Aenictus acerbus, Shattuck, S. O., 2008

Shattuck, S. O., 2008, Review of the ant genus Aenictus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Australia with notes on A. ceylonicus (Mayr)., Zootaxa 1926, pp. 1-19 : 4

publication ID

22170

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6228530

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/AB12BD57-0BEC-BFC1-9691-4AB3063205E8

treatment provided by

Christiana

scientific name

Aenictus acerbus
status

sp. n.

Aenictus acerbus   HNS sp. n.

(Figs 1-3, 7, 8, 24)

Types. Holotype worker from 9km ENE Mt. Tozer, 12°43'S 143°17'E, Queensland, 5-10 July 1986, J.C.Cardale, ex. pan traps ( ANIC, ANIC 32-023688). Two paratype workers, same data as holotype ( ANIC, ANIC 32-023646).

Diagnosis. Head capsule entirely smooth and essentially uniformly coloured; scape relatively short (SI <91); sculpturing on pronotum extending posteriorly onto the main pronotal body; body larger (HW> 0.62mm). This species is morphologically similar to A. turneri   HNS but can be separated from it by its larger size and more extensive sculpturing on the pronotum.

Worker Description. Mandible narrow and subtriangular, with a large apical tooth and a smaller subapical tooth followed by 4-6 small teeth and a larger basal tooth; anterior clypeal border varying from weakly convex to weakly concave, located at or slightly posterior to anterior margin of frontal lobes in full face view; parafrontal ridges absent; subpetiolar process a large rectangular to elongate-rectangular projection; head entirely smooth, pronotum with weak, closely spaced punctures dorsally and anteriorly, smooth posterolaterally, remainder of mesosoma finely punctate with weak longitudinal rugae on lateral surfaces; body yellow-red to light red-brown.

Measurements. Worker (n = 13) - CI 88-97; HL 0.66-0.73; MTL 0.59-0.67; HW 0.62-0.66; ML 1.07- 1.17; SI 81-91; SL 0.53-0.58.

Additional material examined. Australia: Northern Territory: Douglas Daly, CRC Clay Site A5 (Salvarani,A.) (TERC); Douglas Daly, CRC Clay Site A8 (Salvarani,A.) (TERC); PWCNT, Tiwi Island Fauna Survey FR (Woinarski,J.) (TERC); Solar Village Survey, Burnt Slope 3 (Andersen,A.N.) (TERC). Queensland: 9km ENE Mt. Tozer (Cardale,J.C.) ( ANIC). Western Australia: Kimberley, CALM Site 4/3 (Weir,T.) (TERC).

Comments. This rare species is known from a limited number of collections in the Kimberley region of Western Australia, northern Northern Territory and on Cape York Peninsula, Queensland. All specimens were collection from pitfall traps or pan traps. It is very similar to A. turneri   HNS but the differences outlined above under Diagnosis seem to hold for all currently available specimens and it is here recognised as a separate taxon.

ANIC

Australia, Australian Capital Territory, Canberra City, CSIRO, Australian National Insect Collection

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Hymenoptera

Family

Formicidae

Genus

Aenictus

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