Carebara obtusidenta

Carebara obtusidenta
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmicinae
Tribe:	Crematogastrini
Genus:	Carebara
Species group:	acutispina
Species:	C. obtusidenta
Binomial name
Carebara obtusidenta (Xu, Z., 2003)

The type material was collected from moist evergreen broad leaf forest.

Identification

Bharti et al. (2014) - C. obtusidenta is allied to Carebara spinata however, the two species can be easily separated. In case of C. obtusidenta masticatory margin of mandibles is having 4-teeth, anterior margin of clypeus concave without lateral developed teeth, propodeal spines are acute and up-curved, postpetiole broader than petiole and head predominantly longer than broad whilst in case of C. spinata masticatory margin of mandibles is having 5-teeth, anterior margin of clypeus with two prominent lateral teeth, propodeal spines are acute and straight, postpetiole as broad as petiole and head slightly longer than broad.

Xu (2003) - This new species is close to Carebara wheeleri, but mandible has 5 teeth, anterior margin of median portion of clypeus concave.

Keys including this Species

• Key to Carebara of China
• Key to Carebara soldiers of China
• Key to Carebara workers of China

Distribution

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Oriental Region: India.
Palaearctic Region: China (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

Worker

.

Nomenclature

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

• obtusidenta. Oligomyrmex obtusidentus Xu, 2003: 316, figs. 20-23 (s.w.) CHINA (Yunnan).
  • Type-material: holotype major worker, 5 paratype major workers, 5 paratype minor workers.
  • Type-locality: holotype China: Yunnan Prov., Tengchong County, Jietou Town, Daying Village, W slope of Gaoligongshan, 2000 m., 2.v.1999, A99-259 (L. Fu); paratypes: 4 major workers, 3 minor workers with same data, 1 major worker, 2 minor workers with same data but no. A99-271.
  • Type-depository: SFCY.
  • Combination in Carebara: Guénard & Dunn, 2012: 41.
  • Status as species: Guénard & Dunn, 2012: 41; Bharti & Akbar, 2014b: 317; Bharti, Guénard, et al. 2016: 34; Akbar & Bharti, 2017: 38 (in key).
  • Distribution: China, India.

Unless otherwise noted the text for the remainder of this section is reported from the publication that includes the original description.

Description

Worker

Holotype soldier. TL 2.6, HL 0.73, HW 0.58, CI 79, SL 0.30, SI 52, PW 0.33, AL 0.58, PL 0.23, PH 0.16, DPW 0.15. Head longer than broad, in full face view rectangular. Occipital margin moderately concave, occipital corners rounded. Lateral sides straight and parallel. Mandible with 5 teeth. Median portion of clypeus longitudinally depressed, bicarinate and divergent forward, anterior margin concave. Antenna 9 segments with a 2-segmented club, apex of scape extending to 1 /2 of the distance from socket to occipital corner. Eye with 1 facet. In profile view, occiput with a pair of acute small horns, dorsum of head lightly convex. Promesonotum high and roundly convex. Promesonotal suture obsolete on the dorsum. Metanotum absent. Metanotal groove deeply Impressed. Propodeum with a pair of rightly angled teeth, dorsum straight and sloping down rearwards, declivity concave with thin lateral laminae. Petiole pedunculate anteriorly, ventral face weakly concave, anteroventral corner acutely dentate. Petiolar node thick, anterior and posterior faces sloping, dorsal face roundly convex. Postpetiolar node roundly convex and lightly lower than petiolar node. In dorsal view, petiolar node about as broad as postpetiolar node.

Mandibles and median portion of clypeus smooth and shiny. Anterior 2/3 of head dorsum densely and finely striate, posterior 1/3 of head dorsum and lateral sides reticulate. Transverse striations present between occipital horns, but without a developed transverse ridge. Ali trunk and petiole densely punctate, interspace appearing as microreticulations. Postpetiole and gaster smooth and shiny. Head with dense suberect hairs. Alitrunk, petiole and postpetiole with sparse suberect hairs and dense decumbent pubescences. First segment of gaster with dense decumbent hairs, the other segments with decumbent hairs posteriorly. Scapes and tibiae with dense decumbent pubescences. Head yellowish brown. Alitrunk, petiole and postpetiole yellow. Antennae, tibiae and gaster light yellow.

Paratype soldiers. TL 2.1-2.6, HL 0.65-0.73, HW 0.53-0.58, CI 76-81, SL 0.28-0.33, SI 50-57, PW 0.28-0.33, AL 0.53-0.58, PL 0.21-0.25, PH 0.15-0.16, DPW 0.13-0.15 (5 individuals measured). As holotype, but occipital horns vary in size from minute to small.

