ASIAN
MYRMECOLOGY
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online first (online version of paper published before print issue)
DOI: 10.20362/am.019006
Asian Myrmecology 19: 019006 (1-15)
article first published online: 9/April/2026
Distribution, Habitat Diversity, and Phylogeny of Anochetus shohki Terayama, 1996 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Taiwan and the Ryukyu Archipelago of Southern Japan
FU-YA CHUNG1,2, YU-CHUN HSIAO3, KATSUYUKI EGUCHI4 & CHUNG-CHI LIN2*
Abstract:
Anochetus shohki Terayama, 1996, has been considered endemic to Ishigaki Island in the Ryukyu Archipelago of southern Japan for decades. Although subsequent records have extended its known range to other islands within the archipelago, including Miyako, Iriomote, Yonaguni, and Okinawa Islands, its full geographic range and ecological requirements remain poorly understood; furthermore, the absence of molecular sequences has left its phylogenetic placement unresolved. In this study, we report the first record of A. shohki from central and southern Taiwan, complementing this with new distributional data from the Yaeyama Islands. To clarify phylogenetic relationships, four nuclear genes (CAD, LW Rh, TOP1, and Wg) and one mitochondrial gene (COI) from A. shohki were sequenced. Our phylogenetic results support the placement of A. shohki within the A. graeffei species group and reveal minimal genetic divergence between the Taiwan and Yaeyama populations at these markers. Our field observations indicate diverse habitat preferences in A. shohki, suggesting that its occurrence on beaches may reflect high dispersal ability and ecological flexibility. Finally, an updated taxonomic key to the workers of Taiwanese Anochetus species is provided.
Keywords:
Ponerinae, distribution, phylogeny, species group, habitat
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FU-YA CHUNG1,2, YU-CHUN HSIAO3, KATSUYUKI EGUCHI4 & CHUNG-CHI LIN2*
Abstract:
Anochetus shohki Terayama, 1996, has been considered endemic to Ishigaki Island in the Ryukyu Archipelago of southern Japan for decades. Although subsequent records have extended its known range to other islands within the archipelago, including Miyako, Iriomote, Yonaguni, and Okinawa Islands, its full geographic range and ecological requirements remain poorly understood; furthermore, the absence of molecular sequences has left its phylogenetic placement unresolved. In this study, we report the first record of A. shohki from central and southern Taiwan, complementing this with new distributional data from the Yaeyama Islands. To clarify phylogenetic relationships, four nuclear genes (CAD, LW Rh, TOP1, and Wg) and one mitochondrial gene (COI) from A. shohki were sequenced. Our phylogenetic results support the placement of A. shohki within the A. graeffei species group and reveal minimal genetic divergence between the Taiwan and Yaeyama populations at these markers. Our field observations indicate diverse habitat preferences in A. shohki, suggesting that its occurrence on beaches may reflect high dispersal ability and ecological flexibility. Finally, an updated taxonomic key to the workers of Taiwanese Anochetus species is provided.
Keywords:
Ponerinae, distribution, phylogeny, species group, habitat
Get PDF (7.8 MB) :
Get Electronic Supplementary Material: Supplementary Figures S1 and S2 (11.6 MB):
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1Department of Entomology, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan.
2Department of Biology, National Changhua University of Education, Changhua, Taiwan.
3Department of Life Sciences, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan.
4Department of Biological Sciences, Graduate School of Science, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan.
*Corresponding author: cclin@cc.ncue.edu.tw
