Polyrhachis wroughtonii

Polyrhachis wroughtonii
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Formicinae
Tribe:	Camponotini
Genus:	Polyrhachis
Subgenus:	Myrmhopla
Species:	P. wroughtonii
Binomial name
Polyrhachis wroughtonii Forel, 1894 Specimen Labels

Polyrhachis wroughtonii is apparently a rather rare species and has been collected on only a few occasions.

Photo Gallery

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  Polyrhachis wroughtonii worker from Kerala, India. Photo by Kalesh Sadasivan.

Identification

Kohout (2006) - A member of the Polyrhachis cryptoceroides species group. Easily distinguished from the other species of the species-group by the rounded sides of the mesosoma and the absence of a metanotal groove.

Keys including this Species

• Key to Polyrhachis cryptoceroides-group species
• Key to Polyrhachis of India

Distribution

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Oriental Region: India (type locality), Sri Lanka.

Distribution based on AntMaps

Distribution based on AntWeb specimens

Check data from AntWeb

Countries Occupied

Number of countries occupied by this species based on AntWiki Regional Taxon Lists. In general, fewer countries occupied indicates a narrower range, while more countries indicates a more widespread species.

Estimated Abundance

Relative abundance based on number of AntMaps records per species (this species within the purple bar). Fewer records (to the left) indicates a less abundant/encountered species while more records (to the right) indicates more abundant/encountered species.

Castes

Worker

Images from AntWeb

Syntype of Polyrhachis wroughtonii. Worker. Specimen code casent0903351. Photographer Will Ericson, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by NHMUK, London, UK.

Nomenclature

The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.

• wroughtonii. Polyrhachis wroughtonii Forel, 1894c: 398 (w.) INDIA. Forel, 1895e: 457 (q.m.). Combination in P. (Myrmhopla): Emery, 1925b: 191. See also: Kohout, 2006a: 148.

Unless otherwise noted the text for the remainder of this section is reported from the publication that includes the original description.

Description

Kohout (2006) - syntypes: TL c. 4.54 - 4.99; HL 1.18 - 1.34; HW 1.03 - 1.15; CI 86 - 87; SL 1.25 - 1.28; SI 111 - 121; PW 1.09 - 1.15; MTL 1.18 - 1.22 (2 workers measured). additional workers TL c. 4.69 - 4.74; HL 1.22 - 1.28; HW 1.04 - 1.09; CI 85; SL 1.25 - 1.34; SI 120 - 123; PW 1.06 - 1.12; MTL 1.15 - 1.22 (2 workers measured).

Type Material

Syntype workers. Type locality: India, Kanara (M. Wroughton), Musee d'Histoire Naturelle Genève (examined).

References

• Emery, C. 1925d. Hymenoptera. Fam. Formicidae. Subfam. Formicinae. Genera Insectorum 183: 1-302 (page 191, Combination in P. (Myrmhopla))
• Forel, A. 1894c. Les Formicides de l'Empire des Indes et de Ceylan. Part IV. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 8: 396-420 (page 398, worker described)
• Forel, A. 1895f. Les Formicides de l'Empire des Indes et de Ceylan. Part V. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 9: 453-472 (page 457, queen, male described)
• Kohout, R.J. 2006a. A review of the Polyrhachis cryptoceroides species-group with description of a new species from Thailand. Myrmecologische Nachrichten. 8:145-150.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

• Kohout R.J. 2006. A review of the Polyrhachis cryptoceroides species-group with description of a new species from Thailand. Myrmecologische Nachrichten 8: 145-150.