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

Abstract

BackgroundThe 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 informationHerein 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 determination of C. vedda and cautiously inserted an interrogation point in front of his determination). Two workers recently collected at Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary, Kerala present similarities to the specimen identified by Brown. However, characters as the lack of well-developed promesonotal suture, absence of clavate setae, and narrow petiolar node, concur with the diagnosis of C. wittmeri. A revised key to known Indomalayan species of the genus is provided herewith.