Aenictus levior

Heterick & Kitching (2022) collected this species in a pitfall trap within a lowland dipterocarp forest in Brunei.

Identification
A member of the pachycerus group.

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

Castes
Known only from the worker caste.

Nomenclature

 * . Eciton (Aenictus) impressus var. levior Karavaiev, 1926d: 424 (w.) INDONESIA (Buru I.).
 * Type-material: syntype workers (number not stated, “several”).
 * Type-locality: Indonesia: Buru, Tifu, no. 2741 (W. Karawajew).
 * Type-depository: SIZK.
 * As unavailable (infrasubspecific) name: Karavaiev, 1927e: 6; Chapman & Capco, 1951: 11.
 * Subspecies of impressus: Chapman & Capco, 1951: 13.
 * Junior synonym of aratus: Wilson, 1964a: 446; Bolton, 1995b: 60.
 * Status as species: Shattuck, 2008c: 17; Pfeiffer, et al. 2011: 32; Jaitrong & Wiwatwitaya, 2013: 99 (in key).
 * Distribution: Brunei, Indonesia (Buru), Malaysia (Peninsula, Sabah, Sarawak).

Worker syntypes from Buru Island, Indonesia.

The following taxonomic notes are provided by Shattuck (2008):

Aenictus material from Indonesia is uncommon in collections and drawing conclusions on the species involved is difficult. However, it would appear that A. levior is a valid species and not a junior synonym of A. aratus as suggested earlier. Morphologically this species has a head shape similar to A. aitkenii (relatively broad) but the scape is shorter. However, this analysis is based on limited material and should be considered tentative until additional specimens become available. Material referable to this species has been examined from Sumatra, Indonesia, peninsular Malaysia and Sarawak, Malaysia.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Borowiec M. L. 2016. Generic revision of the ant subfamily Dorylinae (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). ZooKeys 608: 1–280.
 * Jaitron W., and D. Wiwatwitaya. 2013. Two new species of the Aenictus pachycerus species group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Aenictinae) from southeast Asia. The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 61(1): 97-102.
 * Karavaiev V. 1926. Ameisen aus dem Indo-Australischen Gebiet. Treubia 8: 413-445.
 * 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
 * Shattuck, S. O. 2008. Review of the ant genus Aenictus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Australia with notes on A. ceylonicus (Mayr). Zootaxa 1926:1-19.