M. R. Smith.
On the Status of Leptothorax Mayr and Some of its Subgenera.
Psyche 57(1):29-30, 1950.

This article at Hindawi Publishing: https://doi.org/10.1155/1950/80458
CEC's scan of this article: http://psyche.entclub.org/pdf/57/57-029.pdf, 136K
This landing page: http://psyche.entclub.org/57/57-029.html

The following unprocessed text is extracted automatically from the PDF file, and is likely to be both incomplete and full of errors. Please consult the PDF file for the complete article.

ON THE STATUS OF LEPTOTHORAX MAYR AND
SOME OF ITS SUBGENERA
Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine, Agricultural Research Administration, United States Department of Agriculture
The genus Leptothorax was established by Mayr in 18.55 (Verh. Zoo1.-Bot. Gesell. Wien 5: 431) for a number of Pale- arctic ants, such as clypeatus (Mayr), acervorum (F.), musco- rum (Nyl. ) , tuberum (F.) , and mifaxiatus (Latr.) , without genotype designation. This was not done until 1903, when Bingham (Fauna of British India (Hymenoptera), vol. 2, p. 214) selected acervorum as the genotype. Ruzsky, in 1904 (Zapiski Imp. Russk. Geogr. Obshch. 41 (I) : 288), described a new genus, Mychothorax, and chose the same form, acervo- rum, as a genotype, thus making Mychothorax an isogenotypic synonym of Leptothorax. W. M. Wheeler, in 1911 (Ann. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 21 : 166), overlooking Bingham's previous designa- tion of acervorwn as genotype of Leptothorax, named acer-co- rum a second time as type of this genus. Then in 1922, Emery (in Wytsman's, Genera Insectorum, fascicule 174 c: 248), apparently unaware of the previous designation, selected cly- peatus as genotype for Leptothorax, presumably because it was the first species listed by Mayr in his original article; and this concept has been universally adopted. However, since Bing- ham's is the first valid genotype designation for Leptothorax, the genus must be based on acervorum.
It thus becomes necessary to propose a new subgenus for Emery's concept of Leptothorax, subg. Leptothorax. This group, which is both Holarctic and Neotropical in distribution, and contains a large number of North American ants, I propose to name Myrafant, for my wife, whose maiden name was Myra Fant.
39
Pachc S7:29.M (1950). hup tipsychc einclub org/S7/57-029 html



================================================================================

3 0 Psyche
[Mar.
Leptothorax, subg. Myrafant, new subgenus Type : Leptothorax curvispinosus Mayr. By present designa- tion.
This subgenus includes such common North American forms as fortinodis Mayr, rugatulus Emery, longispinosus Roger, tetanus W. M. Wheeler, tricarinatus Emery and many others. For a list of forms see Emery, 1922 (in Wytsman's, Genera Inscctorum, fascicule 174 c : 251-259).
The worker has 11- or 12-segmented antennae; thoracic humeri usually rounded, occasionally subangular ; mesoepinotal impression on the dorsal surface of the thorax usually absent, if present, scarcely perceptible.
In the preparation of a catalogue of Nearctic ants, it was noted that Goniothorax Emery, 1896, is preoccupied by Go?t iot7torax Milne-Edwards, 1879. As Nesomyrmex W. M. Wheeler is the next available name, it supplants Goniothorax Emcry. The synonymy is as follows:
Leptothorax subg. Nesomyrmex W. M. Wheeler Leptothorax, subgenus Goniothorax Emery, 1896, Bol. Soc. Ent. Ital. 28:26, 58. Preoccupied. Type: Leptothorax vicinus May. Designated by W. M. Wheeler, 1911.
Xesomyrmex W. M. Wheeler, 1910, Bul. Arner. Mus. Nat. Hist. 28:259. Type: Nesomyrmex clavipilis W. M. Wheeler. Monobasic.
Cciulompna Forel, 1914, Bul. Soc. Vaud. des Sci. Nat. 50: 233. Type: Leptothorax echinatinodis Forel. Original designa- tion.
Most of the ants of this subgenus occur in the Ethiopian, Oriental and Neotropical Regions. Our only known North American species is wilda M. R. Smith, from extreme southern Texas.




================================================================================