Gauromyrmex acanthinus

This ant appears to be rather common in India and China, and I believe that I have seen it on several occasions in Bengal Province nesting under loose bark, though the actual specimens were lost in a wartime shipment. In life, the distinctive point of recognition lies in the extremely depressed appearance of the ant, even when moving about. It appears to the naked eye somewhat like a flattened Leptothorax, and its attachment to tree trunks and plant cavities may be correlated with the habitus. (Brown 1953)

Identification
Gauromyrmex acanthinus is similar to Gauromyrmex bengakalisi, its only congener, but can be separated by the relatively smooth mesopleuron of acanthinus in comparison to the foveolate mesopleuron on bengakalisi.



Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Indo-Australian Region: Philippines. Oriental Region: India, Vietnam. Palaearctic Region: China.

Biology
Smith (1948), included this information about a collection that was sent and described to him by Bill Brown: Szechwan Province, China; 5 miles north Hsin Ching, 1700 ft., 6-24-44, from trunk and roots of Fiecus sp., Schwangliu, 6-21-44, from a moist, moss-covered bank deeply shaded by bamboo. These specimens were collected by Wm. L. Brown, Jr., who is of the opinion that the ants may nest in the soil. He (Brown) noted that those from the first-mentioned locality were timid and stuck tenaciously to the bark when an attempt was made to collect them. Those from the other locality, however, were rather quick in their pace.

Nomenclature

 *  acanthinus. Solenomyrma acanthina Karavaiev, 1935a: 103, fig. 23 (w.) VIETNAM. Combination in Gauromyrmex: Brown, 1953c: 10; in Vollenhovia: Bolton, 1995b: 422; in Gauromyrmex: Bolton, 2003: 269. Senior synonym of donisthorpei: Brown, 1953c: 10.
 * donisthorpei. Acalama donisthorpei Smith, M.R. 1949a: 207, figs. 1, 2 (w.) INDIA. Junior synonym of acanthina: Brown, 1953c: 10.