Paratype workers. TL 1.2-1.3, HL 0.38-0.40, HW 0.33-0.34, CI 87-93, SL 0.23-0.25, SI 68-71, PW 0.23-0.24, AL 0.38, PL 0.13-0.15, PH 0.10, DPW 0.08-0.09 ( 5 individuals measured). As holotype, but much smaller. Head normal, nearly square, without occipital horns, occipital margin shallowly concave in the middle, lateral sides lightly convex. Apex of scape reached to 3/4 of the distance from socket to occipital corner. Posterior 1/2 of head dorsum reticulate. Promesonotum moderately convex. Propodeum with a pair of acute teeth, dorsum convex.

Type Material

Holotype. soldier, No. A99-259, 2000 m, west slope of Gaoligongshan, Daying Village, Jietou Town, Tengchong County, Yunnan Province, collected by Mr. Fu Lei in the subalpine moist evergreen broad leaf forest on 2 May 1999. Para types: 4 soldiers and 3 workers, with same data as holotype. 1 soldier and 2 workers, with same data as holotype but No. A99-271. Southwest Forestry University, Kunming, China

References

• Bharti, H., Akbar, S. A. and Aldawood, S. A. 2014. New additions to ant genus Carebara Westwood (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae) from India. Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae. 60:313-324.
• Bharti, H., Kumar, R. 2013. Six new species of Carebara Westwood (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) with restructuring of world species groups and a key to Indian species. Journal of the Entomological Research Society 15(1), 47-67.
• Hosoishi, S., Yamane, S., Sokh, H. 2022. Discovery of a new phragmotic species of the ant genus Carebara Westwood, 1840 (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from Cambodia. Journal of Hymenoptera Research 91: 357–374 (doi:10.3897/jhr.91.82490).
• Liu, C., Fischer, G., Hita Garcia, F., Yamane, S., Liu, Q., Peng, Y.Q., Economo, E.P., Guénard, B., Pierce, N.E. 2020. Ants of the Hengduan Mountains: a new altitudinal survey and updated checklist for Yunnan Province highlight an understudied insect biodiversity hotspot. ZooKeys 978, 1–171 (doi:10.3897/zookeys.978.55767).
• Liu, Z., Zhong, Y., Huang, Y., Ran, H., Song, F. 2024. A new ant species of the genus Carebara Westwood, 1840 (Hymenoptera, Formicidae, Myrmicinae) with a key to Chinese species. ZooKeys 1190, 1–37 (doi:10.3897/zookeys.1190.110552).
• Xu, Z. 2003. A systematic study on Chinese species of the ant genus Oligomyrmex Mayr. Acta Zootaxonomica Sinica. 28:310-322.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

• Bharti H., and S. Ali Akbar. 2014. New additions to ant genus Carebara Westwood (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae) from India. Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae 60(4): 313–324.
• Chen Y., C.-W. Luo, H. W Li, Z. H. Xu, Y. J. Liu, and S. J. Zhao. 2011. The investigation of soil ant resources on the West slope of Mt Ailao. Hubei Agricultural Sciences 50(7): 1356-1359.
• 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.
• Fontanilla A. M., A. Nakamura, Z. Xu, M. Cao, R. L. Kitching, Y. Tang, and C. J. Burwell. 2019. Taxonomic and functional ant diversity along tropical, subtropical, and subalpine elevational transects in southwest China. Insects 10, 128; doi:10.3390/insects10050128
• Guénard B., and R. R. Dunn. 2012. A checklist of the ants of China. Zootaxa 3558: 1-77.
• Liu X. 2012. Taxonomy, diversity and spatial distribution characters of the ant family Formicidae (Insecta: Hymenoptera) in southeastern Tibet. PhD Thesis 139 pages
• Song Y., Z. Xu, C. Li, N. Zhang, L. Zhang, H. Jiang, and F. Mo. 2013. An Analysis on the Ant Fauna of the Nangun river Nature Reserve in Yunnan, China. Forest Research 26(6): 773-780.
• Xu Z. H. 2003. A systematic study on Chinese species of the ant genus Oligomyrmex Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Acta Zootaxonomica Sinica 28: 310-322.
• Xu Z. 2003. A systematic study on Chinese species of the ant genus Oligomyrmex Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Acta Zootaxonomica Sinica 28(2): 310-322.