Aenictus porizonoides

Aenictus porizonoides is known from a small number of males collected in southern India and Sri Lanka. These males have yet to be associated with workers.

Aenictus porizonoides
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Dorylinae
Genus:	Aenictus
Species:	A. porizonoides
Binomial name
Aenictus porizonoides Walker, 1860 Specimen Labels
Synonyms
Aenictus greeni Bingham, 1903

Distribution

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Oriental Region: India, Sri Lanka (type locality).

Distribution based on AntMaps

Distribution based on AntWeb specimens

Check data from AntWeb

Countries Occupied

Number of countries occupied by this species based on AntWiki Regional Taxon Lists. In general, fewer countries occupied indicates a narrower range, while more countries indicates a more widespread species.

Estimated Abundance

Relative abundance based on number of AntMaps records per species (this species within the purple bar). Fewer records (to the left) indicates a less abundant/encountered species while more records (to the right) indicates more abundant/encountered species.

Castes

Known only from males.

Images from AntWeb

Holotype of Aenictus porizonoides. Male (alate). Specimen code casent0902689. Photographer Z. Lieberman, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by NHMUK, London, UK.

Nomenclature

The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.

• porizonoides. Enictus porizonoides Walker, 1860: 306 (m.) SRI LANKA.
  • Type-material: 2 syntype males.
  • [Note: number of specimens as cited by Donisthorpe, 1932b: 576.]
  • Type-locality: Sri Lanka (“Ceylon”): (no further data) (F. Walker).
  • Type-depository: BMNH.
  • [Misspelled as porozonoides by Smith, F. 1871a: 336.]
  • Status as species: Mayr, 1863: 394; Smith, F. 1871a: 336; Donisthorpe, 1932b: 576; Bolton, 1995b: 60; Bharti, Guénard, et al. 2016: 21; Dias, R.K.S. et al. 2020: 24.
  • Senior synonym of greeni: Donisthorpe, 1932b: 576; Bolton, 1995b: 60.
  • Distribution: India, Sri Lanka.
• greeni. Aenictus greeni Bingham, 1903: 11 (m.) SRI LANKA.
  • Type-material: holotype male.
  • Type-locality: Sri Lanka: (no further data) (E.E. Green).
  • Type-depository: BMNH.
  • Status as species: Emery, 1910b: 30; Chapman & Capco, 1951: 15; Wilson, 1964a: 482.
  • Junior synonym of porizonoides: Donisthorpe, 1932b: 576; Bolton, 1995b: 59.

Description

Unless otherwise noted the text for the remainder of this section is reported from (Bingham 1903), described as Aenictus greeni but is now considered as a junior synonym of Aenictus porizonoides.

Male

Length 5 mm.

Resembles Aenictus grandis in colour and in the shape of the pedicel, but is very much smaller and more pubescent. Dark castaneous brown, the head black, the mandibles, antennae and legs deep shining yellow; the head in front, the thorax, pedicel and abdomen covered with dense, very short, erect, yellow hairs. Head not quite twice as broad as long; the cheeks behind the eyes not constricted, rounded and well developed; the mandibles flat and proportionately broader, though not so long as in Aenictus grandis, the tooth on the inner side at base distinct and acute. Thorax very gibbous in front, more so than in any other known Indian species; the scutellum broad and rounded posteriorly; legs with the femora and tibiae gradually thickening from base to apex. The pedicel flat or slightly convex in the middle; abdomen cylindrical, not enlarged towards the apex nor curved downwards; pygidium convex, shining, punctured at base, its apical margin rounded, entire; hypopygium broad, posteriorly widely emarginate.

Hab. Ceylon (Green).

References

• Donisthorpe, H. 1932b. On the identity of some ants from Ceylon described by F. Walker. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. 10(9): 574-576 (page 576, senior synonym of greeni)
• Walker, F. 1860. Characters of some apparently undescribed Ceylon insects. [part]. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. 3(5): 304-311 (page 306, male described)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

• Chapman, J. W., and Capco, S. R. 1951. Check list of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Asia. Monogr. Inst. Sci. Technol. Manila 1: 1-327
• Chapman, J.W. and S.R. Capco. 1951. Check list of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Asia. Monographs of the Institute of Science and Technology (Manila) 1: 1- 327
• Dad J. M., S. A. Akbar, H. Bharti, and A. A. Wachkoo. 2019. Community structure and ant species diversity across select sites ofWestern Ghats, India. Acta Ecologica Sinica 39: 219–228.
• Dias R. K. S. 2002. Current knowledge on ants of Sri Lanka. ANeT Newsletter 4: 17- 21.
• Dias R. K. S. 2006. Current taxonomic status of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Sri Lanka. The Fauna of Sri Lanka: 43-52. Bambaradeniya, C.N.B. (Editor), 2006. Fauna of Sri Lanka: Status of Taxonomy, Research and Conservation. The World Conservation Union, Colombo, Sri Lanka & Government of Sri Lanka. viii + 308pp.
• Dias R. K. S. 2013. Diversity and importance of soil-dweeling ants. Proceedings of the National Symposium on Soil Biodiversity, chapt 4, pp 19-22.
• Dias R. K. S., K. R. K. A. Kosgamage, and H. A. W. S. Peiris. 2012. The Taxonomy and Conservation Status of Ants (Order: Hymenoptera, Family: Formicidae) in Sri Lanka. In: The National Red List 2012 of Sri Lanka; Conservation Status of the Fauna and Flora. Weerakoon, D.K. & S. Wijesundara Eds., Ministry of Environment, Colombo, Sri Lanka. p11-19.
• Emery C. 1910. Hymenoptera. Fam. Formicidae. Subfam. Dorylinae. Genera Insectorum 102: 1-34.