Ooceraea joshii, Bharti & Rilta & Dhadwal, 2021

Bharti, Himender, Rilta, Joginder Singh & Dhadwal, Tarun, 2021, Two new species of Ooceraea (Hymenoptera, Formicidae, Dorylinae) from India with ten-segmented antennae, ZooKeys 1010, pp. 165-183 : 165

Ooceraea joshii sp. nov. Figs 1 , 2 , 3 , 4

Type locality.

India, Kerala, Periyar Tiger Reserve 9.5627°N, 77.2348°E, 780 m.

Type material.

Holotype worker and one paratype worker, both India, Kerala, Periyar Tiger Reserve 9.5627°N, 77.2348°E, 780 m, leaf litter, Winkler, 21 January 2017, Tarun Dhadwal leg. [PUAC].

Measurements.

Holotype: HL 0.57; HW 0.56; SL 0.34; MW 0.39; ML 0.68; PL 0.29; PH 0.34; PW 0.27; PPL 0.32; PPH 0.34; PPW 0.30; CI 98; SI, 61; PI1 85; PI2 93; PPI1 94; PPI2 88; WI 111. Paratype: HL 0.57; HW 0.56; SL 0.33; MW 0.39; ML 0.68; PL 0.29; PH 0.33; PW 0.26; PPL 0.32; PPH 0.34; PPW 0.30; CI 98; SI, 59; PI1 88; PI2 89; PPI1 94; PPI2 88; WI 111.

Worker description.

Head in full-face view, almost as long as broad, with lateral margin weakly convex and converging anteriorly, with posterior margin concave medially and posterior lateral corners rounded. Anterior clypeal margin reduced and slightly concave in the middle. Eyes present, small in size, with two ommatidia, parafrontal ridge prominently produced. Mandibles edentate, sub-triangular. Antenna 10-segmented; scape short and clavate, reaching almost mid-length of the head; apical funicular segment fusiform. Frontal lobes reduced. Antennal sockets fully exposed from above.

Mesosoma in lateral view weakly convex; promesonotal suture and metanotal groove absent. Pronotum in dorsal view anteriorly marginate. Propodeum in dorsal view with posterior margin concave; propodeal declivity in lateral view slightly concave, with lateral margin slightly marginate; propodeal lobe reduced. Petiolar node in dorsal view as long as broad, rounded anteriorly, in lateral view hemiglobular; subpetiolar process well-developed, with sickle-shaped anteroventral apex. Postpetiole in dorsal view subtrapezoidal, with anterior margin transverse and posterior margin convex, in lateral view with anteroventral corner angulate. Gastral segment I (abdominal segment IV) large, occupying the most part of gaster, in lateral view with dorsal margin weakly and roundly convex.

Sculpture. Head foveolate-reticulate; mesosoma, petiole and postpetiole foveolate-reticulate; gaster foveolate, with foveae smaller than those of head and mesosoma.

Pilosity and Pubescence. Body covered with erect or sub-erect hairs; sides of head and legs covered with shorter hairs; scape and funicular segments covered with short decumbent or subdecumbent hairs.

Body coloration. Head and gaster light brown; mesosoma, petiole and postpetiole darker than the head; legs yellowish brown.

Queen. Unknown.

Male. Unknown.

Recognition.

Ooceraea joshii sp. nov. and O. decamera sp. nov. (described below) are distinctly separated from the other valid congeners by having 10-segmented antennae. Furthermore, the two new species are well distinguished from each other by a combination of the following characters: head shape (almost as long as broad in O. joshii sp. nov., rectangular, distinctly longer than broad in O. decamera sp. nov.); presence of ommatidia (present in O. joshii sp. nov. and absent in O. decamera sp. nov.); propodeal lobes (reduced versus roundly produced); petiolar node in lateral view (hemiglobular versus rectangular); subpetiolar process (anteroventral part sickle-shaped versus forming a rectangular and semitransparent lobe); pilosity (head and body comparatively more pilose in O. joshii sp. nov.); and sculpturation (head, mesosoma, petiolar, postpetiolar node, and gaster with more pronounced foveolate sculpture in O. joshii sp. nov.).

Bionomics.

The type series was found in leaf litter samples collected from the Medaganam region of the Periyar Tiger Reserve situated at an elevation of 780 meters. The region is composed of an undisturbed tropical moist evergreen forest with low light penetration, with a mean average daytime temperature of 30 °C.

Distribution.

Known only from the type locality.

Etymology.

The species has been named in honor of Professor Amitabh Joshi, a distinguished evolutionary biologist based at Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bengaluru, India.

Figures

Figure 1. Ooceraea joshii sp. nov. Head in full-face view.

Figure 2. Ooceraea joshii sp. nov. Body in profile view.

Figure 3. Ooceraea joshii sp. nov. Body in dorsal view.

Figure 4. Ooceraea joshii sp. nov. Funicular segments.