Synopsis of the ant genus Myrmecina Curtis, 1829 from China (Hymenoptera, Formicidae, Myrmicinae), with description of eleven new species
Authors/Creators
- 1. Guangxi Normal University, Guilin, China
Description
The ant genus Myrmecina Curtis, 1829 is a morphologically diverse group with a distribution spanning the Holarctic, Southeast Asia, and northeastern Australia, and comprising 106 described species worldwide. China represents a biodiversity hotspot for this genus, yet only 17 species were previously recognized. Here, we present a comprehensive morphological analysis of Chinese specimens, recognizing 28 valid species, including 11 new to science: Myrmecina carinolateralis Gu & Chen, sp. nov., M. flavipeda Gu & Chen, sp. nov., M. globicephala Gu & Chen, sp. nov., M. hirsuta Gu & Chen, sp. nov., M. jiachengi Gu & Chen, sp. nov., M. laevidorsa Gu & Chen, sp. nov., M. planiclypea Gu & Chen, sp. nov., M. rugosodorsum Gu & Chen, sp. nov., M. shanyii Gu & Chen, sp. nov., M. shixui Gu & Chen, sp. nov. and M. subuncinata Gu & Chen, sp. nov. In addition, we provide an updated illustrated key to all Chinese Myrmecina species.
Files
DEZ_article_162491.pdf
Files
(52.7 MB)
| Name | Size | Download all |
|---|---|---|
|
md5:c9898abf34430fd9a80f7cff0b0c8ca1
|
52.7 MB | Preview Download |
System files
(401.6 kB)
| Name | Size | Download all |
|---|---|---|
|
md5:a913cbb4ced38bc689401eed107d6e8a
|
401.6 kB | Download |
Linked records
Additional details
References
- Bolton B (1975) A revision of the ant genus Leptogenys Roger (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the Ethiopian region with a review of the Malagasy species. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History). Entomology 31: 235–305. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.part.29487
- Bolton B (2003) Synopsis and classification of Formicidae. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute 71: 1–370.
- Bolton B (2025) An online catalog of the ants of the world. http://antcat.org./ [accessed 19 March 2025]
- Bondroit J (1918) Les fourmis de France et de Belgique. Annales de la Société Entomologique de France 87(1–2): 1–174. https://doi.org/10.1080/21686351.1918.12279608
- Brown WL (1951) New synonymy of a few genera and species of ants. Bulletin of the Brooklyn Entomological Society 46: 101–106.
- Brown WL (1971) Characters and synonymies among the genera of ants. Part IV. Some genera of subfamily Myrmicinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Breviora 365: 1–5.
- Camacho GP, Franco W, Branstetter MG, Pie MR, Longino JT, Schultz TR, Feitosa RM (2022) UCE phylogenomics resolves major relationships among ectaheteromorph ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Ectatomminae, Heteroponerinae): a new classification for the subfamilies and the description of a new genus. Insect Systematics and Diversity 6(1): 5. https://doi.org/10.1093/isd/ixab026
- Chen Y, Luo CW, Li HW, Xu ZH, Liu YJ, Zhao SJ (2011) The investigation of soil ant resources on the West slope of Mt Ailao. Hubei Agricultural Sciences 50(7): 1356–1359.
- Curtis J (1829) British entomology; being illustrations and descriptions of the genera of insects found in Great Britain and Ireland. Vol. 6. London: published by the author, plates 242–289.
- Curtis J (1854) On the genus Myrmica and other indigenous ants. Transactions of the Linnean Society of London 21(3): 211–220. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1096-3642.1852.tb00456.x
- Emery C (1889) Formiche di Birmania e del Tenasserim raccolte da Leonardo Fea (1885–87). Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale 27[= (2)7]: 485–512.
- Emery C (1895) Viaggio di Leonardo Fea in Birmania e regioni vicine. LXIII. Formiche di Birmania del Tenasserim e dei Monti Carin raccolte da L. Fea. Parte II. Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale 34[= (2)14]: 450–483. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.part.16764
- Emery C (1898) Beiträge zur Kenntniss der palaearktischen Ameisen. Öfversigt af Finska Vetenskaps-Societetens Förhandlingar 20: 124–151.
