Retalimyrma
Retalimyrma is a monotypic genus of ants in the subfamily Formicinae, consisting of the sole species Retalimyrma wroughtonii, native to the Himalayas of Nepal and India. R. wroughtonii was previously placed in the genus Camponotus as Camponotus wroughtonii, although it was separated in 2025 into its own genus based on ultraconserved element phylogenomic analysis. Its scientific name means "remnant ant" from Ancient Greek retáli + myrma.
Taxonomy
The species was originally described as Camponotus Wroughtonii by Auguste Forel in 1893, based on syntype workers and males collected by Smythies in the Himalayas at 9,000 feet. Bingham provided descriptions of the major worker and queen. The species was subsequently placed in the subgenus Myrmentoma by Emery. A syntype worker in the Muséum d'histoire naturelle [de Genève] was designated as the lectotype by Ward et al.. The species is named after Robert [Charles Wroughton], a British naturalist and Inspector General of Forests in India who collected numerous ant specimens and sent them to Forel for study.Phylogenomic analysis using ultraconserved elements by Ward et al. revealed that Camponotus wroughtonii could not be placed in any existing genus and represented an isolated lineage within the tribe Camponotini. Along with two other novel genera, Lathidris from Mesoamerica and Uwari from eastern Asia, it was erected as a new monotypic genus.
Biology
Like all members of the tribe Camponotini, Retalimyrma wroughtonii harbours the obligate bacterial endosymbiont Blochmannia, which provides nutritional benefits to its host.A nest of R. wroughtonii was found in Nepal at 2,550 metres elevation in open pine–cypress forest on the west side of the Kali Gandaki River. The nest, located under several adjacent small stones, contained workers, larvae, and cocoons; no queen or major workers were found.