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 bengkalisi, its only congener, but can be separated by the relatively smooth mesopleuron of acanthinus in comparison to the foveolate mesopleuron on bengkalisi.



Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
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.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Chapman, J. W., and Capco, S. R. 1951. Check list of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Asia. Monogr. Inst. Sci. Technol. Manila 1: 1-327
 * Cheng D., Z. Chen, and S. Zhou. 2015. An analysis on the ant fauna of Jinzhongshan Nature Reserve in Gunagxi, China. Journal of Guangxi Normal University: Natural Science Edition 33(3): 129.137.
 * Eguchi K.; Bui T. V.; Yamane S. 2011. Generic synopsis of the Formicidae of Vietnam (Insecta: Hymenoptera), part I  Myrmicinae and Pseudomyrmecinae. Zootaxa 2878: 1-61.
 * General D. M., and G. D. Alpert. 2012. A synoptic review of the ant genera (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of the Philippines. Zookeys 200: 1-111.
 * Guénard B., and R. R. Dunn. 2012. A checklist of the ants of China. Zootaxa 3558: 1-77.
 * Jaitrong W., and T. Jeenthong. 2015. New record of Gauromyrmex acanthinus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Thailand. The Thailand Natural History Museum Journal 8(1): 13-18.
 * Karavaiev V. 1935. Neue Ameisen aus dem Indo-Australischen Gebiet, nebst Revision einiger Formen. Treubia 15: 57-118.
 * Li Z.h. 2006. List of Chinese Insects. Volume 4. Sun Yat-sen University Press
 * Liu X. 2012. Taxonomy, diversity and spatial distribution characters of the ant family Formicidae (Insecta: Hymenoptera) in southeastern Tibet. PhD Thesis 139 pages
 * Terayama M. 2009. A synopsis of the family Formicidae of Taiwan (Insecta: Hymenoptera). Research Bulletin of Kanto Gakuen University. Liberal Arts 17:81-266.
 * Terayama Mamoru. 2009. A synopsis of the family Formicidae of Taiwan (Insecta, Hymenoptera). The Research Bulletin of Kanto Gakuen University 17: 81-266.
 * Terayama, M. 2009. A synopsis of the family Formicidae of Taiwan (Insecta; Hymenoptera). The Research Bulletin of Kanto Gakuen University 17: 81-266.
 * Wu J. and Wang C.. 1995. The ants of China. China Forestry Publishing House, Beijing. 214 pp.