Taxonomic Studies on the Ant Genus Temnothorax Mayr, 1861 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), with the Description of Three New Species from India
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.13102/sociobiology.v72i4.9092Keywords:
North-East, Himalaya, Myrmicinae, TaxonomyAbstract
The Northeastern Himalaya forms the most significant part of the Indo-Burma hotspot, with many imperative landscapes designed for the region. The region presents an amalgam of Indomalayan, Palearctic, and Sino-Japanese elements, characterized by diverse ecological and altitudinal gradients. The rich faunal and floral diversity can be attributed to tropical rainforests, sub-tropical forests, temperate and alpine forests, which cover more than 60% of the total geographical area. Due to the geographical and cultural proximity of the Southeast Asian countries, the region is of enormous economic importance. The Eastern Himalayas meet the prerequisite criterion of biological commonalities and are designated as a vital eco-region of India. The uplift of the Tibetan Plateau and the rise of the Himalayas as an insurmountable barrier have led to a high degree of endemism in the region. Ant specimens were collected manually. The present study describes three new species, Temnothorax arunachalensis sp. nov., Temnothorax boltoni sp. nov., and Temnothorax pangchenensis sp. nov. from India. An Identification key supplemented with digital images of the known species of this genus, based on the worker caste from India, is also provided.
Downloads
References
Agosti, D. & Collingwood, C.A. (1987). A provisional list of the Balkan ants (Hym. Formicidae) with a key to the worker caste. II. Key to the worker caste, including the European species without the Iberian. Mitteilungen der Schweizerischen Entomologischen Gesellschaft, 60: 261-293.
Arnol’di, K.V. & Dlussky, G.M. (1978). Superfam. Formicoidea. 1. Fam. Formicidae - ants. In G.S. Medvedev (Eds.), Keys to the insects of the European part of the USSR (pp. 119: 3-584) Opredeliteli Faune, SSSR.
Atanassov, N. & Dlussky, G.M. (1992). Fauna of Bulgaria. Hymenoptera, Formicidae. [In Bulgarian.]. Fauna na Bûlgariya, 22: 1-310.
Baroni Urbani, C. (1971). Catalogo delle specie di Formicidae d’Italia (Studi sulla mirmecofauna d’Italia X). Memorie della Società Entomologica Italiana, 50: 5-287.
Báthori, F., Heinze, J., Trindl, A., Seifert, B., Herczeg, G. & Csősz, S. (2023). Host-switching events are not always the driver of speciation in social parasites: a case study in Temnothorax (Myrmoxenus) ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Journal of Zoology, 322: 1-11.
Báthori, F., Seifert, B., Heinze, J., Kiran, K., Karaman, C. & Csősz, S. (2024). Taxonomy of the Palearctic socially parasitic Temnothorax (Myrmoxenus) ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). PLoS ONE, 19: 1-49.
Beckers, R., Goss, S., Deneubourg, J.L. & Pasteels, J.M. (1989). Colony size, communication and ant foraging strategy. Psyche, 96: 239-256.
Bernard, F. (1967). Faune de l’Europe et du Bassin Méditerranéen. 3. Les fourmis (Hymenoptera Formicidae) d’Europe occidentale et septentrionale. Paris: Masson, 411 p.
Bharti, H., Gul, I. & Schulz, A. (2012). Three new species of genus Temnothorax (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Indian Himalaya with a revised key to the Indian species. Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, 58: 325-336.
Bharti, H., Gul, I. & Sasi, S. (2016). Taxonomy of Temnothorax simlensis stat. nov. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) with first description of sexual castes along with a mention of its plesiobiotic association with Himalayan species of genus Myrmica. Sociobiology, 63: 748-754.
Blaimer, B.B., Ward, P.S., Schultz, T.R., Fisher, B.L. & Brady, S.G. (2018). Paleotropical diversification dominates the evolution of the hyperdiverse ant tribe Crematogastrini (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Insect Systematics and Diversity, 2: 1-14.
Bolton, B. (1982). Afrotropical species of the myrmicine ant genera Cardiocondyla, Leptothorax, Melissotarsus, Messor and Cataulacus (Formicidae). Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History). Entomology, 45: 307-370.
Bolton, B. (1994). Identification guide to the ant genera of the world. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 222 p.
Bolton, B. (1995). A new general catalogue of the ants of the world. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 504 p.
