Acropyga kinomurai

LaPolla (2004) - A dealate queen was found in August. An A. kinomurai nest was taken under a stone. The mealybug Eumyrmococcus kinomurai has been found in the nests of A. kinomurai (Williams and Terayama, 2000).

Identification
LaPolla (2004) - Worker: 10-11 segmented antennae; flattish head distinctly square to rectangular in shape with prominent posterolateral corners and parallel sides; torulae widely separated; mandibles with 4 teeth, dorsum densely covered in hairs. Queen: as in worker with modifications expected for caste. Male: unknown. This species is unique in its appearance.

This is a bizarre looking and easy to recognize species with its uniquely square head and very widely set torulae. The placement of the torulae is particularily interesting because the great distance between the structures is unique among Acropyga. Based on the widely set torulae, A. kinomurai is provisionally placed in the myops species-group, pending discovery of worker-associated male specimens. This species also shares a very similar mesosomal structure (flat dorsum and short pronotum) with Acropyga lauta and Acropyga sauteri, other species in the myops species-group. The outer surface of the worker mandibles are similar to A. lauta in being covered in a dense layer of hairs suggesting a possible relationship between the two species. Unfortunately, A. lauta also is without known male specimens, and it has torulae that are close together, possibly indicating it is not a close relative of A. kinomurai.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Indo-Australian Region: Philippines. Palaearctic Region: Japan.

Biology
A. kinomurai has been collected from Ishigaki Island, Japan, under a stone on the ground together with ant-attended mealybug Eumyrmococcus kinomurai. It is rare in this area (Japanese Ant Image Database).

Castes
Males have yet to be collected.

Nomenclature

 * . Acropyga (Rhizomyrma) kinomurai Terayama & Hashimoto, 1996: 7, figs. 16-18 (w.) JAPAN (Yaeyama Is).
 * LaPolla, 2004a: 65 (q.).
 * Status as species: Terayama, Fellowes & Zhou, 2002: 25 (redescription); Imai, et al. 2003: 82; LaPolla, 2004a: 64 (redescription).

Worker
LaPolla (2004) - (n=1): TL: 2.09; HW: 0.5; HL: 0.438; SL: 0.357; ML: 0.547; GL: 1.1; CI: 114.16; SI: 71.4. Head: yellow; covered in a thick layer of appressed to suberect hairs; head broader than long, distinctly square to rectangular in appearance; posterolateral corners distinct; posterior margin entire to slightly concave medially, with short erect hairs; 10-11 segmented, incrassate antennae; scape reaches to posterior margin; clypeus narrow and flat, with many long hairs (reaching toward apical teeth of closed mandibles) along anterior clypeal margin; torulae widely separated from each other; mandible with 4 teeth; dorsal surface of mandible with dense covering of hairs; gap exists between inner mandibular margin and anterior clypeal margin. Mesosoma: yellow; in lateral view pronotum rises steeply toward mesonotum; pronotum covered in dense layer of appressed to erect hairs; dorsum nearly flat, with propodeum slightly lower than mesonotum; mesonotum flat, covered in a dense layer of appressed to erect hairs; metanotal area indistinct; propodeum flat, covered in a dense layer of appressed to erect hairs; declivity gently sloping. Gaster: petiole thick and erect, with many short erect hairs on surface, reaching height of propodeum; gaster yellow; covered in layer of appressed hairs with scattered erect hairs throughout.

Queen
LaPolla (2004) - (n=1): TL: 3.0; HW: 0.603; HL: 0.525; SL: 0.514; ML: 0.924; GL: 1.55; CI: 114.86; SI: 85.24. As in worker with modifications expected for caste and the following differences: color darker than worker, being brownish-yellow; pronotum very narrow.

Type Material
LaPolla (2004) - Acropyga (Rhizomyrma) kinomurai Terayama & Hashimoto, 1996: 7. Holotype worker, JAPAN: Yoshino, Ishigaki-jima, Yaeyama Is., Okinawa Pref. (K. Kinomura) [not examined). Specimens (worker and queen) examined for this study were from the type locality and had the same date and collector as listed in Terayama & Hashimoto (1996) for the holotype and subsequent paratypes, though the examined specimens were not labeled with any type designation.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Blaimer B. B., J. S. LaPolla, M. G. Branstetter, M. W. Lloyd, and S. G. Brady. 2016. Phylogenomics, biogeography and diversification of obligate mealybug-tending ants in the genus Acropyga. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 102: 20-29.
 * LaPolla J.S. 2004. Acropyga (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the world. Contributions of the American Entomological Institute 33(3): 1-130.
 * Tanaka H., and T. Kikuchi. 2010. New distribution record of Acropyga kinomurai (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) and its mutualist mealybug, Eumyrmococcus kinomurai (Hemiptera, Pseudococcidae). Japanese Journal of Systematic Entomology 16(2): 191-193.
 * Terayama M., S. Kubota, and K. Eguchi. 2014. Encyclopedia of Japanese ants. Asakura Shoten: Tokyo, 278 pp.
 * Terayama M.; Fellowes, J. R.; Zhou, S. 2002. The East Asian species of the ant genus Acropyga Roger, 1862 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Formicinae). Edaphologia 70:21-32.
 * Terayama M.; Hashimoto, Y. 1996. Taxonomic studies on the Japanese Formicidae, part 1. Introduction to this series and descriptions of four new species of the genera Hypoponera, Formica and Acropyga. Nature & Human Activities 1:1-8.
 * Williams D. J., and M. Terayama. 2000. A new species of the mealybug genus Eumyrmococcus Silvestri (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae, Rhiwoecinae) associated with the ant Acropyga (Rhizomyrma) kinomurai Terayama et Hashimoto (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the Ryukyu Islands, Japan. Entomological Science 3(2): 373-376.
 * Yamane S., S. Ikudome, and M. Terayama. 1999. Identification guide to the Aculeata of the Nansei Islands, Japan. Sapporo: Hokkaido University Press, xii + 831 pp. pp, 138-317.
 * Yamane S.; Ikudome, S.; Terayama, M. 1999. Identification guide to the Aculeata of the Nansei Islands, Japan. Sapporo: Hokkaido University Press, xii + 831 pp. pp138-317.