A. N. Kupianskaya, A. S. Lelej and B. K. Urbain

The ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of the Kuril Islands.

Number: 92, Pages: 1 - 21

A review of the taxanomic, distributional, and ecological data for the thirty two species, across thirteen genera, of ants recorded from the Kuril Islands is given. In addition, new records – collected during the International Kuril Island Project (IKIP) – of Myrmica ruginodis kotokui, M. kamtschatica, Leptothorax acervorum and Formica lemani are included from the following eight islands of the archipelago: Matua, Raikoke, Shiashkotan, Onekotan, Makanrushi, Antsiferova, Shumshu and Atlasova. Two species, Crematogaster matsumurai Forel and Lasius neoniger Emery, previously reported by Kuwayama (1967) and Collingwood (1962), respectively, have never been confirmed, despite four large expeditions to the islands, and are considered to be doubtful records for the archipelago. A discussion of the biogeographical distribution of the listed taxa concludes.

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