Aenictus brevicornis

Nothing is known about the biology of .

Distribution
India: Assam and Agra south to Calcutta in the east and Calicut and Bangalore on the peninsula.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Oriental Region: Bangladesh, India, Vietnam.

Castes
Known only from the worker caste.



Nomenclature

 * . Typhlatta brevicornis Mayr, 1879: 669 (w.) INDIA (West Bengal).
 * Type-material: lectotype worker (by designation of Wilson, 1964a: 451), 1 paralectotype worker.
 * Type-locality: lectotype India: Calcutta (Rothney); paralectotype with same data.
 * Type-depository: NHMW.
 * [Typhlatta brevicornis Smith, F. 1873: ix. Nomen nudum (attributed to Mayr).]
 * Imai, et al. 1984: 8 (k.).
 * Combination in Aenictus: Dalla Torre, 1893: 7.
 * Status as species: Dalla Torre, 1893: 7; Forel, 1901a: 477; Rothney, 1903: 96; Bingham, 1903: 21; Forel, 1906b: 91; Emery, 1910b: 29; Menozzi, 1939a: 326; Chapman & Capco, 1951: 11; Wilson, 1964a: 451; Radchenko, 1993a: 76; Bolton, 1995b: 59; Tiwari, 1999: 17; Mathew & Tiwari, 2000: 265; Bharti, Wachkoo & Kumar, 2012: 293 (in key); Bharti, Guénard, et al. 2016: 20.
 * Distribution: Bangladesh, India, Vietnam.

Type Material
Type locality: Calcutta, India.

Worker
Wilson (1964) - Lectotype (herein designated from a syntype in the collection of the Naturhistorisches Museum, Vienna). HW 0.53 mm, HL 0.60 mm, SL 0.35 mm, Sl 66. Antenna 10-segmented. Mandible very narrow, bearing 3 large teeth; in closure, leaving a gap between its posterior border and the anterior clypeal border. Anterior clypeal border flat in the center, entire, armed with 7 well-developed teeth. Parafrontal ridge absent. Occiput convex, lacking collar. Propodeal faces seen in side view straight, approaching one another at an angle of about 100°; but their junction evenly rounded. Subpetiolar process a flat, forward-directed lobe surmounted by a subtriangular flange whose apex is posteriorly directed. Pilosity extremely abundant overall, more than in any other Indo-Australian member of the genus; length of the longest pronotal hairs about 0.20 mm.

Head shining. Mesopleuron, metapleuron, and propodeum microreticulate, opaque; remainder shining. Pedicel microreticulate overall; dorsa feebly shining, remainder opaque. Brownish yellow; head and alitrunk a shade darker than the rest.

Paratype: HW 0.51 mm, HL 0.60 mm, SL 0.35 mm, Sl 69. Very similar to the lectotype, but differing greatly in the shape of the subpetiolar process: this structure is much smaller, and the ventral flange is directed anteriorly (fig. 53). This difference between the 2 syntypes examined induced me to designate a lectotype, on the chance that 2 species are represented in the original Mayr series.

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
 * Eguchi K., B. T. Viet, and S. Yamane. 2014. Generic Synopsis of the Formicidae of Vietnam (Insecta: Hymenoptera), Part IICerapachyinae, Aenictinae, Dorylinae, Leptanillinae, Amblyoponinae, Ponerinae, Ectatomminae and Proceratiinae. Zootaxa 3860: 001-046.
 * Forel A. 1901. Les Formicides de l'Empire des Indes et de Ceylan. Part VIII. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 13: 462-477
 * Imai H. T., C. Baroni Urbani, M. Kubota, G. P. Sharma, M. H. Narasimhanna, B. C. Das, A. K. Sharma, A. Sharma, G. B. Deodikar, V. G. Vaidya, and M. R. Rajasekarasetty. 1984. Karyological survey of Indian ants. Japanese Journal of Genetics 59: 1-32.
 * Mathew R., and R. N. Tiwari. 2000. Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae. Pp. 251-409 in: Director; Zoological Survey of India (ed.) 2000. Fauna of of Meghalaya. Part 7. [State Fauna Series 4.] Insecta 2000. Calcutta: Zoological Survey of India, 621 pp.
 * Pajni H. R., and R. K. Suri. 1978. First report on the Formicid fauna (Hymenoptera) of Chandigarh. Res. Bull. (Science) Punjab University 29: 5-12.
 * Radchenko A. G. 1993. Ants from Vietnam in the collection of the Institute of Zoology, PAS, Warsaw. I. Pseudomyrmicinae, Dorylinae, Ponerinae. Annales Zoologici (Warsaw) 44: 75-82.
 * Rajan P. D., M. Zacharias, and T. M. Mustak Ali. 2006. Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae. Fauna of Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary (Karnataka). Conservation Area Series, Zool. Surv. India.i-iv,27: 153-188.
 * Tak N. 2000. Studies on ants (Formicidae) of Rajasthan--II Dungarpur. Entomon 25: 47-54.
 * Tak N. 2008. Ants of Rajasthan. Conserving Biodiversity of Rajasthan Zool. Surv. India. 149-155.
 * Tak N. 2009. Ants Formicidae of Rajasthan. Records of the Zoological Survey of India, Occasional Paper No. 288, iv, 46 p
 * Tak N., and N. S. Rathore. 2004. Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae. State Fauna Series 8: Fauna of Gujarat. Zool. Surv. India. Pp. 161-183.
 * Tak N., and S. L. Kazmi. 2011. On a collection of Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae from Uttarakhand. Rec. zool. Surv. India : 111(2) : 39-49.
 * Tiwari R.N., B.G. Kundu, S. Roychowdhury, S.N. Ghosh. 1999. Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae. Pp. 211-294 in: Director; Zoological Survey of India (ed.) 1999. Fauna of West Bengal. Part 8. Insecta (Trichoptera, Thysanoptera, Neuroptera, Hymenoptera and Anoplura). Calcutta: Zoological Survey of India, iv + 442 pp.
 * Tiwari, R.N. 1999. Taxonomic studies on ants of southern India (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Memoirs of the Zoological Survey of India 18(4):1-96
 * Wilson E. O. 1964. The true army ants of the Indo-Australian area (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Dorylinae). Pacific Insects 6: 427-483.