Acromyrmex aspersus

Acromyrmex aspersus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmicinae
Tribe:	Attini
Genus:	Acromyrmex
Species:	A. aspersus
Binomial name
Acromyrmex aspersus (Smith, F., 1858) Specimen Labels
Synonyms
Acromyrmex aspersus affinis Santschi, 1925 Atta mesonotalis Emery, 1905 Atta mesonotalis fuhrmanni Forel, 1914 Atta mesonotalis inquirens Forel, 1914

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 4.73898° to -31.632389°.

North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

• Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Neotropical Region: Argentina, Brazil (type locality), Colombia, Peru.

Distribution based on AntMaps

Distribution based on AntWeb specimens

Check data from AntWeb

Countries Occupied

Number of countries occupied by this species based on AntWiki Regional Taxon Lists. In general, fewer countries occupied indicates a narrower range, while more countries indicates a more widespread species.

Estimated Abundance

Relative abundance based on number of AntMaps records per species (this species within the purple bar). Fewer records (to the left) indicates a less abundant/encountered species while more records (to the right) indicates more abundant/encountered species.

Biology

Association with Other Organisms

• This species is a host for the phorid fly Myrmosicarius infestans (a parasitoid) (Quevillon, 2018) (encounter mode primary; direct transmission; transmission outside nest).

Nomenclature

The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.

• aspersus. Oecodoma aspersa Smith, F. 1858b: 185, pl. 10, fig. 17 (q.) BRAZIL (no state data).
  • [Misspelled as aspera by Santschi, 1919f: 51.]
  • Emery, 1905c: 49 (w.m.).
  • Combination in Atta: Roger, 1863b: 35;
  • combination in Atta (Acromyrmex): Forel, 1893e: 590;
  • combination in Acromyrmex: Gallardo, 1916d: 328.
  • Junior synonym of octospinosus: Dalla Torre, 1893: 153; Forel, 1893e: 590; Forel, 1899c: 34; Santschi, 1913h: 41.
  • Status as species: Roger, 1863b: 35; Mayr, 1863: 437; Emery, 1905c: 48; Emery, 1906c: 165; Forel, 1911c: 292; Mann, 1916: 454; Gallardo, 1916d: 328; Luederwaldt, 1918: 38; Santschi, 1919f: 51; Emery, 1924d: 348; Santschi, 1925a: 391 (in key); Santschi, 1925d: 242; Borgmeier, 1927c: 129; Bruch, 1928: 346; Weber, 1938b: 205; Kusnezov, 1956: 35 (in key); Gonçalves, 1961: 132; Kempf, 1972a: 11; Cherrett & Cherrett, 1989: 50; Bolton, 1995b: 54; Bezděčková, et al. 2015: 114; Fernández, et al. 2015: 43 (redescription); Fernández & Serna, 2019: 833.
  • Senior synonym of affinis: Gonçalves, 1961: 132; Kempf, 1972a: 11; Bolton, 1995b: 54; Fernández, et al. 2015: 43.
  • Senior synonym of fuhrmanni: Fernández, et al. 2015: 43.
  • Senior synonym of inquirens: Gonçalves, 1961: 132; Kempf, 1972a: 11; Bolton, 1995b: 54; Fernández, et al. 2015: 43.
  • Senior synonym of mesonotalis: Gonçalves, 1961: 132; Kempf, 1972a: 11; Bolton, 1995b: 54; Fernández, et al. 2015: 43.
  • Material of the unavailable name clarus referred here by Gonçalves, 1961: 132; Kempf, 1972a: 11; Bolton, 1995b: 54.
• affinis. Acromyrmex aspersus var. affinis Santschi, 1925a: 369 (w.) BRAZIL (Paraná).
  • Subspecies of aspersus: Santschi, 1925d: 243; Borgmeier, 1927c: 129.
  • Junior synonym of aspersus: Gonçalves, 1961: 132; Kempf, 1972a: 11; Bolton, 1995b: 54; Fernández, et al. 2015: 43.
• fuhrmanni. Atta (Acromyrmex) mesonotalis var. fuhrmanni Forel, 1914e: 10 (w.) COLOMBIA.
  • Combination in Acromyrmex: Emery, 1924d: 349.
  • Subspecies of mesonotalis: Emery, 1924d: 349.
  • Subspecies of aspersus: Santschi, 1925a: 369; Kempf, 1972a: 11; Bolton, 1995b: 55.
  • Junior synonym of aspersus: Fernández, et al. 2015: 43.
• inquirens. Atta (Acromyrmex) mesonotalis var. inquirens Forel, 1914e: 11 (w.) BRAZIL (São Paulo).
  • As unavailable (infrasubspecific) name: Santschi, 1925d: 243; Borgmeier, 1927c: 130.
  • Subspecies of mesonotalis: Emery, 1924d: 349.
  • Subspecies of aspersus: Santschi, 1925a: 368.
  • Junior synonym of aspersus: Gonçalves, 1961: 132; Kempf, 1972a: 11; Bolton, 1995b: 55; Fernández, et al. 2015: 43.
• mesonotalis. Atta (Acromyrmex) mesonotalis Emery, 1905c: 46, fig. 8 (w.) PERU.
  • [Misspelled as mesonodotalis by Luederwaldt, 1918: 38.]
  • Combination in Acromyrmex: Luederwaldt, 1918: 38.
  • Status as species: Forel, 1908c: 351; Luederwaldt, 1918: 38; Emery, 1924d: 349.
  • Subspecies of aspersus: Santschi, 1925a: 391 (in key); Santschi, 1925d: 242; Borgmeier, 1927c: 130.
  • Junior synonym of aspersus: Gonçalves, 1961: 132; Kempf, 1972a: 11; Bolton, 1995b: 56; Fernández, et al. 2015: 43.

