Belongs within: Camponotini.
Polyrhachis is a genus of often notably spinose ants, most commonly terrestrial though some species are associated with trees. It has been divided between numerous subgenera of which members of the type subgenus bear spines on both the pro- and mesonotum, as well as two long spines atop the columnar petiole.
Characters (from Heterick 2009): Antenna with 12 segments; metapleural gland absent; spines or sharp angles present on propodeum and petiolar node; first tergite approximately half length of gaster.
Polyrhachis Smith 1857K13
|--*P. (Polyrhachis) bihamata (Drury 1773) [=Formica bihamata]K13
|--P. (Campomyrma)K13
| |--P. (C.) equinaN-ZLI11
| |--P. (C.) femorata Smith 1858H09, TB85 [=P. femoratusTB85; incl. Camponotus emeryi Forel 1880TB85]
| |--P. (C.) gravis Clark 1930H09, TB85
| |--P. (C.) hashimotoiK13
| |--P. (C.) hirsuta Mayr 1876H09, TB85
| | |--P. h. hirsutaTB85
| | `--P. h. quinquedentata Viehmeyer 1925TB85
| |--P. (C.) inconspicua Emery 1887H13, TB85
| | |--P. i. inconspicuaTB85
| | `--P. i. subnitens Emery 1895TB85
| |--P. (C.) leae Forel 1913H09, TB85
| | |--P. l. leaeTB85
| | `--P. l. cedarensis Forel 1915TB85
| |--P. (C.) macropaH09
| |--P. (C.) ops Forel 1907H09, TB85 [=P. micans opsTB85]
| |--P. (C.) phryne Forel 1907H09, TB85
| |--P. (C.) pyrrhus Forel 1910H09, TB85
| |--P. (C.) schwiedlandi Forel 1902H09, TB85
| |--P. (C.) shixingensis Wu & Wang 1995K13, Z01
| |--P. (C.) sidnica Mayr 1866H09, TB85
| | |--P. s. sidnicaTB85
| | |--P. s. perthensis Crawley 1922TB85
| | `--P. s. tambourinensis Forel 1915TB85
| `--P. (C.) xiphias Smith 1863 [=P. (Hagiomyrma) xiphias]K13
|--P. (Chariomyrma Forel 1915)K13, TB85
| |--P. (*C.) guerini Roger 1863TB85 [incl. P. exul Emery 1883E14]
| | |--P. g. gueriniTB85
| | |--P. g. lata Emery 1895TB85
| | |--P. g. pallescens Mayr 1876TB85
| | `--P. g. vermiculosa Mayr 1876TB85
| |--P. (C.) aurea Mayr 1876H09, TB85 [=P. guerini aureaTB85]
| | |--P. a. aureaTB85
| | |--P. a. depilis Emery 1897TB85
| | `--P. a. fiorii Emery 1914E14
| |--P. (C.) constricta Emery 1897K13
| |--P. (C.) hookeri Lowne 1865K13, TB85
| | |--P. h. hookeriTB85
| | |--P. h. aerea Forel 1902TB85
| | |--P. h. lownei Forel 1895TB85
| | `--P. h. obscura Forel 1895TB85
| |--P. (C.) senilis Forel 1902H13, TB85 [=P. gab senilisTB85]
| `--P. (C.) sokolova Forel 1902K13 [=P. (Hagiomyrma) sokolovaK13; incl. P. sokolova degener Forel 1910K13, TB85]
|--P. (Hagiomyrma Wheeler 1911)K13
| |--P. (H.) metella Smith 1860K13
| |--P. ammon groupK13
| | |--P. (*H.) ammon (Fabricius 1775) (see below for synonymy)K13
| | |--P. (H.) ammonoeides Roger 1863 [=P. ammon r. ammonoeides; incl. P. chalchas Forel 1907]K13
| | |--P. (H.) angusta Forel 1902 [=P. ammon r. angusta]K13
| | |--P. (H.) aurora Kohout 2013K13
| | |--P. (H.) brisbanensis Kohout 2013K13
