Leptanilla escheri

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Oriental Region: India.

Nomenclature

 *  escheri. Leptomesites escheri Kutter, 1948: 287, figs. 1-4 (w.q.l.) INDIA. Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1965: 31 (l.). Combination in Leptanilla: Baroni Urbani, 1977c: 462. See also: Bharti & Kumar, 2012c: 623.

Worker
Bharti & Kumar (2012) - HL 0.38–0.39, HW 0.27–0.28, SL 0.19, ML 0.07, MSL 0.44–0.45, PW 0.19– 0.20, PTL 0.10–0.12, PTNL 0.09, PPTL 0.10, PPTNL 0.09, PTW 0.09–0.10, PPTW 0.11–0.12, PTH 0.10, PPTH 0.13–0.14, CI 69.23–73.68, DPPTI 110.00–120.00, PI 100–111.11, PPTI 84.62–85.71, SI 67.86–70.37 (6 specimens measured).

Head longer than wide, dorsum flattened, sides straight to weakly convex; posterior head margin almost straight to weakly concave; posterolateral corners narrowly rounded; head without spots near its anterior margin; mandibles narrow, slender and bowed inwardly, masticatory margin with 3 teeth; all teeth present at equal distance, apical tooth large, acute, median and basal teeth smaller and acute; clypeus protruding forward, anterior margin concave, apically bilobed; eyes absent; antennae short, 12-segmented, scape ending by 3/4 of its length and 1/2 of head length before posterior head margin; 1st funicular segment longer than wide; 2nd funicular segment longer than wide, thin at its base and narrowly attached to 1st funicular segment; funicular segments 3–6 wider than long, segments 9–10 thick, quadrate and as wide as long; apical segment longer and equal in length to the two preceeding segments together; mesosoma elongated, its dorsum flat in lateral view, almost equal in length to the gaster; pronotum slightly raised, almost as wide as long, sides strongly convex in dorsal view; promesonotal suture wide and deep; mesonotum constricted; metanotal groove absent; dorsum of propodeum longer than its declivitous face, posterodorsal corners rounded, declivitous face weakly convex; fore tibiae and all femora swollen; basitarsus of fore legs without a projection on its ventral anterior margin; mid and hind tibiae with simple spur; petiolar node almost as wide as long, in dorsal view longitudinally and transversally weakly convex with rounded lateral sides, anterior face vertical; petiole with a weak subpetiolar process without lamella; petiolar process convex, anteriorly and posteriorly oblique; postpetiolar node slightly wider than long, antero-posterodorsally rounded in lateral view, sides rounded in dorsal view; subpostpetiolar process large, wide and convex, anterior and posterior faces obliquely rounded; petiolar spiracle large and almost 2 times the size of postpetiolar spiracle, gaster broadly oval; sting short, non protruding to slightly protruding, with bulb as wide as shaft.

Body smooth and shiny with fine punctures on head and dorsum of mesosoma; internal side of mandibles with 2–3 setae; body covered with abundant decumbent pubescence and short suberect hairs along with few long suberect hairs on mandibles, clypeus and apex of gaster, color brownish yellow.

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.
 * Baroni Urbani C. 1977. Materiali per una revisione della sottofamiglia Leptanillinae Emery (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Entomologica Basiliensia 2: 427-488.
 * Bharti H., and R. Kumar. 2012. A new species of Leptanilla (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Leptanillinae) with a key to Oriental species. Annales Zoologici 62(4): 619-625.
 * Dad J. M., S. A. Akbar, H. Bharti, and A. A. Wachkoo. 2019. Community structure and ant species diversity across select sites ofWestern Ghats, India. Acta Ecologica Sinica 39: 219–228.