Abstract
Aenictus is the most species-rich genus of army ants in the subfamily Dorylinae and one of the most species rich ant genera in China and the world. In this paper, a new species of the Aenictus ceylonicus group, Aenictus hoelldobleri sp. n., is described and illustrated based on the worker caste. The new species occurs in the subtropical forests of south-east China and is morphologically most similar to Aenictus henanensis Li & Wang, 2005 and Aenictus wudangshanensis Wang, 2006. Aenictus hoelldobleri sp. n. can be distinguished from both species by the shape of the subpetiolar process. The new species also resembles Aenictus lifuiae Terayama 1984 and Aenictus thailandianus Terayama & Kubota, 1993 but clearly differs in various features of the cuticular sculpture. A key to the Chinese species of the Aenictus ceylonicus group based on the worker caste is provided, which may help to reassess and clarify the taxonomic status of the abundant Chinese records of the true Aenictus ceylonicus (Mayr, 1866), a species which almost certainly does not occur in China. Several new locality records are given, among them the first record of Aenictus watanasiti Jaitrong & Yamane, 2013 from China.
Highlights
Army ants form a monophyletic group in the subfamily Dorylinae (Brady et al 2014)
All army ants can be characterized by a set of ecological and behavioral traits, most notably the specialized queen morphology, frequent nest relocations, and mass foraging raids for arthropod prey (Gotwald 1995, Kronauer 2009)
181 valid species (AntCat 2015) are known from the Mediterranean and the tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, Africa, and Australia (Gotwald 1995). As far as it is known, almost all Aenictus species are specialized predators of other ants, which are captured by raiding nests (e.g. Hirosawa et al 2000, Hashimoto and Yamane 2014), but a few species are more generalized predators of arthropods (Schneirla and Reyes 1966) or can even occasionally be trophobiotic (Staab 2014b)
Summary
All army ants can be characterized by a set of ecological and behavioral traits, most notably the specialized queen morphology, frequent nest relocations, and mass foraging raids for arthropod prey (Gotwald 1995, Kronauer 2009). 181 valid species (AntCat 2015) are known from the Mediterranean and the tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, Africa, and Australia (Gotwald 1995). As far as it is known, almost all Aenictus species are specialized predators of other ants, which are captured by raiding nests As far as it is known, almost all Aenictus species are specialized predators of other ants, which are captured by raiding nests (e.g. Hirosawa et al 2000, Hashimoto and Yamane 2014), but a few species are more generalized predators of arthropods (Schneirla and Reyes 1966) or can even occasionally be trophobiotic (Staab 2014b)
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