Bolton, B. (2003). Synopsis and classification of Formicidae. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute, 71: 1-370.
Bolton, B. (2025). Bolton’s Catalogue and Synopsis Version http://www.antweb.org. (Accessed on 10 October 2025).
Bondroit, J. (1918). Les fourmis de France et de Belgique. Annales de la Société Entomologique de France, 87: 1-174.
Borowiec, L. & Salata, S. (2025). A monographic review of ants of Greece (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Vol. 2. Review of the subfamily Myrmicinae except the genera Temnothorax and Tetramorium. Part 1: text. Bytom: Natural History Monographs of the Upper Silesian Museum, 1-476.
Brown Jr., W.L. (1973). A comparison of the Hylean and Congo-West African rain forest ant faunas. In: B.J. Meggers, E.S. Ayensu & W.D. Duckworth (Eds.), Tropical forest ecosystems in Africa and South America: a comparative review (pp. 161-185). Washington, D.C., Smithsonian Institution Press.
Buschinger, A., Fischer, K., Guthy, H.P., Jessen, K. & Winter, U. (1987). Biosystematic revision of Epimyrma kraussei, E. vandeli, and E. foreli (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Psyche, 93:253-276.
Buschinger, A. (1989). Evolution, speciation, and inbreeding in the parasitic ant genus Epimyrma (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 2: 265-283.
Cagniant, H. & Espadaler, X. (1997). Les Leptothorax, Epimyrma et Chalepoxenus du Maroc (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Clé et catalogue des espèces. Annales de la Société Entomologique de France (n.s.), 33: 259-284.
Cantone, S. (2017). Winged ants – The male. Dichotomous key to genera of winged male ants in the world. Behavioral ecology of mating flight. São Paulo: Autopubblicato, 318 p.
Catarineu, C., Barberá, G.G. & Reyes-López, J.L. (2017). A new ant species, Temnothorax ansei sp. n. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from the arid environments of south-eastern Spain. Sociobiology, 64: 138-145.
Csősz, S., Heinze, J. & Mikó, I. (2015). Taxonomic synopsis of the Ponto-Mediterranean ants of Temnothorax nylanderi species-group. PLoS ONE, 10(11): e0140000.
Csősz, S., Salata, S. & Borowiec, L. (2018). Three Turano-European species of the Temnothorax interruptus group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) demonstrated by quantitative morphology. Myrmecological News, 26: 101-119.
Csősz, S., Alicata, A., Báthori, F., Galkowski, C., Schifani, E., Yusupov, Z., Herczeg, G. & Prebus, M.M. (2024a). Integrative taxonomy reveals inflated biodiversity in the European Temnothorax unifasciatus complex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zoologica Scripta, 53: 1-17.
Csősz, S., Schifani, E., Seifert, B., Alicata, A. & Prebus, M.M. (2024b). A new species of yellow acorn ant discovered in Italy via integrative taxonomy (Temnothorax luteus-complex, Formicidae). Evolutionary Systematics, 8: 183-197.
Czechowski, W., Radchenko, A., Czechowska, W. & Vepsäläinen, K. (2012). The ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Poland with reference to the myrmecofauna of Europe. (Fauna Poloniae n.s. 4). Warsaw: Natura Optima Dux Foundation, 496 p.
Dours, J.A. (1873). Catalogue synonymique des Hyménoptères de France. Mémoires de la Société Linnéenne de Nord de la France, 3: 1-230.
Dalla Torre, K.W. (1893). Catalogus Hymenopterorum hucusque descriptorum systematicus et synonymicus. Vol. 7. Formicidae (Heterogyna). Leipzig: W. Engelmann, 289 p.
Dlussky, G.M. & Fedoseeva, E.B. (1988). Origin and early stages of evolution in ants. In A.G. Ponomarenko (Eds.), Cretaceous biocenotic crisis and insect evolution. (pp. 70-144). Moskva: Nauka.
Donisthorpe, H. (1943). A list of the type-species of the genera and subgenera of the Formicidae. [concl.]. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, 10: 721-737.]
Eguchi, K., Bui, T.V. & Yamane, S. (2011). Generic synopsis of the Formicidae of Vietnam (Insecta: Hymenoptera), Part I-Myrmicinae and Pseudomyrmecinae. Zootaxa, 2878: 1-61.
