Leptanilla sichuanensis

Leptanilla sichuanensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Leptanillinae
Tribe:	Leptanillini
Genus:	Leptanilla
Species:	L. sichuanensis
Binomial name
Leptanilla sichuanensis Zhong, 2024

This species has been observed on several occasions to inhabit stones or mud in pine forests, as well as in shadier and wetter environments of mixed deciduous and bamboo forests.

Photo Gallery

• 

  Zhong (2024), Fig 1. Leptanilla sichuanensis, workers: A - holotype (A23-1643), body in lateral view; B - same, body in dorsal view; C - same, head in full-face view; D - paratype (damaged), petiole in lateral view.
• 

  Zhong (2024), Fig 2. Leptanilla sichuanensis (worker): A - SEM of head in full view; B - body in lateral view.

Identification

Leptanilla sichuanensis is extremely similar to Leptanilla macauensis, sharing a conspicuous and strong central clypeal protuberance and clypeal lobes, with a microspine-like subpetiolar process (Fig 1D, 3). However, easily distinguishable from the following characteristics:

• anteromedial circular disc from clypeal margin without a pair of triangular extensions on surface, instead forming a complete curve (Fig 3B)
• inferolateral margin of antennal toruli stretched angularly (Fig 3A)
• head and antennal scape longer (CI 67–70, SI 63–66) (Fig 4)

• 

  Zhong (2024), Fig 3. SEM photographs of Leptanilla workers: A, B - L. sichuanensis; C - L. macauensis, images from Leong et al. (2018).
• 

  Zhong (2024), Fig 4. A comparison of cephalic index (CI) and scape index (SI) measurements for Leptanilla sichuanensis and L. macauensis. The data for L. macauensis were provided by Dr. Chi-Man Leong and visualised using ChiPlot. Significance levels for independent samples t-test are indicated by stars, with ** denoting p<0.01 and *** denoting p < 0.001.

Keys including this Species

• Key to Chinese Leptanilla
• Key to Leptanilla species

Distribution

Only known in Sichuan, China.

• 

  Zhong (2024), Fig 5. Geographical distributions of the Chinese Leptanilla species. Locality information was obtained from the original literature of each species and visualized with SimpleMappr.

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 31.21° to 31.17°.

North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

• Source: Zhong, 2024

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

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

Male unknown.

Nomenclature

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

• sichuanensis. Leptanilla sichuanensis Zhong, 2024: 2, figs. 1-3, 5 (w.) CHINA (Sichuan).

Type Material

• Holotype. CHINA: 1 worker (A23-1643), Sichuan Province, Dazhou City, Kaijiang County, Hanlin Village, Tianwan, 31°13’12’’N, 107° 55’48’’E, ca. 1000m alt., 30.VI.2023, Gui-Chuan Nie leg. (SWFU).
• Paratypes: 19 workers, same data as holotype.

References

• Zhong, Y. 2024. A new species of the ant genus Leptanilla Emery, 1870 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Sichuan Province, China. Sociobiology 71(3), e10478 (doi:10.13102/sociobiology.v71i3.10478).