Key to Carebara soldiers of China

This key is based on: Xu, Z. 2003. A systematic study on Chinese species of the ant genus Oligomyrmex Mayr. Acta Zootaxonomica Sinica 28: 310-322.. At the time of this study, the genus Carebara was not consolidated as it is today and its species were divided between a number of genera. This key was made for the group of Carebara species that were included in the genus Oligomyrmex hence does not include all the species of Carebara currently known from China.

Note: This key as been updated, see Key to Carebara of China.

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• Key to Carebara workers of China
• Carebara
• China

1

• Antenna 11-segmented . . . . . 2

• Antenna 9-segmented . . . . . 5

2

return to couplet #1

• Mandible with 5 teeth. Propodeum bluntly angled . . . . . 3

• Mandible with 6 teeth. Propodeum protrudingly dentate . . . . . 4

3

return to couplet #2

• Head much longer than broad. Occiput with developed horns. Eyes absent (Figs. 1-3) (China: Maccau; Vietnam) . . . . . Carebara capreola

• Head slight longer than broad. Occiput with minute horns. Eyes present (Figs. 5-6) (China: Yunnan Province) . . . . . Carebara altinodus

4

return to couplet #2

• Eyes absent. Propodeal dents down-curved. First gastric segment densely finely punctuate (Figs. 9-10) (China: Yunnan Province) . . . . . Carebara curvispina

• Eyes Present. Propodeal dents dorsoposteriorly pointed. First gastric segment densely longitudinally striate (Figs. 13-15) (China: Yunnan Province) . . . . . Carebara striata

5

return to couplet #1

• Occiput with a pair of distinct horns . . . . . 6

• Occiput without a pair of distinct horns . . . . . 13

6

return to couplet #5

• Propodeum with a pair of protruding dents or spines . . . . . 7

• Propodeum without protruding dents or spines, posterodorsal corner rounded or bluntly angled . . . . . 9

7

return to couplet #6

• Occiput without transverse striations. Metanotal groove shallowly impressed. Body smaller with TL 1.4 mm (Figs. 16-17) (China: Yunnan Province) . . . . . Carebara acutispina

• Occiput with transverse striations. Metanotal groove deeply impressed. Body larger with TL 2.1-2.6 mm . . . . . 8

8

return to couplet #7

• Mandible with 4 teeth. Anterior margin of median portion of clypeus straight (China: Hongkong) . . . . . Carebara wheeleri

• Mandible with 5 teeth. Anterior margin of median portion of clypeus concave (Figs. 20-21) (China: Yunnan Province) . . . . . Carebara obtusidenta

9

return to couplet #6

• Occipital horns connected by a developed transverse ridge. Promesonotum moderately convex (Figs. 24-25) (China: Yunnan Province) . . . . . Carebara bihornata

• Occipital horns not connected by a developed transverse ridge. Promesonotum strongly convex . . . . . 10

10

return to couplet #9

• Occiput without transverse striations. Body larger with TL 3.0-3.5 mm (China: Guangdong Province) . . . . . Carebara polyphemus

• Occiput with transverse striations. Body smaller with TL 1.5-2.2 mm . . . . . 11

11

return to couplet #10

• In full face view lateral sides of head evenly convex. Anterodorsal corner of propodeum prominent and formed an acute tooth just behind metanotal groove (Figs. 28-29) (China: Taiwan Province; Japan) . . . . . Carebara sauteri

• In full face view lateral sides of head nearly straight. Anterodorsal corner of propodeum not forming an acute tooth just behind the metanotal groove . . . . . 12

12

return to couplet #11

• Mandible with 4 teeth. Dorsum of propodeum convex. Body larger with TL 2.2 mm (China: Hongkong) . . . . . Carebara taiponica

• Mandible with 5 teeth. Dorsum of propodeum straight. Body smaller with TL 1.4-1.7 mm (Figs. 32-33) (China: Yunnan Province) . . . . . Carebara rectidorsa

13

return to couplet #5

• Head nearly square, about as long as broad. Eye with 16 facets. Head with 3 ocelli. Dorsum of alitrunk straight (Figs. 36-37) (China: Hunan Province) . . . . . Carebara hunanensis

• Head rectangular, distinctly longer than broad. Eye with 1 facet. Head without ocelli. Dorsum of ali trunk not straight, promesonotum roundly convex and higher than propodeum . . . . . 14

14

return to couplet #13

• Propodeum with a pair of acute teeth. Head with fine reticulations (Figs. 38-39) (China: Yunnan Province) . . . . . Carebara reticapita

• Propodeum forming a right angle of 90" or an obtuse angle of more than 90°. Head smooth, at most sparsely punctured . . . . . 15

15

return to couplet #14

• Posterodorsal corner of propodeum formed a right angle of about 90° (Figs. 42-43) (China: Hubei and Anhui Provinces) . . . . . Carebara pseudolusciosa

• Posterodorsal corner of propodeum formed an obtuse angle of more than 90° . . . . . 16

16

return to couplet #15

• Occipital margin excised in the middle. Occiput without transverse striations (China: Guangdong Province) . . . . . Carebara lusciosa

• Occipital margin broadly and slightly excised. Occiput with transverse striations (Figs. 44-45) (China: Jiangxi Province) . . . . . Carebara jiangxiensis