| | |--P. (H.) brutella Kohout 2013K13
| | |--P. (H.) burwelli Kohout 2013K13
| | |--P. (H.) callima Kohout 2013K13
| | |--P. (H.) conciliata Kohout 2013K13
| | |--P. (H.) cracenta Kohout 2013K13
| | |--P. (H.) dougcooki Kohout 2013K13
| | |--P. (H.) elegantula Kohout 2013K13
| | |--P. (H.) feehani Kohout 2013K13
| | |--P. (H.) semiaurata Mayr 1876K13
| | |--P. (H.) uncaria Kohout 2013K13
| | `--P. (H.) vernoni Kohout 2013K13
| |--P. penelope groupK13
| | |--P. (H.) anderseni Kohout 2013K13
| | |--P. (H.) archeri Kohout 2013K13
| | |--P. (H.) clarki Kohout 2013K13
| | |--P. (H.) crawleyi Forel 1916 [=P. (H.) ammonoeides var. crawleyi]K13
| | |--P. (H.) denticulata Karavaiev 1927K13
| | |--P. (H.) electra Kohout 2013K13
| | |--P. (H.) hoffmanni Kohout 2013K13
| | |--P. (H.) melanura Kohout 2013K13
| | |--P. (H.) penelope Forel 1895K13
| | |--P. (H.) pilbara Kohout 2013K13
| | |--P. (H.) placida Kohout 2013K13
| | |--P. (H.) seducta Kohout 2013K13
| | |--P. (H.) semiobscura Donisthorpe 1944K13
| | |--P. (H.) stricta Kohout 2013K13
| | |--P. (H.) tanami Kohout 2013K13
| | |--P. (H.) tenebra Kohout 2013K13
| | `--P. (H.) weiri Kohout 2013K13
| |--P. schenkii groupK13
| | |--P. (H.) bohemia Kohout 2013K13
| | |--P. (H.) capeyorkensis Kohout 2013K13
| | |--P. (H.) injinooi Kohout 2013K13
| | |--P. (H.) isolata Kohout 2013K13
| | |--P. (H.) lachesis Forel in Emery 1897K13
| | |--P. (H.) lydiae Forel 1902 [=P. schenki r. lydiae]K13
| | |--P. (H.) paxilla Smith 1863 [=P. paxillus; incl. P. lachesis maeandrifera Emery 1897]K13
| | `--P. (H.) schenkii Forel 1886 [=P. (Hedomyrma) schencki, P. schenckii, P. schenki]K13
| |--P. trapezoidea groupK13
| | |--P. (H.) darlingtoni Kohout 2013K13
| | |--P. (H.) nourlangie Kohout 2013K13
| | |--P. (H.) thusnelda Forel 1902K13
| | `--P. (H.) trapezoidea Mayr 1876 [=P. (H.) ammon r. trapezoidea]K13
| `--P. tubifera groupK13
| |--P. (H.) diversa Kohout 2013K13
| `--P. (H.) tubifera Forel 1902K13
|--P. (Hedomyrma Forel 1915)K13, TB85
| |--P. (*H.) ornata Mayr 1876TB85
| |--P. (H.) calliope Emery 1900K13
| `--P. (H.) trophima Smith 1863 [=P. trophimus, P. (Chariomyrma) trophima, P. (Hagiomyrma) trophima]K13
|--P. (Hirtomyrma) bamagaK13
|--P. (Myrma Billberg 1820)N-ZLI11, K13
| |--P. (M.) illaudata Walker 1859N-ZLI11, Z01 (see below for synonymy)
| |--P. (M.) obesiorN-ZLI11
| |--P. (M.) striata Mayr 1862N-ZLI11, B03
| `--P. (M.) vindexN-ZLI11
`--P. (Myrmhopla)K13
|--P. (M.) arachne Emery 1896N-ZLI11, B03
`--P. (M.) sexspinosa (Latreille 1802) [=Formica sexspinosa, Myrma (Polyrhachis) sexspinosa]K13
Polyrhachis incertae sedis:
P. abdominalis Smith 1858 [incl. P. achilles Forel 1893, P. phyllophilus Smith 1861]B03
P. aeschyle Forel 1915 [=P. (Hedomyrma) aeschyle]TB85
P. affinis Smith 1858B03
P. anguliceps Viehmeyer 1925 [=P. (Hedomyrma) anguliceps]TB85
