Abstract
The Indianspeciesof the ant genus Cerapachys Smith are keyed. Twelve species are recognized of which 6 are described as new. The species are: Cerapachys aitkenii Forel, Cerapachys alii sp. n., Cerapachys anokha sp. n., Cerapachys besucheti Brown, Cerapachys biroi Forel, Cerapachys indicus Brown, Cerapachys longitarsus (Mayr), Cerapachys nayana sp. n., Cerapachys schoedli sp. n., Cerapachys seema sp. n., Cerapachys sulcinodis Emery and Cerapachys wighti sp. n. Geographic distribution and group affinities of the new species are discussed. A revised key to the Indian species is provided. The rare ergatoid queens of Cerapachys nayana, Cerapachys schoedli and Cerapachys seema are reported. Formed in response to selective pressures these ergatoid queens have a significant role in dispersal strategies and contribute much to our understanding of the biology of these ants.
Highlights
The ant genus Cerapachys includes mainly myrmecophagous ants which raid the nests of other ants for prey (Wilson 1959)
Other significant contributions to the genus from South-east Asia include those of Ogata (1983) who described a new species from China; Terayama et al (1988) provided notes on the Taiwanese species, with the rediscovery of Cerapachys sauteri Forel, 1913 from Taiwan; Morisita et al (1989) contributed a guide to identification of Japanese species; Radchenko (1993) described the queen of Cerapachys sauteri from Vietnam; Wu and Wang (1995) reviewed the Chinese species; Terayama (1996, 2009) respectively provided keys in addition to descriptions of three new species from Taiwan and Borowiec (2009) discussed the status of the spurious genus Yunodorylus Xu, and described three new species related to Cerapachys sexspinus (Xu, 2000)
The present study reports 6 further new species; C. alii sp. n., C. anokha sp. n., C. nayana sp. n., C. schoedli sp. n., C. seema sp. n., and C. wighti sp. n. from the southwest of the country
Summary
The ant genus Cerapachys includes mainly myrmecophagous ants which raid the nests of other ants for prey (Wilson 1959). The genus is distributed widely throughout the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, with the majority of species known from the Indo-Australian region (Brown 1975). Cerapachys is the largest genus in the tribe Cerapachyini and is represented by 153 species globally (Bolton 2013). Cerapachys in India is currently represented by 6 species (Bharti 2011). The present study reports 6 further new species; C. alii sp. Cerapachys is represented by 12 Indian species, a revised key to which is provided here. The present study aims to describe and catalogue the diversity of Cerapachys species from India and to discuss group affinities based upon available data
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