Aenictus aitkenii

This species is known from India and Sri Lanka.

Identification
A member of the pachycerus group. This species is similar to A. aratus (with which it has been treated as a junior synonym) and A. nesiotis but differs in having a broader head (cephalic index > 87 versus CI < 88 in A. nesiotis), and broader and more bulbous petiole and postpetiole (both are narrower in A. aratus and A. nesiotis). The scape is also relatively longer than in the others (scape index > 115 versus < 115). It is similar to A. levior in the shape of the head but differs in having longer scapes (Shattuck, 2008).

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Oriental Region: India, Sri Lanka.

Castes
Known only from the worker caste.

Nomenclature

 * . Aenictus aitkenii Forel, 1901a: 475 (w.) INDIA (Karnataka, Kerula).
 * Junior synonym of aratus: Wilson, 1964a: 446; Bolton, 1995b: 58; Tiwari, 1999: 17.
 * Status as species: Bingham, 1903: 19; Emery, 1910b: 29; Wheeler, W.M. 1919e: 62; Chapman & Capco, 1951: 10; Shattuck, 2008c: 16; Bharti, Wachkoo & Kumar, 2012: 294 (in key); Bharti, Guénard, et al. 2016: 20.
 * Senior synonym of asiatica: Shattuck, 2008c: 16.
 * asiatica. Aenictus aratus var. asiatica Forel, 1911h: 453 (w.) SRI LANKA.
 * Subspecies of aratus: Chapman & Capco, 1951: 10.
 * Junior synonym of aratus: Wilson, 1964a: 446; Bolton, 1995b: 58.
 * Junior synonym of aitkenii: Shattuck, 2008c: 16.

Type Material

 * asiatica. Aenictus aratus var. asiatica Forel, 1911h: 453 (w.) SRI LANKA. Junior synonym of aratus: Wilson, 1964a: 446; of aitkenii: Shattuck, 2008c: 16.


 * Aenictus aitkenii: Worker syntypes from Kanara, Thana and Travancore, India.


 * Aenictus aratus var. asiatica: Worker syntype from Sri Lanka.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Baroni Urbani C. 1977. Katalog der Typen von Formicidae (Hymenoptera) der Sammlung des Naturhistorischen Museums Basel (2. Teil). Mitt. Entomol. Ges. Basel (n.s.) 27: 61-102.
 * Basu P. 1994. Ecology of ground foraging ants in a tropical evergreen forest in Western Ghats, India. PhD Thesis, School of ecology and environmental sciences, Pondichery University, India. 155 pages.
 * Bharti H., Y. P. Sharma, M. Bharti, and M. Pfeiffer. 2013. Ant species richness, endemicity and functional groups, along an elevational gradient in the Himalayas. Asian Myrmecology 5: 79-101.
 * 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
 * Chapman, J.W. and S.R. Capco. 1951. Check list of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Asia. Monographs of the Institute of Science and Technology (Manila) 1: 1- 327
 * Forel A. 1911. Sur le genre Metapone n. g. nouveau groupe des Formicides et sur quelques autres formes nouvelles. Rev. Suisse Zool. 19: 445-459.
 * Shattuck, S. O. 2008. Review of the ant genus Aenictus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Australia with notes on A. ceylonicus (Mayr). Zootaxa 1926:1-19.
 * Wheeler W. M. 1919. The ants of Borneo. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 63:43-147.