A new species of Polyrhachis Smith from Garbhanga Reserve Forest, Assam, India, with a key to the Indian species of Polyrhachis mucronata group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Sharma, Ankita and Mangaly, Paul Antony and Deo, Suraj Kumar Singha and Sangavi, D and Sinha, Anindya (2026) A new species of Polyrhachis Smith from Garbhanga Reserve Forest, Assam, India, with a key to the Indian species of Polyrhachis mucronata group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Asian Myrmecology, 19 (019001). pp. 1-9.

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Abstract: The study describes a new species of Polyrhachis, or spiny ant, named Polyrhachis garbhangaensis sp. nov., from the state of Assam, northeastern India. This species was collected and identified during field sampling in the Garbhanga Reserve Forest, near the city of Guwahati in Assam. It represents a third Indian species of the P. mucronata species group in the subgenus Myrmhopla. Polyrhachis Smith, 1857 is a genus of ants, found widely across the Old-World tropics, with significant diversity across Southeast Asia. The discovery and characterisation of this species clearly indicate the need to revise the classification key of the genus Polyrhachis. As a step towards this, we present an updated key to the species of the mucronata group of Polyrhachis (Myrmhopla), including the new species. This finding contributes to a deeper understanding of the taxonomic diversity of Polyrhachis and highlights the unexpected importance of urban and fragmented forest areas in sustaining tropical ant biodiversity
Item Type: Journal Paper
Keywords: Myrmecology, taxonomy, identification key, spiny ant, northeastern India
Subjects: School of Natural and Engineering Sciences > Animal Behaviour
Divisions: Schools > Natural Sciences and Engineering
Date Deposited: 05 Apr 2023 04:42
Last Modified: 12 Feb 2026 04:32
Official URL: http://www.asian-myrmecology.org/doi/10.20362/am.0...
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    DOI: 10.20362/am.019001
    URI: http://eprints.nias.res.in/id/eprint/2479

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