P. appendiculata Emery 1893TB85
|--P. a. appendiculataTB85
`--P. a. schoopae Forel 1902TB85
P. arcuata (Le Guillou 1841) [=Formica arcuata]TB85
P. armata (Le Guill. 1841) (see below for synonymy)B03
P. barnardi Clark 1928 [=P. (Myrmhopla) barnardi]TB85
P. barretti Clark 1928 [=P. (Hedomyrma) barretti]TB85
P. becariiN-ZLI11
P. bedoti Forel 1902TB85
P. bellicosa Smith 1859 [=P. bellicosus]TB85
P. bicolor Smith 1858B03
P. binghami Forel 1893B03
P. carinata [=Formica carinata]E14
P. cataulacoidea Stitz 1911TB85
P. ceylonensis Emery 1893 [=P. hippomanes ceylonensis]B03
P. chalybea Smith 1857B03
P. chrysothorax Viehmeyer 1925 [=P. (Hedomyrma) chrysothorax]TB85
P. cleopatra Forel 1902TB85
P. clio Forel 1902TB85
P. clotho Forel 1902TB85
P. clypeata Mayr 1862 [incl. P. indica Mayr 1870]B03
P. contemta Mayr 1876TB85
P. convexa Roger 1863B03
P. craddocki Bingham 1903B03
P. daemeli Mayr 1876TB85
|--P. d. daemeliTB85
|--P. d. argentosa Forel 1902TB85
`--P. d. exlex Forel 1915 [=P. (Hedomyrma) daemeli exlex]TB85
P. decumbensWBF16
P. dives Smith 1857 (see below for synonymy)Z01
P. doddi Donisthorpe 1938 [=P. (Cyrtomyrma) doddi]TB85
P. erato Forel 1902TB85
P. euterpe Forel 1902TB85
P. euthiacaena Zhou & Zheng 1997Z01
P. flavibasis Clark 1930 [=P. (Campomyrma) flavibasis]TB85
P. fortis Emery 1893B03
P. frauenfeldi Mayr 1862B03
P. froggatti Forel 1910TB85
P. furcata Smith 1858 [incl. P. furcata var. tenella]B03
P. fuscipes Mayr 1862TB85
P. gab Forel 1880 [=P. guerini gab]TB85
|--P. g. gab (see below for synonymy)TB85
`--P. g. aegra Forel 1915 [=P. (Chariomyrma) gab aegra]TB85
P. glabrinota Clark 1930 [=P. (Myrmhopla) glabrinotum]TB85
P. gracilior Forel 1893 [=P. furcata gracilior]B03
P. halidayi Emery 1887B03
P. hamulata Emery 1887 [=P. sumatrensis hamulata]B03
P. hauxwelli Bingham 1903B03
P. hecuba Forel 1902TB85
P. heinlethii Forel 1895TB85
|--P. h. heinlethiiTB85
`--P. h. sophiae Forel 1902TB85
P. hermione Emery 1895TB85
|--P. h. hermioneTB85
`--P. h. cupreata Emery 1895TB85
P. hexacantha (Erichson 1842) [=Formica hexacantha]TB85
P. hodgsoni Forel 1902B03
P. horni Emery 1901B03
P. humerosa Emery 1921 [=P. (Hedomyrma) humerosa]TB85
P. incertaK13
P. intermedia Forel 1886 [=P. mayri intermedia]B03
P. ithona Smith 1860 [=P. ithonus; incl. P. andromache Roger 1863, P. hector Smith 1859 non Smith 1857]TB85
P. jacksoniana Roger 1863TB85
P. jerdoni Forel 1893B03
P. jianghuaensis Wang & Wu 1991Z01
P. kershawi Clark 1930 [=P. (Hedomyrma) kershawi]TB85
P. laevissima Smith 1858 [incl. P. globularia Mayr 1867]B03
P. lamellidens Smith 1874Z01
P. latona Wheeler 1909 [=P. (Myrma) latona]Z01
P. latreillii (Guérin-Meneville 1831) [=Formica latreillii]TB85
P. levigata Smith 1857B03
P. levior Roger 1863 [=P. laevissima Smith 1859 non Smith 1858; incl. P. australis Mayr 1870]TB85
