First verified record of the ant genus Calyptomyrmex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from India, along with a revised key to known Indomalayan species.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The members of genus Calyptomyrmex are mostly encountered under rotten logs, in the soil, under stones and in leaf litter samples. These ants are seldom in collections making estimation of their true distributional patterns problematic (Shattuck 2011). The deep antennal scrobes and the unique configuration of the clypeus are distinct to the genus (Bolton 1981).

New information

Herein Calyptomyrmex wittmeri Baroni Urbani, 1975 is redescribed and reported for the first time from India. This also confirms the first valid published record of the genus from the country. The image hosted by AntWeb as C. vedda (CASENT0280817; AntWeb 2015b) collected by Besuchet, Löbl, Mussard from Kerala, India and identified by Brown is actually C. wittmeri (Brown was uncertain of his d

SUBMITTER: Akbar SA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4678799 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature