Ponera kohmoku Terayama, 1996

Calvin Leung, Tsz Kin & Leong, Chi Man, 2023, Discovery of the formerly Japan-endemic Ponera kohmoku Terayama, 1996 (Formicidae, Ponerinae) in Southeast China, and implications for understanding the ecology and biogeography of the species, Asian Myrmecology (e 016008) 16, pp. 1-11 : 3-5

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.20362/am.016008
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15480876
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/2E4787CE-FF9E-A976-FD21-AACF5DD9F9CE
treatment provided by	Felipe
scientific name	Ponera kohmoku Terayama, 1996
status

Treatment

Ponera kohmoku Terayama, 1996 View in CoL ( Fig. 2 - 5 View Fig View Fig View Fig View Fig )

HKBM: Hong Kong Biodiversity Museum, the University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Hong Kong: Five workers, 22.4137°N 114.2442°E, 565 m alt., Hong Kong, Tiu Shau Ngam, 19 II 2021, TKC Leung leg ( TKCL042 , TKCL043 , TKCL044 , TKCL045 , TKCL046 ), deposited at the HKBM GoogleMaps . Nine workers (one worker from MTH527 was dry mounted and measured, while the other eight workers were stored in 70% ethanol), 22.41266°N 114.24046°E, 451 m alt., Hong Kong, Tiu Shau Ngam, 02 X 2023, MT Hamer leg. ( MTH527 ( ANTWEB1010227 ), MTH531 & MTH534 ) GoogleMaps .

Guangdong: One worker, Qimuzhang , Wuhua County, 5 IV 1997, J. Fellowes leg ( MBS006531 About MBS ), deposited at the HKBM .

Guangxi: One worker, 1260 m alt., Da Yao Shan , Leye County, Baise, China, 16 IX 1998, J. Fellowes leg, ( MBS006532 About MBS ), deposited at the HKBM .

Japan: One worker, Japan, Kyushu, Ohsumi Peninsula , Minamiōsumi-cho , near Hetsuka , 23 VII 2020, Sk. Yamane leg ( JP20 -SKY-061), deposited at Seiki Yamane’s laboratory . One worker, 33.6418°N 130.5299°E, 120m alt., Japan, Fukuoka Pref, Hisayama-machi , Kutara , 28 IX 2020, YN Minoshima #12, deposited Prof. Seiki Yamane’s collection GoogleMaps .

Measurements (mm) and indices:

Workers from Hong Kong (n = 6): HL 0.856 – 0.900; HW 0.699 –0.756; SL 0.625 –0.663; A06L 0.053 –0.066; A07L 0.064 –0.072; A08L 0.080 – 0.093; A09L 0.100 –0.116; A10L 0.104 –0.130; PrW 0.569 –0.628; WL 1.182 –1.343; PeH 0.650 – 0.673; PeNL 0.308 –0.366; PeW 0.426 –0.498; ATL 0.629 –0.704; ATW 0.707 –0.744; CI 81.0–84; SI 87.1–92.0; PeI 67.8–79.9; LPeI 45.8–55.5; DPeI 122–156; ATI 89.0–95.1.

Worker from Guangdong (n = 1): HL 0.824; HW 0.708; SL 0.657; A06L 0.061; A07L 0.068; A08L 0.09; A09L 0.110; A10L 0.123; PrW 0.576; WL 1.236; PeH 0.648; PeNL 0.360; PeW 0.444; ATL 0.681; ATW 0.734; CI 85.9; SI 92.8; PeI 77.1; LPeI 55.6; DPeI 123; ATI 92.8.

Worker from Guangxi (n = 1): HL 0.832; HW 0.668; SL 0.618; A06L 0.051; A07L 0.057; A08L 0.078; A09L 0.089; A10L 0.111; PrW 0.563; WL 1.168; PeH 0.622; PeNL 0.357; PeW 0.430; ATL 0.644; ATW 0.722; CI 80.3; SI 92.5; PeI 76.4; LPeI 57.4; DPeI 120; ATI 89.2.

Species identification: Based on the diagnosis of Ponera kohmoku and the East Asian Ponera key ( Leong et al., 2019), this species can be distinguished by a combination of the following features: large compound eyes with over 20 ommatidia, long antennal scape, distinct metanotal groove, and petiolar node shape. We also compared the specimens from South East China with those from Japan (the type locality), as well as with morphological measurements to further confirm the identity of the specimens collected in Hong Kong as P. kohmoku . All the measurements of the specimens collected in Guangdong, Guangxi and Hong Kong fall within the range or overlap with the values provided in Terayama (1996) for 10 measurements collected from 11 type specimens. Only the value of the scape index is slightly lower in our specimens in Hong Kong (SI= 87.1– 90.3) than on the type specimens (SI= 91–97). Nonetheless, the scape index of the specimens from Hong Kong overlaps with the measurement from Leong and collaborators (2019) (SI= 82–91).