Protanilla

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online

Protanilla usually occur in well-developed forests but can sometimes be found along forest edges. They nest in rotten wood fragments and in soil (Vietnam, Eguchi et al 2014). In Borneo colonies, complete with dealate queens, were found in very rotten wood (one log, one partially buried stump) which were in an advanced stage of decay, the bulk of the colony being in the soil-wood layer immediately above the underlying clay soil.

Identification

Keys including this Genus

 

Keys to Species in this Genus

Distribution

Man et al (2017) - Protanilla beijingensis represents the northernmost record of the genus Protanilla and is the first collection of the genus recorded in the Palaearctic of China.

Distribution and Richness based on AntMaps

Species by Region

Number of species within biogeographic regions, along with the total number of species for each region.

Afrotropical Region Australasian Region Indo-Australian Region Malagasy Region Nearctic Region Neotropical Region Oriental Region Palaearctic Region
Species 0 0 2 0 0 0 7 7
Total Species 2840 1735 3042 932 835 4378 1740 2862

Biology

It is unclear if these ants are rare or woefully undersampled. The genus is one of those ant taxa that lives a subterranean existence and myrmecologists have yet to implement adaquate techniques to sample the world's underground ant fauna. The most recently discovery species, Protanilla beijingensis, was taken from a subterranean pitfall trap using a sampler that could prove useful for future surveys.

Castes

Morphology

Worker Morphology

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Male Morphology

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 • Caste unknown

Phylogeny

Leptanillinae
Opamyrmini

Opamyrma  (1 species, 0 fossil species)

Leptanillini

Leptanilla  (61 species, 0 fossil species)

Protanilla  (18 species, 0 fossil species)

See Phylogeny of Leptanillinae for details.

Nomenclature

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

  • PROTANILLA [Leptanillinae: Anomalomyrmini]
    • Protanilla Taylor, in Bolton, 1990b: 279. Type-species: Protanilla rafflesi Taylor, in Bolton, 1990b: 279, by original designation.
    • Protanilla in Leptanillinae: Anomalomyrmini: Bolton, 1990b: 279; Hölldobler & Wilson, 1990: 12; Kugler, C. 1992: 107; Bolton, 1994: 70; Bolton, 2003: 152.
    • Protanilla as genus: all authors.
    • Protanilla as senior synonym of Furcotanilla: Hsu, et al. 2017: 119, 128.
    • Protanilla catalogues: Bolton, 1995b: 369.
  • ANOMALOMYRMA [junior synonym of Protanilla]
    • Anomalomyrma Taylor, in Bolton, 1990b: 278. Type-species: Anomalomyrma taylori, by original designation.
    • Anomalomyrma junior synonym of Protanilla: Griebenow, 2024: 117.
  • FURCOTANILLA [junior synonym of Protanilla]
    • Furcotanilla Xu, 2012c: 481. Type-species: Protanilla furcomandibula Xu & Zhang, 2002: 140, by original designation.
    • Furcotanilla in Leptanillinae, Anomalomyrmini: Xu, 2012c: 482.
    • Furcotanilla junior synonym of Protanilla: Hsu, et al. 2017: 119; Griebenow, 2024: 117.

References