Strumigenys smythiesii

Strumigenys smythiesii
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmicinae
Tribe:	Attini
Genus:	Strumigenys
Species:	S. smythiesii
Binomial name
Strumigenys smythiesii Forel, 1902 Specimen Labels

Nothing is known about the biology of Strumigenys smythiesii.

Identification

Bolton (2000) - A member of the smythiesii complex in the Strumigenys godeffroyi-group. The entirely flagellate nature of the main pilosity and its distribution, coupled with the complete lack of sculpture on the dorsal alitrunk, isolates this species. See notes under Strumigenys lichiaensis.

Keys including this Species

• Key to Strumigenys of East Asia
• Key to Strumigenys of India

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.

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

Images from AntWeb

Syntype of Strumigenys smythiesii. Worker. Specimen code casent0904950. Photographer Will Ericson, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by MSNG, Genoa, Italy.

Nomenclature

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

• smythiesii. Strumigenys smythiesii Forel, 1902c: 242 (w.q.) INDIA. See also: Bolton, 2000: 813.

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

Description

Worker

Bolton (2000) - TL 2.5-2.7, HL 0.65-0.69, HW 0.41-0.42, CI 61-63, ML 0.26-0.27, MI 38-42, SL 0.43-0.44, SI 102-107, PW 0.27-0.28, AL 0.73-0.78 (3 measured).

Characters of smythiesii-complex. Mandibles in full-face view shallowly bowed outwards; preapical tooth close to apicodorsal. Apicoscrobal hair flagellate; curved spatulate hairs present on margin both posterior and anterior to the flagellate hair; without stiff, elevated freely projecting hairs. Ground-pilosity on head narrowly spatulate, elevated; occipital margin without stiff erect hairs that are easily distinguished from the ground-pilosity. Cephalic dorsum finely reticulate-punctate. Ventral surface of head with a few short erect fine hairs in addition to short curved ground-pilosity. Pronotal humeral hair flagellate; mesonotum with a pair of erect flagellate hairs; dorsal alitrunk otherwise without erect hairs. Alitrunk unsculptured dorsally and laterally, entirely smooth and shining; anterior coxae smooth. Hind femur with at least one long erect fine hair on its dorsal surface. Propodeal teeth wholly embedded in, or replaced by, the infradental lamella. Dorsum of petiole node and disc of postpetiole smooth and shining. Lateral spongiform lobe of petiole small, in profile lobe restricted to close to posterior margin of node. Petiole node in dorsal view slightly longer than broad; in profile the dorsal surface longer than the anterior, ascending, face of the node (ignoring posterior spongiform collar in each case). Hairs on first gastral tergite flagellate. Basigastral costulae very short, on tergite proper no longer than width of limbus.

Type Material

Bolton (2000) - Syntype workers and queen, INDIA: Assam (Smythies) (Musee d'Histoire Naturelle Genève) [examined].

References

• Bharti, H. & Akbar, S.A. 2013. Taxonomic studies on the ant genus Strumigenys Smith, 1860 (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) with report of two new species and five new records including a tramp species from India. Sociobiology 60, 387-396 (doi:10.13102/sociobiology.v60i4.387-396).
• Bingham, C. T. 1903. The fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Hymenoptera, Vol. II. Ants and Cuckoo-wasps. London: Taylor and Francis, 506 pp. (page 149, redescription of worker and queen)
• Bolton, B. 2000. The ant tribe Dacetini. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute. 65:1-1028. (page 813, redescription of worker)
• Forel, A. 1902c. Myrmicinae nouveaux de l'Inde et de Ceylan. Rev. Suisse Zool. 10: 165-249 (page 242, worker, queen described)
• Tang, K. L., Guénard, B. 2023. Further additions to the knowledge of Strumigenys (Formicidae: Myrmicinae) within South East Asia, with the descriptions of 20 new species. European Journal of Taxonomy 907, 1–144 (doi:10.5852/ejt.2023.907.2327).

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

• Karmaly K. A.; S. Sumesh, T. P. Rabeesh, and L. Kishore. 2010. A checklist of ants of Thirunelli in Wayanad, Kerala. J. of the Bombay Natural History Society 107(1): 64-67.