Myopias maligna punctigera ( Emery, 1900 )

Jaitrong, Weeyawat, Tasen, Wattanachai & Guénard, Benoit, 2018, The ant genus Myopias Roger, 1861 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Ponerinae) in Thailand, with descriptions of three new species, Zootaxa 4526 (2), pp. 151-174 : 158

Myopias maligna punctigera ( Emery, 1900)

( Figs. 19–21 )

Trapeziopelta maligna var. punctigera Emery, 1900: 663 . Syntype worker, INDONESIA: Mentawei I., Sipora, Sereinu (MSNG, AntWeb image examined). Myopias maligna punctigera : Bolton 1995: 270.

Non-type material examined. THAILAND: seven workers, Narathiwat Prov., Wang Dist., Rotten Wood , 26.IX.2001, W. Jaitrong leg., Colony no. TH01-WJT-160 (AMK, THNHM); 2 workers, same locality and date, C. Bourmas leg., Colony no. CB 260901 -1 (AMK, THNHM).

Measurements. Non-type workers (n = 10): TL 11.40–11.50, HL 2.05–2.15, HW 1.85–1.90, SL 1.55–1.65, ED 0.45–0.50, ML 1.55–1.60, PW 1.35–1.40, MSL 3.10–3.20, PL 0.95–1.05, PH 1.00–1.05, DPW 0.80–0.88, CI 88–90, SI 84–89, OI 24–26, MI 74–76, LPI 105, DPI 84–89.

Diagnosis of worker: Body 11.40–11.50 mm in total length (large size). With head in full-face view subrectangular, posterolateral corner bluntly angulated; masticatory margin of mandibles with 7–8 teeth (fig. 8); median clypeal process slightly shorter than broad, subrectangular, widened forward, its anterior margin straight; lateral margin and anterior margin of median clypeal lobe meet forming sharp angle; eyes relatively large and convex, with 12–15 ommatidia along the longest axis; antennal scape robust and enlarged toward apical portion, reaching posterior margin of head; in profile, anteroventral corner of head without bluntly angled process; petiole rectangular or cylindrical, almost as long as high; subpetiolar process well developed, with concave ventral outline, with a downward pointed triangular denticle at anteroventral corner, and with a pair of small posteriorly pointed denticles at posteroventral corners. Dorsum of head, mesosoma and dorsum of petiole with dense foveae, with area between foveae smooth and shiny; ventral surface of head with sparse foveae; scape smooth and shiny; mandible largely smooth and shiny, with a few small punctures; metasoma and legs smooth and shiny with a few small punctures. Body entirely reddish brown to dark brown.

Habitat. This species was collected from rotten wood on the forest floor in lowland primary evergreen forest in southernmost Thailand.

Distribution. Thailand (Narathiwat Province, new record, fig. 52) and Indonesia (Mentawei Islands) ( Emery 1900; Bolton 1995) (fig. 52).

Comparative notes. This species is easily distinguished from the other species as follows: large body size; posterolateral corner of head bluntly angulated; masticatory margin of mandible with 7–8 teeth; anterior margin of median clypeal lobe straight. While this subspecies might represent a valid species, we did not directly examine the type specimens of M. maligna and the description by Smith (1861) is unfortunately rather uninformative. The exact taxonomic position of M. maligna and M. maligna punctigera thus deserve further work, outside the scope of this study.

Figures

FIGURES 19–21. Myopias maligna punctigera (non-type worker, TH01- WJT-160). 19, Body in profile view; 20, body in dorsal view; 21, head in full-face view.