- Emery C (1916) Fauna entomologica italiana. I. Hymenoptera. -Formicidae. Bollettino della Società Entomologica Italiana 47: 79–275.
- Foerster A (1850) Eine Centurie neuer Hymenopteren. Zweite Dekade. Verhandlungen des Naturhistorischen Vereins der Preussischen Rheinlande und Westfalens 7: 1–500. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.66967
- Fontanilla AM, Nakamura A, Xu Z, Cao M, Kitching RL, Tang Y, Burwell CJ (2019) Taxonomic and functional ant diversity along tropical, subtropical, and subalpine elevational transects in southwest China. Insects 10(5): 128. https://doi.org/10.3390/insects10050128
- Forel AH (1912) Sauter's Formosa–Ausbeute. Formicidae (Hy: Myrmecina). Entomologische Mitteilungen. Berlin-Dahlem 1: 45–81. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.part.25894
- Forel AH (1914) Deux nouveautés myrmécologiques. Yvorne, Switzerland: published by the author, 1.
- Guénard B, Dunn RR (2012) A checklist of the ants of China. Zootaxa 3358(1): 1–77. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3558.1.1
- He YC, Xu ZH, Zhang XM, Huang Z, Xiong ZP, Liu X, Liu NY (2020) Ant species diversity of Western Daliangshan in Sichuan Province. Journal of Southwest Forestry University 40(3): 104–115. https://doi.org/10.11929/j.swfu.201904047
- Huang JH, Zhou SY (2007) A checklist of family Formicidae of China-Myrmicinae (Part II) (Insecta: Hymenoptera). Journal of Guangxi Normal University: Natural Science Edition 25(1): 91–99.
- Huang JH, Huang Y, Zhou SY (2008) A new species of the genus Myrmecina Curtis, 1829 (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from Hunan Province, China. Acta Zootaxonomica Sinica 33: 275–278.
- Huang Z, Xu ZH, Liu X, Li LM, Wang YL, Shi SH, Shi Y, Chen ZF (2019) Ant species diversity in northeastern Yunnan. Shengtaixue Zazhi 38(12): 3697–3705.
- Jaitrong W, Samung Y, Waengsothorn S, Okido H (2019) A new species of the ant genus Myrmecina Curtis, 1829 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae) from Thailand. Far Eastern Entomologist [= Dal'nevostochnyi Entomolog] 383: 1–7.
- Karavaiev V (1930) Beitrag zur Ameisenfauna der schwedischen Inseln Gotland und Oeland. Zbirnyk Prats'. Zoolohichnoho Muzeyu 8: 5–46. [= Trudy. Vseukrains'ka Akademiya Nauk. Fizichno-Matematichnoho Viddilu 15: 109–150]
- Latreille PA (1802) Histoire naturelle des fourmis: et recueil de mémoires et, d'observations sur les abeilles, les araignées, les faucheurs, et autres insects. Paris: Impr. Crapelet (chez T. Barrois) [xvi 445 pp. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.11138
- Li ZH (2006) List of Chinese Insects. Vol. 4. Sun Yat-sen University Press.
- Li Q, Chen YQ, Wang SM, Zheng Y, Zhu YH, Wang SY (2009) Diversity of ants in subtropical evergreen broadleaved forest in Pu'er City, Yunnan. Biodiversity Science 17(3): 233–239. https://doi.org/10.3724/SP.J.1003.2009.08035
- Li X, Hao D, Huang Y (2011) Ant species diversity at piedmont of Zijin Mountain in Nanjing. Journal of Nanjing Forestry University 35(5): 55–58. [Natural Science Edition]
- Lin CC, Wu WJ (1998) The ant tribe Myrmecinini (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Taiwan. Chinese Journal of Entomology 18: 83–100.
- Liu C, Fischer G, Liu Q, Peng YQ, Economo EP, Guenard B (2022) Updating the taxonomy of the ant genus Myrmecina (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in China with descriptions of three new species. Zootaxa 5182(2): 152–164. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5182.2.2
- Lu Z, Hoffmann BD, Chen Y (2016) Can reforested and plantation habitats effectively conserve SW China's ant biodiversity? Biodiversity and Conservation 25(4): 753–770. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-016-1090-1
- Luo CL, Xu ZH, Xiong ZP, Qi B, Yuan DY, Ran MJ (2019a) Distribution patterns of ant species from Wanglang Nature Reserve and adjacent areas of Sichuan Province. Journal of Zhejiang A&F University 36(4): 638–645.
- Luo CL, Xu ZH, Zhu HQ, Yuan DY, Qi B, Ran MJ (2019b) Altitudinal gradient of ant species diversity of Wanglang Nature reserve and adjacent area in Sichuan Province. Journal of Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University 48(4): 485–492.
- Mann WM (1921) The ants of the Fiji Islands. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 64: 401–499.
- Masuko K (1994) Specialized predation on oribatid mites by two species of the ant genus Myrmecina (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Psyche (Cambridge, Massachusetts) 101(3–4): 159–173. https://doi.org/10.1155/1994/96412
- Mayr G (1855) Formicina austriaca. Beschreibung der bisher im österreichischen Kaiserstaate aufgefundenen Ameisen, nebst Hinzufügung jener in Deutschland, in der Schweiz und in Italien vorkommenden Arten. Verhandlungen der Zoologisch-Botanischen Vereins in Wien 5: 273–478.
- Müller G (1923) Le formiche della Venezia Guilia e della Dalmazia. Bollettino della Società Adriatica di Scienze Naturali in Trieste 28: 11–180.
- Nylander W (1849) Additamentum alterum adnotationum in monographiam formicarum borealium. Acta Societatis Scientiarum Fennicae 3: 25–48.
- Oberski JT (2022) First phylogenomic assessment of the amphitropical New World ant genus Dorymyrmex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), a longstanding taxonomic puzzle. Insect Systematics and Diversity 6(1)[8]: 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1093/isd/ixab022
- Okido H, Ogata K, Hosoishi S (2020) Taxonomic revision of the ant genus Myrmecina in Southeast Asia (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Bulletin of the Kyushu University Museum 17: 1–108. https://doi.org/10.15082/bkum.017.01
- Rigato F (1999) Myrmecina melonii n. sp., a new ant from Sardinia, with a review of the West Paleartic Myrmecina (Hymenoptera Formicidae). Bollettino della Società Entomologica Italiana 131: 83–92.
- Santschi F (1939) Fourmis de Rhodesia et du Congo. Bulletin & Annales de la Société Entomologique de Belgique 79: 237–246.
- Schenck PA (1852) Beschreibung nassauischer Ameisenarten (No. 8). Verein für Naturkunde im Herzogthum Nassau. Wiesbaden 8: 1–149.
- Terayama M (1985) Two new species of the ant genus Myrmecina (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Japan and Taiwan. Edaphologia 32: 1–40.
- Terayama M (2009) A synopsis of the family Formicidae of Taiwan (Insecta: Hymenoptera). Research Bulletin of Kanto Gakuen University. Liberal Arts 17: 81–266.
- Wheeler W (1921) Chinese ants collected by Prof. C. W. Howard. Psyche (Cambridge, Massachusetts) 28(4): 110–115. https://doi.org/10.1155/1921/12185
- Xu ZH (1998) A report of fourty-one ant species newly recorded in China from Xishuangbanna District of Yunnan Province (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zhongguo Xue Shu Qi Kan Wen Zhai 4: 1119–1121.
- Xu ZH, Yang BL, Hu G (1999) Formicidae ant communities in fragments of montane rain forest in Xishuangbanna, China. Zoological Research 20(4): 288–293.
- Xu ZH, Li JG, Fu QZ, Long QZ (2001) A study on the ant communities on west slope at different elevation of the Gaoligongshan Mountain Nature Reserve in Yunnan, China. Zoological Research 22(1): 58–63.
- Zhou SY (2001) Ants of Guangxi. Guilin, China: Guangxi Normal University Press.
- Zhou SY, Huang JH, Ma LB (2008) Two new species of the ant genus Myrmecina (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), with a key to Chinese species. Sociobiology 52: 283–291.