Род Pristomyrmex Mayr iвключает 59 современных валидных видов муравьёв из тропиков Старого Света (Bolton 2013). Its center of diversity is the Oriental region, though species are also known from the Australian rainforests, Africa, Mauritius and Reunion. Most species inhabit the rainforest, forage as predators or scavengers, and tend to nest in soil, leaf litter or rotten wood. A comprehensive and well-illustrated taxonomic revision of the genus across its range was completed by Wang (2003). Subsequent taxonomic work on the genus includes a review of the Philippine Pristomyrmex with three new descriptions and a key to species (Zettel 2006), and a key to the Taiwan species (Terayama 2009).

Фиджи это восточная окраина ареала рода Pristomyrmex, aside from Pristomyrmex minusculus Wang which is known from Tonga in addition toPapua New Guinea, Micronesia, and Queensland, Australia. Pristomyrmex mandibularis was first described by Mann (1921), and a second species from Fiji, described here as Pristomyrmex tsujii, was reported in Sarnat and Economo (2012) as Pristomyrmex sp. FJ02. Both species belong to the levigatus group. These ants are most often encountered in the leaf litter, and small colonies of Pristomyrmex mandibularis can be found nesting in rotting logs and under stones.

Оба обнаруженных на Фиджи вида produce a discrete ergatoid queen caste that is intermediate between a worker and an alate queen. Ergatoid queens in the genus have also been reported for Pristomyrmex punctatus Mayr, Pristomyrmex africanus Karavaiev, Pristomyrmex brevispinosus Emery and Pristomyrmex wheeleri Taylor. Previous studies (Heinze 1998; Peeters 1991) proposed that in truly ergatoid species the genetically winged female reproductive caste has been completely replaced by a permanently wingless female reproductive caste. By contrast, intermorph queens are a regularly produced caste that retain all reproductive functions of alate queens and can also co-occur with alate queens. Although the latter condition more accurately applies to both species of the Fijian Pristomyrmex, we continue to use the term ergatoid to describe the permanently wingless queen caste as it is broadly accepted across myrmecology and more easily facilitates comparative studies (Peeters 2012).

Данная работа по муравьям рода Pristomyrmex tsujii and Pristomyrmex mandibularis is part of an ongoing effort to characterize the systematics, ecology and evolution of the Fijian ant fauna (Economo and Sarnat 2012; Lucky and Sarnat 2008, 2010; Sarnat 2006, 2008; Sarnat and Economo 2012; Sarnat and Moreau 2011).

ДИАГНОЗ

Pristomyrmex tsujii workers are polished red, stoutly built and often foveolate. The propodeum is either armed with small denticles or entirely unarmed. The lack of strong propodeal spines (Figs 5–6) separates workers, ergatoid queens and alate queens of Pristomyrmex tsujii (Figs 12, 13, 18) from those of the sympatric Pristomyrmex mandibularis (Figs 24, 27, 30). The same character is used to diagnose the males, but the spines are reduced to denticles in Pristomyrmex mandibularis (Fig. 33) and entirely absent in Pristomyrmex tsujii (Fig. 21). Additionally, the males of Pristomyrmex tsujii tend more towards brown than black. The only congeneric species with an unarmed propodeum is Pristomyrmex inermis Wang from New Guinea which also belongs to the levigatus group. Pristomyrmex tsujii has a more nodiform petiole (Figs 3–4), a stronger median clypeal tooth (Fig. 10), and more abundant foveae between the frontal carinae (Figs 7–10).

Worker (Figs 1–6, 11–13). Measurements (n = 20): TL 2.63–3.35, HW 0.66–0.88, HL 0.67–0.87, CI 96–105, SL 0.59–0.77, SI 84–93, EL 0.08–0.11, PW 0.41–0.6, ML 0.61–0.79, PeH 0.24–0.29, PeL 0.14–0.18, PeI 54–71, PpH 0.25–0.31, PpL 0.14–0.19, PpI 47–67. Holotype measurements: TL 3.03, HW 0.79, HL 0.81, CI 99, SL 0.70, SI 89, EL 0.1, PW 0.5, ML 0.72, PeH 0.25, PeL 0.14, PeI 58, PpH 0.25, PpL 0.16, PpI 65.

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