Echinopla praetexta

Identification
A member of the Echinopla serrata group.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Indo-Australian Region: Indonesia.

Nomenclature

 *  praetexta. Echinopla praetexta Smith, F. 1860b: 113, pl. 1, fig. 5 (w.) no locality given. [Emery, 1896d: 382 gives INDONESIA (Batjan I.) as type-locality, but I am unaware of how he obtained this information.]

Holotype worker in. Labelled “Batchian” (= Batjan I.) and with a Donisthorpe type-label.

In the original description Smith implies that the type-locality of this species is unknown, writing, “Hab. - ?” The specimen recognised as holotype by Donisthorpe fits the original description perfectly, so it is probably best to regard it as the true type and suppose that the locality label was added later, a supposition supported by the fact that the name is fully written, “Batchian,” rather than abbrevated to “Bac.”, as was Smith’s usual procedure.

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
 * Donisthorpe H. 1947. Ants from New Guinea, including new species and a new genus. Annals and Magazine of Natural History (11)13: 577-595.
 * Emery C. 1886. Saggio di un catalogo sistematico dei generi Camponotus, Polyrhachis e affini. Memorie della Reale Accademia delle Scienze dell'Istituto di Bologna 5: 363-382
 * Viehmeyer H. 1912. Ameisen aus Deutsch Neuguinea gesammelt von Dr. O. Schlaginhaufen. Nebst einem Verzeichnisse der papuanischen Arten. Abhandlungen und Berichte des Königlichen Zoologischen und Anthropologische-Ethnographischen Museums zu Dresden 14: 1-26.