Camponotus kutteri

Only known from the type locality on Simeulue Island, Indonesia (Zettel et al., 2018).

Identification
Zettel et al. (2018): Trunk, antennae and legs black; only mandibles orange; tergites with narrow but distinct pale hind margins. – Minor worker: Body matt to moderately shiny. Vertex moderately high. Posterior margin of clypeus concave. Dorsal outline of mesosoma strongly convex, with a shallow depression between mesonotum and propodeum.

Major worker: Head squared, about as long as wide; strongly shiny, with scattered punctures; some notably large punctures on frons.

The species fits relatively well in the species group, except for the distinct pale yellowish hind margins of gaster tergites in both major and minor workers, which resemble some species of Myrmamblys. The major worker strongly differs from other related black species by the shiny head, the minor worker by the more concave base of the clypeus.

Further notes: Forel (1915) described all morphs including males. He compared C. kutteri with Camponotus punctaticeps from Java, which has been listed as either a member of the subgenus Myrmamblys (Forel 1914, Emery 1925) or Colobopsis (McArthur 2012) by previous authors. According to the same publication (Forel 1915), the species lives in Sinabang in sympatry (but not necessarily at the same localities) with “Camponotus (Colobopsis) pilosus Smith”. This taxon is a member of the Colobopsis cylindrica group and is presently under investigation.

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

Worker
Minor

Nomenclature

 * . Camponotus (Myrmamblys) kutteri Forel, 1915a: 40 (s.w.q.m.) INDONESIA (Sumatra: Simeulue I.).
 * Status as species: Emery, 1925b: 138; Chapman & Capco, 1951: 232; Bolton, 1995b: 107; McArthur, 2012: 44; Zettel, Balàka, et al. 2018: 170 (redescription).

Worker
Zettel et al. (2018) - syntype (from illustration): Ward’s Indices: ASM/HWex 0.31, 0.30; ASM/CLW 0.65, 0.62; CLW/CLL 1.54, 1.61.

Minor Structures: Head roundish, uniformly reticulated and matt dorsally and laterally. Lateral outline of eye and head contiguous. Vertex moderately raised, not domed. Frons with shiny midline. Clypeus with a slightly concave basal margin, with distal margin roundly protruded. Mandible scarcely punctured. Mesosoma slender and low, entirely reticulated; dorsal outline convex, with a shallow impression between mesonotum and propodeum; on pronotum and propodeum moderately convex. Petiolar node with obliquely truncated apex. Gaster tergites with reticulation; translucent margins on tergites 1–4 distinct.

Pilosity: Long white standing setae abundant all over dorsum, longest on mesonotum, propodeum, gaster tergites 1 and 4. Subdecumbent pubescence short, thin, whitish, extremely sparse and inconspicuous on head, dense on mesosoma, petiole, and gaster. Colour: Dark brown to black, except scape brown and mandibles orange.

Major Structures: Head squared, longer than wide, sides slightly converging anteriorly. Eyes small, laterally not reaching sides of head. Ocellar scars absent. Frontal carinae prominent, curved. Dorsal surface of head with strong, widely spaced punctures; interspaces with reduced, hardly visible microsculpture, except area between high frontal carinae and eye clearly reticulated. Clypeus moderately narrow; basal margin with strong concavity in middle; anterior margin moderately protruded, not surpassing genae; disk with a few transverse wrinkles near base. Mandibles with widely spaced punctures. – Mesosoma similar to minor regarding microsculpture and dorsal outline, but slightly higher and somewhat broader at pronotum. Node of petiole similar to minor, but apex less acute in lateral view. Gaster similar as in minor.

Pilosity: Similar to minor, except white setae on head, pronotum, and mesonotum comparatively shorter; short pubescence absent from head.

Colour: Black, similar to minor, except head and anterior part of pronotum medium brown; mandibles reddish brown, except black teeth.

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
 * Forel A. 1915. Fauna Simalurensis. Hymenoptera Aculeata, Fam. Formicidae. Tijdschr. Entomol. 58: 22-43.
 * Zettel H., P. Balaka, S. Yamane, A. Laciny, L. Lim, and I. S. Druzhinina. 2018. New mimetic ants from Southeast Asia – the Camponotus (Myrmamblys) inquilinus group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Camponotini). Zeitschrift der Arbeitsgemeinschaft Osterreichischer Entomologen 70: 125-174.