Emery, C. (1915). Formiche raccolte nell’Eritrea dal Prof. F. Silvestri. Bollettino del Laboratorio di Zoologia Generale e Agraria della Reale Scuola Superiore d’Agricoltura. Portici, 10: 3-26.
Emery, C. (1877). Saggio di un ordinamento naturale dei Mirmicidei, e considerazioni sulla filogenesi delle formiche. Bullettino della Società Entomologica Italiana, 9: 67-83.
Emery, C. (1916). Fauna entomologica italiana. I. Hymenoptera-Formicidae. Bullettino della Società Entomologica Italiana, 47: 79-275.
Emery, C. (1924). Hymenoptera. Fam. Formicidae. Subfam. Myrmicinae. [concl.]. Genera Insectorum, 174: 207-397.
Fernández, F. & Serna, F.J. (2019). Subfamilia Myrmicinae. Capítulo 27. In F. Fernández, R.J. Guerrero & T. Delsinne (Eds.), Hormigas de Colombia. Bogotá (pp. 791-888), Universidad Nacional de Colombia.
Fisher, B.L. & Bolton, B. (2016). Ants of the world. Ants of Africa and Madagascar. A guide to the genera. Berkeley: University of California Press, 503 p.
Forel, A. (1874). Les fourmis de la Suisse. Systématique, notices anatomiques et physiologiques, architecture, distribution géographique, nouvelles expériences et observations de moeurs. Neue Denkschriften der Allgemeinen Schweizerischen Gesellschaft für die Gesammten Naturwissenschaften, 26: 1-452.
Forel, A. (1890). Fourmis de Tunisie et de l’Algérie orientale. Annales de la Société Entomologique de Belgique, 34: 61-77.
Forel, A. (1892). Die Ameisenfauna Bulgariens. (Nebst biologischen Beobachtungen). Verhandlungen der Kaiserlich-Königlichen Zoologisch-Botanischen Gesellschaft in Wien, 42: 305-318.
Forel, A. (1915). Fauna insectorum helvetiae. Hymenoptera. Formicidae. Die Ameisen der Schweiz. Mitteilungen der Schweizerischen Entomologischen Gesellschaft Beilage, 12: 1-77.
Forel, A. (1917). Cadre synoptique actuel de la faune universelle des fourmis. Bulletin de la Société Vaudoise des Sciences Naturelles, 51: 229-253.
Galkowski, C. & Lebas, C. (2016). Temnothorax conatensis nov. sp., décrite des Pyrénées-Orientales (France) (Hym., Formicidae). Revue de l’Association Roussillonnaise d’Entomologie, 25: 80-87.
Galkowski, C. & Cagniant, H. (2017). Contribution à la connaissance des fourmis du groupe angustulus dans le genre Temnothorax (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Revue de l’Association Roussillonnaise d’Entomologie, 26: 180-191.
González, J.A. (2021). Description of Temnothorax estel sp. nov. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), with a review of the Iberian species of the sordidulus species-complex. Zootaxa, 5005: 145-160.
Guénard, B., Shik, J., Booher, D., Lubertazzi, D. & Alpert, G. (2016). Extreme polygyny in the previously unstudied subtropical ant Temnothorax tuscaloosae with implications for the biogeographic study of the evolution of polygyny. Insectes Sociaux, 63: 543-551.
Hamer, M.T., Lee, R.H. & Guénard, B. (2023). First record of the genus Temnothorax Mayr, 1861 (Formicidae: Myrmicinae) in Hong Kong, with descriptions of two new species. European Journal of Taxonomy, 879: 116-135.
Hölldobler, B. & Wilson, E.O. (1990). The ants. Harvard University Press Cambridge, Massachusetts, 732 p.
Kutter, H. (1973). Beitrag zur Lösung taxonomischer Probleme in der Gattung Epimyrma (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Mitteilungen der Schweizerischen Entomologischen Gesellschaft, 46: 281-289.
Kutter, H. (1977). Hymenoptera, Formicidae. Insecta Helvetica. Fauna, 6: 1-298.
Mayr, G. (1861). Die europäischen Formiciden. Nach der analytischen Methode bearbeitet. Wien: C. Gerolds Sohn, 80 p.
Mayr, G. (1863). Formicidarum index synonymicus. Verhandlungen der Kaiserlich-Königlichen Zoologisch-Botanischen Gesellschaft in Wien, 13: 385-460.