P. lombokensis Emery 1898TB85
|--P. l. lombokensisTB85
`--P. l. yarrabahensis Forel 1915 [=P. (Myrmatopa) lombokensis yarrabahensis]TB85
P. lysistrata Santschi 1920 [=Polyrhachys (Myrmothrinax) lysistrata]TB85
P. machaon Santschi 1920 [=Polyrhachys (Hedomyrma) machaon]TB85
P. mackayi Donisthorpe 1938 [=P. (Cyrtomyrma) mackayi]TB85
P. macropus Wheeler 1916 [=P. (Campomyrma) longipes Wheeler 1915 non P. longipes Smith 1858]TB85
P. micans Mayr 1876TB85
P. mjobergi Forel 1915 [=P. (Hedomyrma) mjobergi]TB85
P. mutata Smith 1858 [incl. P. mutata ajax Forel 1893]B03
P. nigropilosaN-ZLI11
P. nox Donisthorpe 1938 [=P. (Cyrtomyrma) nox]TB85
P. obtusaC08
P. oedipus Forel 1893B03
P. patiens Santschi 1920 [=P. (Campomyrma) patiens]TB85
P. phipsoni Forel 1894B03
P. polymnia Forel 1902TB85
|--P. p. polymniaTB85
`--P. p. maculata Forel 1915 [=P. (Campomyrma) polymnia maculata]TB85
P. prometheus Santschi 1920 [=P. (Campomyrma) prometheus]TB85
P. proxima Roger 1863B03
P. pseudothrinax Hung 1967TB85
P. punctillata Roger 1863 (see below for synonymy)B03
P. punctiventris Mayr 1876TB85
P. quadricuspis Mayr 1870TB85
P. queenslandica Emery 1895 [=P. delicata Crawley 1915]TB85
P. rastellata (Latreille 1802)TB85 (see below for synonymy)
|--P. r. rastellataTB85
`--P. r. yorkana forel 1915 [=P. (Cyrtomyrma) rastellata yorkana]TB85
P. rastrata Emery 1889B03
P. relucens (Latreille 1802) [=Formica relucens]TB85
|--P. r. relucensTB85
`--P. r. australiae Emery 1887TB85
P. rowlandi Forel 1910TB85
P. rubigastrica Wang & Wu 1991Z01
P. rupicapra Roger 1863B03
P. rupifesN-ZLI11
P. selene Emery 1889 [incl. P. selene obtusata]B03
P. semipolita André 1896TB85
|--P. s. semipolitaTB85
`--P. s. hestia Forel 1911TB85
P. sempronia Forel 1907TB85
P. simplex Mayr 1862 [incl. P. spiniger Mayr 1879]B03
P. striatorugosa Mayr 1862B03
P. subpilosa Emery 1895Z01
P. templi Forel 1902TB85
P. terpsichore Forel 1893TB85
|--P. t. terpsichoreTB85
|--P. t. elegans Forel 1910TB85
`--P. t. rufifemur Forel 1907TB85
P. thais Forel 1910TB85
P. thalia Forel 1902TB85
|--P. t. thaliaTB85
`--P. t. io Forel 1915 [=P. (Campomyrma) thalia io]TB85
P. thompsoni Bingham 1903B03
P. thrinax Roger 1863 [incl. P. thrinax var. javana, P. thrinax var. lancearius]B03
P. tibialis Smith 1858 [incl. P. acasta Smith 1861, P. argenteus Mayr 1862, P. caligata Emery 1894]B03
P. townsvillei Donisthorpe 1938 [=P. (Cyrtomyrma) townsvillei]TB85
P. tubericeps Forel 1893B03
P. turneri Forel 1895TB85
P. urania Forel 1902TB85
P. venus Forel 1893B03
P. wroughtoni Forel 1894B03
P. yerburyi Forel 1893B03
P. ypsilon Emery 1886B03
P. zimmerae Clark 1941 [=P. (Campomyrma) zimmerae]TB85
Polyrhachis armata (Le Guill. 1841) [=Formica armata; incl. P. defensus Smith 1857, P. armata var. minor Forel 1886, P. pandarus Smith 1857]B03
