Polyrhachis javanica

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Indo-Australian Region: Borneo, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines.

Nomenclature

 *  javanica. Polyrhachis thrinax var. javanica Mayr, 1867a: 52 (w.) INDONESIA (Java). Emery, 1887a: 222 (q.); Karavaiev, 1927e: 13 (m.). Combination in P. (Myrmothrinax): Wheeler, W.M. 1919e: 127. [Misspelled as javana by Emery, 1887a: 222; Forel, 1893c: 19 (in key).] Subspecies of thrinax: Emery, 1896d: 378; Wheeler, W.M. 1909d: 343. Raised to species: Kohout, 1998: 510.

Kohout (2008) - Polyrhachis javanica, a member of the aequalis-group, was reported from Sulawesi by Emery (1901, 1925) but I consider this record erroneous. Emery evidently based his record on specimens collected from Sulawesi by Fruhstorfer that were identified by Mayr. I have examined four of these specimens (MCZC) bearing original identification tags inscribed as follows: (1) specimen from Patunuang – “Polyrhachis thrinax Rog. v. javan. Mayr det. Mayr”; (2) specimen from Toli-Toli – “Polyrhachis thrinax Rog. det. Mayr”, “var. javana Mayr det. Mayr”; (3) specimen from Toli-Toli: “P. thrinax Rog. v. javanica det. Mayr”; (4) specimen from Patunuang “Polyrhachis thrinax Rog. det. Mayr”, “var. javana Mayr det. Mayr”. Mayr described P. thrinax javanica in 1867 and about thirty years passed before the identifications of Fruhstorfer’s specimens. javanica had been returned to its owners and Mayr evidently lacked any material for comparison. Consequently, the accuracy of his identifications was compromised and ultimately incorrect. Moreover, Fruhstorter’s specimens comprised two, superficially similar, but distinct newly described species. Specimens (1) and (2) are Polyrhachis incognita, while specimens (3) and (4) are Polyrhachis deceptor.

Mayr (1867), in his orginal description, designated a holotype for P. thrinax javanica. However, there are two available specimens in NRMS that are undoubtedly from the original series. Of these, I consider the specimen bearing Mayr’s identification tag to be the holotype. The holotype is pinned and in relatively good condition. It agrees with Mayr’s short description of that species to the extent that “[…] petiolus nodiformis supra spinis 3 gracilibus, subaequilongis, erectis, Paulo postice directis et rectis” and further on “… wärend bei dem von mir untersuchten Exemplare der mittlere Dorn nur um Weniges länger ist als die seitlichen Dornen”. However, Mayr failed to mention that the apex of the middle spine is shallowly emarginated. The second specimen, once apparently pinned, is fragmented with the pronotum missing and the head, mesonotum, propodeum, petiole, gaster and two legs glued separately onto a card. Both specimens are exceptionally small (HL 1.37) and do not match any of the recently examined Myrmothrinax specimens from Sulawesi. They each bear two identical locality labels inscribed ‘Java’ and ‘Kinb.’, with the holotype also bearing Mayr’s identification tag – “P. thrinax v. javana det. Mayr”. It is surprising that Mayr frequently used ‘javana’ (including on the holotype tag), instead of ‘javanica’ as it was originally published. The incorrect spelling ‘javana’ was also used by Emery (1887) and Forel (1893).

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
 * Crawley W. C. 1923. Myrmecological notes. Entomologist's Record and Journal of Variation 35: 29-32.
 * Crawley W.C. 1924. Ants from Sumatra, with biological notes by Edward Jacobson. Annals and Magazine of Natural History (9)13: 380-409
 * 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
 * Emery C. 1887. Catalogo delle formiche esistenti nelle collezioni del Museo Civico di Genova. Parte terza. Formiche della regione Indo-Malese e dell'Australia. [part]. Ann. Mus. Civ. Stor. Nat. 24(4): 209-258.
 * Emery C. 1893. Voyage de M. E. Simon aux îles Philippines (mars et avril 1890). Formicides. Annales de la Société Entomologique de France 62: 259-270.
 * Emery C. 1901. Formiciden von Celebes. Zoologische Jahrbücher. Abteilung für Systematik, Geographie und Biologie der Tiere 14:565-580.
 * Emery, C. "Catalogo delle formiche esistenti nelle collezioni del Museo Civico di Genova. Parte terza. Formiche della regione Indo-Malese e dell'Australia." Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale Giacomo Doria (Genova) (2) 4, no. 24 (1887): 209-258.
 * Emery, C. "Formiche raccolte da Elio Modigliani in Sumatra, Engano e Mentawei." Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale Giacomo Doria (Genova) (2) 20, no. 40 (1900): 661-722.
 * General D. M., and G. D. Alpert. 2012. A synoptic review of the ant genera (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of the Philippines. Zookeys 200: 1-111.
 * Kohout R. J. 1998. New synonyms and nomenclatural changes in the ant genus Polyrhachis Fr. Smith (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Formicinae). Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 42: 505-531
 * Pfeiffer M.; Mezger, D.; Hosoishi, S.; Bakhtiar, E. Y.; Kohout, R. J. 2011. The Formicidae of Borneo (Insecta: Hymenoptera): a preliminary species list. Asian Myrmecology 4:9-58
 * Robson Simon Database Polyrhachis -05 Sept 2014
 * Wheeler W. M. 1909. Ants of Formosa and the Philippines. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 26: 333-345.
 * Wheeler W. M. 1919. The ants of Borneo. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 63:43-147.