Mayr, G. (1865). Formicidae. In Novara Expedition 1865. Reise der Österreichischen Fregatte “Novara” um die Erde in den Jahren 1857, 1858, 1859. Zoologischer Theil. Bd. II. Abt. 1. Wien: K. Gerold’s Sohn.
Menozzi, C. (1931). Revisione del genere Epimyrma Em. (Hymen. Formicidae) e descrizione di una specie inedita di questo genere. Memorie della Società Entomologica Italiana, 10: 36-53.
Ogata, K. (1991). A generic synopsis of the poneroid complex of the family Formicidae (Hymenoptera). Part II. Subfamily Myrmicinae. Bulletin of the Institute of Tropical Agriculture Kyushu University, 14: 61-149.
Prebus, M. (2015). Palearctic elements in the old world tropics: a taxonomic revision of the ant genus Temnothorax Mayr (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) for the Afrotropical biogeographical region. ZooKeys, 483: 23-57.
Prebus, M. (2017a). Insights into the evolution, biogeography and natural history of the acorn ants, genus Temnothorax Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). BMC Evolutionary Biology, 17 (250): 1-22.
Prebus, M. (2017b). Additional file 1: extended taxonomic history and fossil record of Temnothorax and relatives. Additional pp. 1-15 from: Prebus, M. 2017a. Insights into the evolution, biogeography and natural history of the acorn ants, genus Temnothorax Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). BMC Evolutionary Biology, 17: 1-22.
Prebus, M.M. (2021a). Phylogenomic species delimitation in the ants of the Temnothorax salvini group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): an integrative approach. Systematic Entomology, 46: 307-326.
Prebus, M.M. (2021b). Taxonomic revision of the Temnothorax salvini clade (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), with a key to the clades of New World Temnothorax. Peer J, 9: 462.
Prebus, M.M., Nguyen, N., Doering, G.N. & Booher, D.B. (2024). Temnothorax caryaluteus sp. nov. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): a new ant species from the eastern United States. European Journal of Taxonomy, 970: 175-202.
Qian, Y.H. & Xu, Z.H. (2024). Taxonomy of the ant genera Leptothorax Mayr, 1855 and Temnothorax Mayr, 1861 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of China with descriptions of twenty-eight new species and a key to the known Chinese species. European Journal of Taxonomy, 936: 1-97.
Radchenko, A.G. (2004). A review of the ant genera Leptothorax Mayr and Temnothorax Mayr (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of the eastern Palaearctic. Acta Zoologica Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, 50: 109-137.
Radchenko, A.G. (2005). Monographic revision of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of North Korea. Annales Zoologici, 55: 127-221.
Radchenko, A.G., Yusupov, Z.M. & Fedoseeva, E.B. (2015). Taxonomic notes for some Caucasian Temnothorax Mayr, 1861 species, with descriptions of three new species. Caucasian Entomological Bulletin, 11: 161-167.
Radchenko, A.G. (2016). Ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of Ukraine. National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. Kiev: I.I. Schmalhausen Institute of Zoology, 496 p.
Rasheed, M.T., Bodlah, I., Magomedovich, Y.Z., Fareen, A.G., Bodlah, M.A., Prebus, M. & Wachkoo, A.A. (2020). Preliminary contributions toward a revision of the ant genus Temnothorax Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Pakistan. Turkish Journal of Zoology, 44: 375-381.
Roger, J. (1863). Verzeichniss der Formiciden-Gattungen und Arten. Berliner Entomologische Zeitschrift Beilage, 7: 1-65.
Ruzsky, M. (1905). The ants of Russia. (Formicariae Imperii Rossici). Systematics, geography and data on the biology of Russian ants. Part I. [In Russian.]. Trudy Obshchestva Estestvoispytatelei pri Imperatorskom Kazanskom Universitete, 38: 1-800.
Salata, S. & Borowiec, L. (2015). Redescription of Temnothorax antigoni (Forel, 1911) and description of its new social parasite Temnothorax curtisetosus sp. n. from Turkey (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). ZooKeys, 523: 129-148.
Salata, S., Borowiec, L. & Trichas, A. (2018). Taxonomic revision of the Cretan fauna of the genus Temnothorax Mayr, 1861 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), with notes on the endemism of ant fauna of Crete. Annales Zoologici, 68: 769-808.
Salata, S. & Borowiec, L. (2019). Preliminary division of not socially parasitic Greek Temnothorax Mayr, 1861 (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) with a description of three new species. ZooKeys, 877: 81-131.
