Aenictus gutianshanensis

Aenictus gutianshanensis (named after the type locality) is a Chinese species of army ant in the genus Aenictus. The species is known only from a single colony. Little is known about its biology, but it is probably most closely related to A. vieti.

Aenictus gutianshanensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Hymenoptera
Family:
Formicidae
Subfamily:
Dorylinae
Genus:
Aenictus
Species:
A. gutianshanensis
Binomial name
Aenictus gutianshanensis
Staab, 2014

Distribution

The species is known only from a single colony collected in the subtropical mixed evergreen broad-leaved forest of the Gutianshan National Nature Reserve, southeast China.[1]

Biology

No direct biological information is available. The type series was collected in a single pitfall trap in a secondary mixed evergreen broad-leaved forest. Thus, the species probably lives and forages on and in the leaf-litter preying on small ants of the subfamily Formicinae, as it has been previously reported for species in the Aenictus wroughtonii group. Possible prey species of the genera Prenolepis and Nylanderia are common at the type locality.[1]

Description

The species is probably most closely related to A. vieti, known from North Vietnam and Taiwan. Aenictus gutianshanensis can be easily distinguished from all other species of the Aenictus wroughtonii group by the pronotum, the petiole, and the side of the postpetiole completely finely reticulate. The species is most similar to Aenictus vieti and to Aenictus camposi, but is slightly larger in all measurements. Males of Aenictus gutianshanensis and many other Aenictus species are unknown.[1]

In addition to having the pronotum and petiole completely finely reticulate, Aenictus gutianshanensis can be easily distinguished from Aenictus vieti and Aenictus camposi by the following characters (characters for Aenictus vieti and Aenictus camposi are given in brackets): ventral margin of subpetiolar process almost straight (ventral margin convex), femora densely punctate (smooth and shiny in Jaitrong et al. 2010, but superficially and irregularly sculptured and shiny in two paratypes examined by the reviewer), postpetiolar process more developed with a rim below (less developed, without ventral rim), and longest standing hairs on pronotal dorsum distinctly longer (maximal 0.13 mm).[1]

References
  1. Staab, M. (2014). "A new species of the Aenictus wroughtonii group (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from South-East China". ZooKeys. 391 (391): 65–73. doi:10.3897/zookeys.391.7213. PMC 3974444. PMID 24715780.
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