First record of the rarely collected ant Protanilla gengma Xu, 2012 (Hymenoptera, Formicidae, Leptanillinae) from the Indian subcontinent

Abstract

Protanilla gengma Xu, 2012 is recorded for the first time from the Indian subcontinent. This rarely collected ant species was previously known only from Yunnan Province, China. Two workers of P. gengma were collected from the Lengteng Wildlife Sanctuary, Mizoram, Northeast India, using the Winkler extraction method. This find also represents the first record of the subfamily Leptanillinae from Northeast India and the third species of the genus Protanilla Taylor, 1990 from India. We present an updated distribution map for the genus and comment on morphological variation of the worker caste of P. gengma.

Keywords

• Eastern Himalayas
• Indian ant fauna
• Mizoram
• Nort