Echinopla

Zettel and Laciny (2015) - The species of Echinopla typically inhabit the canopy of tropical forests. For this reason records are scarce and often based on single or few individuals caught by chance. Recently, some material was successfully obtained by tree fogging. Echinopla is among the small genera of camponotine ants. Described species are distinguished by bizarre body structures and distributed from eastern India to Australia. Half of them (twelve species) live exclusively east of Weber’s Line (Moluccas, New Guinea, Australia) and eleven species are restricted to the area west of Weber’s Line (south-eastern Asia including north-eastern India and southern China, Nicobar Islands, Greater Sunda Islands, Philippines, and Sulawesi). A single polymorphic species, Echinopla striata is recorded from both sides in several subspecies, but it is possibly an assemblage of several similar species. Most species were described in the 19th and the first half of the 20th century by short verbal notes. One species was recently described by Bharti and Gul (2012) and eight described by Zettel and Laciny (2015).

Identification
Many structural characteristics are very variable among species of Echinopla, making identification simple compared to the related genera Camponotus and Polyrhachis, each containing many sibling or cryptic species.

Nomenclature

 *  ECHINOPLA [Formicinae: Camponotini]
 * Echinopla Smith, F. 1857a: 79. Type-species: Echinopla melanarctos, by subsequent designation of Wheeler, W.M. 1911f: 162.
 * Echinopla senior synonym of Mesoxena: Bolton, 1994: 50.
 * MESOXENA [junior synonym of Echinopla]
 * Mesoxena Smith, F. 1860b: 106. Type-species: Mesoxena mistura, by monotypy.
 * Mesoxena junior synonym of Echinopla: Bolton, 1994: 50.