Salata, S. & Borowiec, L. (2022). A review of the Temnothorax anodontoides species-group (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from Greece. ZooKeys, 1091: 139-159.
Salata, S., Środoń, K. & Borowiec, L. (2023). A taxonomic revision of the Temnothorax graecus species-group (Hym.: Formicidae) from Greece. Annales Zoologici, 73: 51-68.
Salata, S., Demetriou, J., Georgiadis, C. & Borowiec, L. (2024). The genus Temnothorax Mayr, 1861 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Cyprus. Zootaxa, 5434: 1-69.
Schifani, E., Prebus, M.M. & Alicata, A. (2022). Integrating morphology with phylogenomics to describe four island endemic species of Temnothorax from Sicily and Malta (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). European Journal of Taxonomy, 833: 143-179.
Schifani, E., Alicata, A., Prebus, M.M. & Csősz, S. (2025). Integrative description of Temnothorax siculus sp. n.: a new ant species from Sicily, Italy (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Diversity, 17:1-17.
Seifert, B. (1996). Ameisen beobachten, bestimmen. Augsburg: Naturbuch Verlag, 351p.
Seifert, B. (2007). Die Ameisen Mittel-und Nordeuropas. Tauer: lutra Verlags-und Vertriebsgesellschaft, 368 p.
Sharaf, M.R., Akbar, S.A., Al Dhafer, H.M., El-Gharbawy, A. & Aldawood, A.S. (2017). Taxonomy of the myrmicine ant genus Temnothorax Mayr, 1861 (Formicidae: Myrmicinae) in the Arabian Peninsula. European Journal of Taxonomy, 280: 1-17.
Sharaf, M.R. & Aldawood, A.S. (2019). Temnothorax almeqeri, a new ant species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from the Asir Mountains, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with a key to the Arabian Temnothorax. Annales Zoologici, 69: 603-608.
Snelling, R.R., Borowiec, M.L. & Prebus, M.M. (2014). Studies on California ants: a review of the genus Temnothorax (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). ZooKeys, 372: 27-89.
Subedi, I.P., Yusupov, Z.M. & Budha, P.B. (2023). Three new species of the ant genus Temnothorax Mayr, 1861 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae, Myrmicinae) from Nepal. Far Eastern Entomologist, 475: 6-16.
Terayama, M. (2009). A synopsis of the family Formicidae of Taiwan (Insecta: Hymenoptera). Research Bulletin of Kanto Gakuen University. Liberal Arts, 17: 81-266.
Ward, P.S., Brady, S.G., Fisher, B.L. & Schultz, T.R. (2015). The evolution of myrmicine ants: phylogeny and biogeography of a hyperdiverse ant clade (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Systematic Entomology, 40: 61-81.
Wei, Y.M., Wu, T.Q., Zhong, Y., Huang, Y.Y. & Nie, G.C. (2024). A new bicolor species of the ant genus Temnothorax Mayr, 1861 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Yunnan, China. Journal of the Entomological Research Society, 26: 419-428.
Wheeler, W.M. (1910). Ants: their structure, development and behavior. New York: Columbia University Press, 663 p.
Wheeler, W.M. (1922). Ants of the American Museum Congo expedition. New York: Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, 1139 p.
Yusupov, Z.M., Dubovikoff, D.A. & Lopatina, E.B. (2020a). Temnothorax kipyatkovi sp. n. – a new species of ants (Hym.: Formicidae) from India. Caucasian Entomological Bulletin, 16: 353-357.
Yusupov, Z.M., Lakho, G.M. & Dubovikof, D.A. (2020b). New additions to the fauna of ants of the genus Temnothorax Mayr, 1861 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Pakistan. Caucasian Entomological Bulletin, 16: 347-352.
Zhou, S., Huang, J., Yu, D. & Liu, Z. (2010). Eight new species and three newly recorded species of the ant genus Temnothorax Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from the Chinese mainland, with a key. Sociobiology, 56: 7-26.
Zięcina, D., Salata, S. & Borowiec, L. (2025). Further additions to the taxonomy and distribution of the Temnothorax graecus and T. aveli species-groups (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Greece. Annales Zoologici (Warsaw), 75: 419-435.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Joginder Singh Rilta, Himender Bharti
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Sociobiology is a diamond open access journal which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This is in accordance with the BOAI definition of open access.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
eISSN 2447-8067
