Abstract Abstract
Proceratium bhutanense De Andrade, 2003, syn. n. is here found to be conspecific with Proceratium williamsi Tiwari, 2000 and accordingly treated as a junior synonym.
Keywords: Ants, Proceratium bhutanense, Proceratium williamsi, synonymy, India
Introduction
At present 79 extant and 5 fossil species are listed in the ant genus Proceratium across the globe (Bolton et al. 2007; Bolton 2012). In India, this genus is represented by two species (Bharti 2011). Proceratium williamsi was described by Tiwari (2000) as the first record of the genus from India; shortly afterwards De Andrade (2003) added Proceratium bhutanense to the Indian Proceratium.
Unfortunately, Baroni Urbani and De Andrade (2003) left out Proceratium williamsi from their global taxonomic revision of Proceratium, possibly due to lack of access to an obscure paper published locally. However, re-examination of both Indian species finds them conspecific. The specimens of Proceratium williamsi collected by R. Mathew from the type locality Meghalaya, Khasi hills, Shillong also form part of the material examined for Proceratium bhutanense. Descriptions, morphometrics, line drawings, images and collection localities of two are also akin. Therefore, Proceratium bhutanense is considered here as a junior synonym of Proceratium williamsi.
Material and methods
The morphological observation was conducted on a Nikon SMZ 1500 stereo zoom microscope. For digital images, MP evolution digital camera was used on the same microscope with Auto-Montage (Syncroscopy, Division of Synoptics, Ltd.) software. Later, images were cleaned as required with Adobe Photoshop CS5.
Abbreviations of the specimen depositories are:
BMNH The Natural History Museum, London, England, U.K.
MRSN Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturali, Torino, Italy.
NHMB Naturhistorisches Museum Basel, Switzerland.
PUPAC Punjabi University Patiala, Ant Collection, Patiala, India.
ZSIK Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata, India.
Results and discussion
Proceratium williamsi
Tiwari, 2000
http://species-id.net/wiki/Proceratium_williamsi
Figures 1–3.
Worker; Proceratium williamsi Tiwari, 2000. 1 Head in full-face view 2 Body, lateral view 3 Body, dorsal view.
Proceratium williamsi Tiwari, in Mathew and Tiwari 2000: 272, Figs 14–15 (w.). Holotype and paratype workers: Meghalaya, Khasi hills, Shillong, India [ZSIK].
Proceratium bhutanense De Andrade, in Baroni Urbani and De Andrade 2003: 278, Figs 116–117 (w.). Holoype and paratype workers: Phuntsholing, Bhutan [NHMB]; one paratype worker Phuntsholing, Bhutan [MRSN]. Syn. n.
Material examined.
Paratype, worker, Meghalaya, Khasi hills, Shillong, India [ZSIK]; Worker [BMNH] (coll. R. Mathew, Det. De Andrade); worker photographs also examined on AntWeb (www.antweb.org): CASENT0281860. Other Material: Uttarakhand: Dakpathar, 750m, 4 (w.), 20.viii.2009; Rajaji Forest Area, 660m, 3(w.), 11.viii.2009, 1(w.), 12.viii.2009 (coll. Aijaz A. Wachkoo) [PUPAC]. West Bengal: Darjeeling, 1850m, 4(w.), 20.vi.2009 (coll. Irfan Gul) [PUPAC]. Meghalaya: Cherapunji, 1200m, 3(w.), 2.iv.2009 (coll. Irfan Gul); Khasi hills, Shillong, 1496m, 3(w.), 1(q.), 10.iv.2009 (coll. Irfan Gul) [PUPAC].
Ecology.
This species was found mainly in leaf litter of primary, subtropical forests of Himalaya and occasionally in soil samples of secondary forests collected in cool shady places. Although infrequent in collections, this species seems to be widely distributed throughout the Himalayan ranges.
Remarks.
Examination of the specimens coupled with the images and descriptions reveal that there are no characters which could delimit Proceratium bhutanense and Proceratium williamsi. Moreover, the studied material does not exhibit any marked variation throughout the collection range, thereby enabling us to confidently treat Proceratium bhutanense as a junior synonym of Proceratium williamsi.
Supplementary Material
Acknowledgments
Financial assistance rendered by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (grant no. 14/10/2007 ERS/RE), Govt. of India, New Delhi is gratefully acknowledged. Sincere thanks to Ms. Suzanne Ryder (BMNH) for her cooperation during the visit of the senior author to the Natural History Museum.
Citation
Bharti H, Wachkoo AA (2014) New synonymy of Proceratium williamsi Tiwari (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). ZooKeys 388: 69–72. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.388.6972
References
- Baroni Urbani C, De Andrade ML. (2003) The ant genus Proceratium in the extant and fossil record. Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturali - Torino Monographie 36: 1-492 [Google Scholar]
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