Crematogaster brunnea

Identification
Crematogaster brunnea is a complex species group consisting of six species. General characters are reddish brown colouration, head smooth and shining with faint striations near base of antennae and gena, head wider than the mesosoma, the vertex slightly emarginated; mesosoma in lateral view finely striated longitudinally, metanotum deeply concave with acute spine; petiole heart shaped, flattened above; postpetiole globose and biturberculate dorsally; gaster smooth and shining.

Crematogaster contemta (often as Crematogaster brunnea contemta) is a light bicoloured yellowish subspecies with darker brown gaster, propodeal spines small sharply pointed, thick at the base, directed downward.

Crematogaster brunnea nicevillei is a darker subspecies with smaller spines, deep metanotal groove, raised mesonotum and faintly striate gena.

Crematogaster brunnea nilgirica is restricted to southern India with prominent striations on head and mesosomal dorsum, propodeal spines large, diverging, fronto clypeal sulcus more or less pointed.

Crematogaster brunnea rabula is a dull brownish coloured subspecies with pronotum and propodeum dorsally feebly striate, propodeal spines short, pointed, thick at base diverging outwards.

Crematogaster brunnea ruginota is a light yellowish brown coloured subspecies with deep metanotal groove, strongly raised pro- and mesonotum, propodeal declivity truncate, propodeal spines smaller, pointed, thick at base, directed upward. (Akbar et al., 2023)

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Indo-Australian Region: Borneo, Indonesia, Malaysia. Oriental Region: India, Sri Lanka. Palaearctic Region: China.

Nomenclature

 * . Crematogaster brunneus Smith, F. 1857a: 75 (w.) BORNEO (East Malaysia: Sarawak).
 * Type-material: 4 syntype workers.
 * Type-locality: Malaysia: Sarawak, “Sar” (A.R. Wallace).
 * Type-depositories: BMNH, OXUM.
 * [Misspelled as brunea by Dalla Torre, 1893: 80.]
 * Combination in C. (Acrocoelia): Emery, 1922e: 149;
 * combination in C. (Crematogaster): Bolton, 1995b: 166.
 * Status as species: Smith, F. 1858b: 138; Mayr, 1863: 404; Roger, 1863b: 37; Smith, F. 1871a: 329; Mayr, 1886c: 360; Dalla Torre, 1893: 80; Wheeler, W.M. 1919e: 71; Emery, 1922e: 149; Wheeler, W.M. 1927h: 87; Wheeler, W.M. 1929f: 4; Donisthorpe, 1932c: 450; Chapman & Capco, 1951: 86; Morisita, et al. 1992: 60; Bolton, 1995b: 149; Pfeiffer, et al. 2011: 45; Guénard & Dunn, 2012: 42; Bharti, Guénard, et al. 2016: 36; Dias, R.K.S. et al. 2020: 69.
 * Distribution: China, India, Malaysia (Sarawak), Sri Lanka.
 * Current subspecies: nominal plus latipetiolata, nicevillei, nilgirica, rabula, ruginota, sundaica.

Crematogaster brunneus

Two worker syntypes in, two worker syntypes in. Labelled “Sar.”

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
 * Dias R. K. S. 2002. Current knowledge on ants of Sri Lanka. ANeT Newsletter 4: 17- 21.
 * Gay H., and R. Hensen. 1992. Ant specificity and behaviour in mutualisms with epiphytes: the case of Lecanopteris (Polypodiaceae). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 47: 261-284.
 * Hosoishi S. and K. Ogata. 2009. A check list of the ant genus Crematogaster in Asia (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Bull. Inst. Trop. Agr. Kyushu Univ. 32: 43-83.
 * Kim et al. 1993. Systematic study of ants from Chejudo Province. Koran Journal of Entomology 23(3): 117-141.
 * 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
 * Sheikh A. H., M. Manzoor, Y. A. Rather, and T. Jobiraj. 2019. Taxonomic study of ant (Formicidae : Hymenoptera) fauna of Dumna Nature Park, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India. Journal of Entomological Research 43(2): 203-212.
 * Smith, F.. "Catalogue of the hymenopterous insects collected at Sarawak, Borneo; Mount Ophir, Malacca; and at Singapore, by A. R. Wallace." Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London, Zoology 2 (1857): 42-88.
 * Wheeler W. M. 1919. The ants of Borneo. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 63:43-147.