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Myrmecina vidyae
| Myrmecina vidyae | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Myrmicinae |
| Tribe: | Crematogastrini |
| Genus: | Myrmecina |
| Species: | M. vidyae |
| Binomial name | |
| Myrmecina vidyae Tiwari, 1994 | |
This rare species is only known from a few collections in Kerala, India.
Photo Gallery
Identification
Tiwari (1994) - This species is close to Myrmecina urbanii in having body pattern, antennae, legs and thorax similar but it differs with the same in having following characters: mandibles with mandibular formula “1 +6" i.e., one apical tooth and 6 small subapical teeth; absence of mesonotal spine; metanotal spines thinner and longer in shape; striae on meso-metanotum outwardly divergent; gaster not truncate anteriorly and having finer granulations all over the dorsum.
Keys including this Species
Distribution
Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Oriental Region: India (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. |
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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. |
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Biology
Castes
Nomenclature
The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.
- vidyae. Myrmecina vidyae Tiwari, 1994: 155, fig. 1 e-g (w.) INDIA.
Unless otherwise noted the text for the remainder of this section is reported from the publication that includes the original description.
Description
Worker
Head excluding clypeus, antennae and mandibles, alitrunk, abdomen and post-petiolar node dark chocolate with blackish tint. Antennae, clypeus, mandibles, legs, metanotal spines and Jst petiolar node pale yellow. Hairs almost sparse on alitrunk, whitish in colour, rest of the body without hairs; sparse pilosity on antennae, mandibles and dorsum of the abdomen.
Head excluding mandibles subsquarish, width slightly more than its length; deeply emarginate at posterior margin; postero-lateral angles of bead slightly conical; dorsal surface slightly striated, the striae outwardly divergent behind; antennal carinae enlarged into a flap like structure covering the base of insertion of antennae. Clypeus non-carinate, anteriorly transverse and pressed, posteriorly extended in between the bases of antennae; antennal and clypeal fossa confluent. Eyes small, round to oval, placed more anteriorly on antero-lateral side of the head, placement hardly differentiated from the surrounding portion of the head. Mandibles smooth, hairy, masticatory margin with one acute apical tooth; molar plate with four round crenulations. Antennae 12-segmented, scape shorter than the flagellum; 1st segment of the flagellum equal to 2 following segments put together; club of flagellum formed of 3 apical segments; scape hardly reaching to the top of the head.
Alitrunk convex above, triangular, gradually tapering posteriorly. Pronotum striated transversely; meso and metanotum with slightly anteriorly divergent striae. Anterior margin of pronotum round with narrow triangular collar. Pro-meso and meso-metanotal suture somewhat discernible laterally ; pronotum armed with a small triangular spine on each antero-lateral corner ; mesonotum unarmed; metanotum armed with a pair of long divergent spines, thick at the base, slightly bent outwardly at the apex, wide enough to enclose 1st petiolar node. Pedicel 2-jointed; 1st joint longer than wide, rugose on its outer surface; 2nd joint higher than the 1st, almost round, posterior end wider than the anterior with thick half downwardly divergent striae, the basal portion minutely granulated. Legs long; tibiae of. the fore leg with pectinate spur, pectination visible only under high power, femora and tibia swollen in middle; tarsi 5-jointed with a pair of claws at the top; 1st joint of tarsi smaller than the succeeding joints put together.
Gaster broadly oval with finer granulations on the dorsum, more prominent on the basal portion, distal portion comparatively with lesser granulations in profile rounded beneath.
Type Material
Holotype: 1 worker. India: Kerala: Silent Valley Expedition camp site, 14.i.t980, coli. S. K. Bhattacharyya. Paratypes: 2 workers, same data as of Holotype.
References
- Aswaj, P., Anoop, K., Priyadarsanan, D.R. 2021. Description of two new species of ants of the genus Myrmecina Curtis, 1829 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae) from the Eastern Himalayas. Zootaxa 4990, 160–171 (doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4990.1.10).
- Sheela, S., Kazmi, S.I., Roy, S. 2020. Two new species of the genus Myrmecina Curtis, 1829 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae) from India. Far Eastern Entomologist 403: 13-19 (doi:10.25221/fee.403.2).
- Tiwari, R. N. 1994. Two new species of a little known genus Myrmecina Curtis from Kerala, India. Rec. Zool. Surv. India 94: 151-158 (page 155, fig. 1 e-g worker described)
References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics
- Tiwari R. N. 1994. Two new species of a little known genus Myrmecina Curtis from Kerala, India. Records of the Zoological Survey of India 94: 151-158.