Myopias crawleyi (Donisthorpe, 1941)

Jaitrong, Weeyawat, Tasen, Wattanachai & Guénard, Benoit, 2018, The ant genus Myopias Roger, 1861 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Ponerinae) in Thailand, with descriptions of three new species, Zootaxa 4526 (2), pp. 151-174 : 156-158

Myopias crawleyi (Donisthorpe, 1941)

( Figs. 16–18 )

Trapeziopelta nitida Crawley, 1924: 384 , fig. 2. Holotype worker, INDONESIA, Sumatra, Fort de Kock , October 1922, 920 M, E. Jacobson leg. (OXUM, syntype image examined).

Trapeziopelta crawleyi Donisthorpe, 1941: 237 . INDONESIA: Sumatra. Replacement name for Trapeziopelta nitida Crawley, 1924: 384 . [Junior secondary homonym of Ponera nitida F. Smith, 1861: 45 .]

Myopias crawleyi : Bolton 1995: 269.

Non-type material examined. THAILAND: five workers, Tak Prov., Um Phang Dist., Thung Yai W.S., Head Quarter , 15.32472222°N, 98.91527778°E, 820 m a.s.l., 22.IX.2016, W. Jaitrong leg., Colony no. TH16-WJT-1035 (THNHM) ; 1 worker, Kanchanaburi Prov. , Thong Pha Phum Dist., Rotten Wood, 3.III.2005, S. Wattana leg., Colony no. PF-1-19 ( THNHM) ; 1 worker, same locality, 15.X.2004, C. Bourmas leg. ( AMK) . 1 worker, Nakhon Si Thammarat Prov., Tha Sala Dist., Mt. San Yen , 21.IV.2007, W. Jaitrong leg., Colony no. WJT07-TH-760 ( THNHM) .

Measurements. Non-type workers (n = 7): TL 5.70–5.85, HL 1.06–1.16, HW 0.96–0.99, SL 0.86–0.92, ED 0.13–0.17, ML 0.89–0.92, PW 0.76–0.79, MSL 1.65–1.68, PL 0.56–0.59, PH 0.69–0.73, DPW 0.56–0.59, CI 86– 91, SI 90–93, OI 13–17, MI 79–85, LPI 117–129, DPI 94–103.

Diagnosis of worker: Body 5.70–5.85 mm in total length (medium size). Masticatory margin of mandibles with five teeth and/or denticles (fig. 7); basal margin with an ill-defined protuberance; median clypeal lobe slightly

broader than long, subtriangular, widened forward, its anterior margin weakly concave; eyes relatively large with 10-11 ommatidia along the longest axis; antennal scape relatively long, almost reaching posterior margin of head; in profile, anteroventral corner of head with bluntly angled process; petiole subrectangular, slightly shorter than high; subpetiolar process well developed, with concave ventral outline, with a downward pointed triangular denticle at anteroventral corner, and with a small posteriorly pointed denticle at posteroventral corner. Dorsum of head with fine dense punctures, with area between punctures smooth and shiny; dorsum of mesosoma and petiole with sparse punctures; mesopleuron, lateral face and declivity of propodeum smooth and shiny; metasoma segment III dense foveae; metasoma segment IV with sparse small punctures, areas between punctures smooth and shiny. Body entirely reddish brown to dark brown.

Habitat. In Thailand, specimens of this species were collected from rotten wood in dry evergreen forest, elevation about 500– 800 m.

Distribution. Thailand (Tak, Kanchanaburi and Nakhon Si Thammarat Provinces, new record, fig. 52) and Indonesia (Sumatra, Donisthorpe 1941; Bolton 1995).

Comparative notes. Myopias crawleyi is similar to Myopias sakaeratensis in having reddish brown to dark brown body colour; anteroventral corner of head with bluntly angled process; anterior margin of median clypeal lobe weakly concave and other general appearance. However, M. crawleyi is easily separated from M. sakaeratensis by the following characteristics: mesopleron and lateral face of propodeum smooth and shiny (sculptured in M. sakaeratensis ); propodeal declivity smooth and shiny (reticulate in M. sakaeratensis ); posterior ¾ of subpetiolar process triangular, its ventral outline almost straight (posterior ¾ of subpetiolar process rectangular, its ventral outline weakly convex in M. sakaeratensis ); slightly smaller size (HW 0.96–0.99 mm in M. crawleyi ; HW 1.19–1.29 mm in M. sakaeratensis ).

Figures

FIGURES 16–18. Myopias crawleyi (nontype worker, WJT07-TH-760). 16, Body in profile view; 17, body in dorsal view; 18, head in full-face view.