A new species of the ant genus Strongylognathus (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from Inner Mongolia, with notes on the species reported from China

A new species, Strongylognathus dao sp. n. is described based on all three castes from Inner Mongolia, China. It belongs to the S. huberi species- group and differs from the related species S. koreanus Pisarski by the presence of standing hairs on the temples and genae, by the distinctly darker color of the body, and also by the relatively shorter, higher and wider postpetiole. Its workers differ from S. christophi Emery by the longer head and by the much less developed longitudinal rugosity on the sides of mesosoma. Besides this, queens (gynes) of S. dao are much smaller than those of S. christophi. In this study, we describe what appears to have been an incomplete raid of S. dao on a neighboring Tetramorium tsushimae Emery colony. A brief review of Chinese Strongylognathus species is provided. We believe that previous records of S. karawajewi Pisarski and S. cheliferus Radchenko from China were based on misidentifications and propose to remove these two species from the list of Chinese ants.