Myrmica kozlovi

Poorly known. M. kozlovi has been found at the highest altitudes recorded for any Myrmica species worldwide (4800 m) which probably accounts for it being the only Myrmica species that has crossed the Himalayan barrier to live on both the western and eastern slopes. Donisthorpe (1929) wrote that “According to Major Higston [the collector of Myrmica specularis, a junior synonym] the ants found at the higher elevations [in the Himalaya] are exceedingly lethargic and sluggish in their movements.” (Radchenko and Elmes 2010; Bharti et al., 2016)

Identification
A member of the kurokii group.

Distribution
M. kozlovi is probably widespread in the Himalayn mountain system and isolated populations predictably can morphologically vary.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Oriental Region: India, Nepal, Tibet. Palaearctic Region: China.

Nomenclature

 *  kozlovi. Myrmica kozlovi Ruzsky, 1915a: 435, figs. 10, 11 (w.) TIBET. Senior synonym of specularis: Radchenko & Elmes, 2001a: 259; of mekongi, ruzskyi Weber, subalpina, subbrevispinosa: Radchenko & Elmes, 2010: 175.
 * mekongi. Myrmica kozlovi subsp. mekongi Ruzsky, 1915a: 437, fig. 12 (w.) TIBET. Junior synonym of kozlovi: Radchenko & Elmes, 2010: 175.
 * subalpina. Myrmica kozlovi subsp. subalpina Ruzsky, 1915a: 438, fig. 14 (w.) TIBET. Senior synonym of ruzskyi Weber (unnecessary replacement name): Bolton, 1995b: 283. Junior synonym of kozlovi: Radchenko & Elmes, 2010: 175. See also: Menozzi, 1939a: 294.
 * subbrevispinosa. Myrmica kozlovi subsp. subbrevispinosa Ruzsky, 1915a: 437, fig. 13 (w.) TIBET. Junior synonym of kozlovi: Radchenko & Elmes, 2010: 175.
 * specularis. Myrmica specularis Donisthorpe, 1929a: 446 (w.) TIBET. Junior synonym of kozlovi: Radchenko & Elmes, 2001a: 259.
 * ruzskyi. Myrmica kozlovi subsp. ruzskyi Weber, 1947: 471. [Unresolved junior primary homonym of ruzskyi Kiseleva, above.] Unnecessary replacement name for, and hence junior synonym of, subalpina Ruzsky, 1915a: 438: Bolton, 1995b: 282.

Myrmica kozlovi

 * Lectotype (designated by Radchenko & Elmes, 2010) 1 worker, “tributary of riv. Dza-chju, Kam, riv. Yangtze, 12-13000’, leg. Kozlov, beginning of iii.01” (original label in Russian) (ZISP).
 * Paralectotypes (designated by Radchenko & Elmes, 2010): 34 workers “tributary of riv. Dza-chju, Kam, riv. Yangtze, 12-13000’, leg. Kozlov, beginning of iii.01”; 27 workers, “valley of riv. Yangtze, Kam, Tibet, leg. Kozlov, iii.01”; 1 worker, “riv. Dza-chju, 11000’, Kam, basin of riv. Yangtze, leg. Kozlov, middle of iv.01”; 10 workers, “riv. Dza-chju, riv. Yangtze, 12-13000’, leg. Kozlov, beginning of v.01” (all original labels in Russian) (ZISP, ZMMU, SIZK);

Myrmica kozlovi mekongi

 * Lectotype (designated by Radchenko & Elmes, 2010): worker, “riv. Bar-chju, basin of riv. Mekong, Kam, end of ix.1900, leg. Kozlov” (original label in Russian), “Myrm. kozlovi sub. mekongi n. sub. M. Ruzsky” (ZMMU).
 * Paralectotypes (designated by Radchenko & Elmes, 2010): 15 workers “riv. Bar-chju, basin of riv. Mekong, Kam, end of ix.1900, leg. Kozlov”; 1 worker, “riv. Ba-chju 12,000’ Kam, basin of riv. Yangtze, leg. Kozlov, 2-3.viii.00” (original label in Russian) (ZMMU, ZISP, SIZK);

Myrmica kozlovi subbrevispinosa

 * Holotype worker, “valley of riv. Yangtze, Kam, Eastern Tibet, leg. Kozlov, iii.01” (original label in Russian), “M. kozlovi v. subbrevispinosa n. var.” (ZMMU).

Myrmica specularis

 * Holotype worker, “Tibetan side of the Mt. Everest: Tibet, Gautsa, 13000 ft, 5.ìv.1924” (Hingston) (BMNH).
 * Paratypes: 4 workers “Tibetan side of the Mt. Everest: Tibet, Gautsa, 13000 ft, 5.ìv.1924” (BMNH).

Etymology
Radchenko and Elmes (2010) - dedicated to Colonel Peter Kuzmich Kozlov (1863-1935), the outstanding Russian geographer and explorer, head of many expeditions to Central Asia (Mongolia, China, Tibet).

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Chen Z. L., S. Y. Zhou, and J. H. Huang. 2016. Seven species new to science and one newly recorded species of the ant genus Myrmica Latreille, 1804 from China, with proposal of a new synonym (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). ZooKeys 551: 85–128.
 * Collingwood C.A. 1970. Formicidae (Hymenopter: Aculeata) of Nepal. Himalaya Khumbu Himal, 3: 371-388.
 * Donisthorpe H. 1929. The Formicidae (Hymenoptera) taken by Major R. W. G. Hingston, M.C., I.M.S. (ret.), on the Mount Everest Expedition, 1924. Annals and Magazine of Natural History (10)4: 444-449.
 * Guénard B., and R. R. Dunn. 2012. A checklist of the ants of China. Zootaxa 3558: 1-77.
 * Huang Jian-hua, Zhou Shan-yi. 2007. A checklist of family Formicidae of China - Myrmicinae (Part II) (Insecta: Hymenoptera). Journal of Guangxi Normal University : Natural Science Edition 25(1): 91-99.
 * Li Z.h. 2006. List of Chinese Insects. Volume 4. Sun Yat-sen University Press
 * Mo F., Z. Xu, Y. Song, C. Li, and Q. He. 2015. Ant communities in Yadong section of Mt. Himalaya. Journal of Nanjing Forestry University 39(3): 85-90.
 * Radchenko A. G., and G. W. Elmes. 2010. Myrmica ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the Old World. Fauna Mundi 3. Warsaw: Natura Optima Dux Foundation, 790 pp.
 * Thapa V. K. 2000. An Inventory of Nepal's Insects, Vol. III. IUCN Nepal, Kathmandu, xi + 475 pp.
 * Weber N. A. 1950. A revision of the North American ants of the genus Myrmica Latreille with a synopsis of the Palearctic species. III. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 43: 189-226.