined).
Comments.
This species is similar to
A. aratus
(with which it has been treated as a junior synonym) and
A. nesiotis
but differs in having a broader head (CI> 87 versus CI <
88 in
nesiotis
), and broader and more bulbous petiole and postpetiole (both are narrower in
aratus
and
nesiotis
). The scape is also relatively longer than in the others (SI> 115 versus SI <115). It is similar to
levior
in the shape of the head but differs in having longer scapes. This species is so far known only from
India
and
Sri Lanka
.