Polyrhachis dives Smith 1857 [=P. (Myrmhopla) dives; incl. P. democles Smith 1861, P. dives var. euclides Forel 1913, P. (Myrmhopla) exulans Clark 1941, P. mutiliae Smith 1861, P. vicina Roger 1863]Z01
Polyrhachis gab gab Forel 1880 [incl. P. comata Crawley 1915 non P. bicolor comata Emery 1911, P. crawleyella Santschi 1916, P. (Chariomyrma) gab tripellis Forel 1915]TB85
Polyrhachis punctillata Roger 1863 [incl. P. punctillata fergusoni Forel 1902, P. punctillata var. smythiesi Forel 1894]B03
Polyrhachis rastellata (Latreille 1802)TB85 [=Formica rastellataTB85; incl. P. busiris Mayr 1862Z01, P. euryalus Smith 1861B03]
Polyrhachis (*Hagiomyrma) ammon (Fabricius 1775) [=Formica ammon, Myrma (*H.) ammon; incl. Polyrhachis ammon var. angustata Forel 1902]K13
Polyrhachis (Myrma) illaudata Walker 1859N-ZLI11, Z01 [incl. P. (M.) duodentata Donisthorpe 1942Z01, P. (M.) latispinosa Donisthorpe 1942Z01, P. mayri Roger 1863Z01]
*Type species of generic name indicated
References
[B03] Bingham, C. T. 1903. The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Hymenoptera vol. 2. Ants and Cuckoo-Wasps. Taylor and Francis: London.
[C08] Ceccarelli, F. S. 2008. Behavioral mimicry in Myrmarachne species (Araneae, Salticidae) from north Queensland, Australia. Journal of Arachnology 36 (2): 344–351.
[E14] Emery, C. 1914. Les fourmis de la Nouvelle-Calédonie & des îles Loyalty. In Sarasin, F., & J. Roux (eds) Nova Caledonia: Forschungen in Neu-Caledonian und auf den Loyalty-Inseln. A. Zoologie vol. 1 pt 4 pp. 393–436, pl. 12. C. W. Kreidels Verlag: Wiesbaden.
[H09] Heterick, B. E. 2009. A guide to the ants of south-western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum Supplement 76: 1–206.
[H13] Heterick, B. E. 2013. A taxonomic overview and key to the ants of Barrow Island, Western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum Supplement 83: 375–404.
[K13] Kohout, R. J. 2013. Revision of Polyrhachis (Hagiomyrma) Wheeler, 1911 (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Formicinae). Memoirs of the Queensland Museum—Nature 56 (2): 487–577.
[N-ZLI11] Nur-Zati A. M., G. T. Lim & A. B. Idris. 2011. Checklist of ants of selected hill dipterocarp forests of peninsular Malaysia. Serangga 16 (1): 91–105.
[TB85] Taylor, R. W., & D. R. Brown. 1985. Formicoidea. In: Walton, D. W. (ed.) Zoological Catalogue of Australia vol. 2. Hymenoptera: Formicoidea, Vespoidea and Sphecoidea pp. 1–149. Australian Government Publishing Service: Canberra.
[WBF16] Ward, P. S., B. B. Blaimer & B. L. Fisher. 2016. A revised phylogenetic classification of the ant subfamily Formicinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), with resurrection of the genera Colobopsis and Dinomyrmex. Zootaxa 4072 (3): 343–357.
[Z01] Zhou, S. 2001. Ants of Guangxi. Guangxi Normal University Press: Guilin (China).