Proceratium williamsi Tiwari, 2000

Bharti, Himender & Wachkoo, Aijaz Ahmad, 2014, New synonymy of Proceratium williamsi Tiwari (Hymenoptera, Formicidae), ZooKeys 388, pp. 69-72 : 70-71

Proceratium williamsi Tiwari, 2000 Figs 1-3

Proceratium williamsi Tiwari, in Mathew and Tiwari 2000: 272, Figs 14-15 (w.). Holotype and paratype workers: Meghalaya, Khasi hills, Shillong, India [ZSIK].

Proceratium bhutanense De Andrade, in Baroni Urbani and De Andrade 2003: 278, Figs 116-117 (w.). Holoype and paratype workers: Phuntsholing, Bhutan [NHMB]; one paratype worker Phuntsholing, Bhutan [MRSN]. Syn. n.

Material examined.

Paratype, worker, Meghalaya, Khasi hills, Shillong, India [ZSIK]; Worker [BMNH] (coll. R. Mathew, Det. De Andrade); worker photographs also examined on AntWeb (www.antweb.org): CASENT0281860. Other Material: Uttarakhand: Dakpathar, 750m, 4 (w.), 20.viii.2009; Rajaji Forest Area, 660m, 3(w.), 11.viii.2009, 1(w.), 12.viii.2009 (coll. Aijaz A. Wachkoo) [PUPAC]. West Bengal: Darjeeling, 1850m, 4(w.), 20.vi.2009 (coll. Irfan Gul) [PUPAC]. Meghalaya: Cherapunji, 1200m, 3(w.), 2.iv.2009 (coll. Irfan Gul); Khasi hills, Shillong, 1496m, 3(w.), 1(q.), 10.iv.2009 (coll. Irfan Gul) [PUPAC].

Ecology.

This species was found mainly in leaf litter of primary, subtropical forests of Himalaya and occasionally in soil samples of secondary forests collected in cool shady places. Although infrequent in collections, this species seems to be widely distributed throughout the Himalayan ranges.

Remarks.

Examination of the specimens coupled with the images and descriptions reveal that there are no characters which could delimit Proceratium bhutanense and Proceratium williamsi . Moreover, the studied material does not exhibit any marked variation throughout the collection range, thereby enabling us to confidently treat Proceratium bhutanense as a junior synonym of Proceratium williamsi .