Description

Karyotype

• 2n = 38, karyotype = 8M+10SM+16ST+4A (Brazil) (Teixeira et al., 2017).

References

• Albuquerque, E., Prado, L., Andrade-Silva, J., Siqueira, E., Sampaio, K., Alves, D., Brandão, C., Andrade, P., Feitosa, R., Koch, E., Delabie, J., Fernandes, I., Baccaro, F., Souza, J., Almeida, R., Silva, R. 2021. Ants of the State of Pará, Brazil: a historical and comprehensive dataset of a key biodiversity hotspot in the Amazon Basin. Zootaxa 5001, 1–83 (doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5001.1.1).
• Barros, L.A.C., Aguiar, H.J.A.C., Teixeira, G.C., Souza, D.J., Delabie, J.H.C., Mariano, C.S.F. 2021. Cytogenetic studies on the social parasite Acromyrmex ameliae (Formicidae: Myrmicinae: Attini) and its hosts reveal chromosome fusion in Acromyrmex. Zoologischer Anzeiger 293, 273–281 (doi:10.1016/j.jcz.2021.06.012).
• Calazans, E.G., Costa, F.V.da, Cristiano, M.P., Cardoso, D.C. 2020. Daily dynamics of an ant community in a mountaintop ecosystem. Environmental Entomology 49, 383–390 (doi:10.1093/ee/nvaa011).
• Cardoso, D. C., Cristiano, M. P. 2021. Karyotype diversity, mode, and tempo of the chromosomal evolution of Attina (Formicidae: Myrmicinae: Attini): Is there an upper limit to chromosome number? Insects 1212, 1084 (doi:10.3390/insects12121084).
• Emery, C. 1905f. Revisione delle specie del genere Atta appartenenti ai sottogeneri Moellerius e Acromyrmex. Mem. R. Accad. Sci. Ist. Bologna (6)2:39-54 (page 49, worker, male described; page 48, revived from synonymy)
• Forel, A. 1893h. Note sur les Attini. Ann. Soc. Entomol. Belg. 37: 586-607 (page 590, Combination in Atta (Acromyrmex), junior synonym of octospinosa)
• Gallardo, A. 1916e. Notes systématiques et éthologiques sur les fourmis attines de la République Argentine. An. Mus. Nac. Hist. Nat. B. Aires 28: 317-344 (page 328, Combination in Acromyrmex)
• Gonçalves, C. R. 1961. O genero Acromyrmex no Brasil (Hym. Formicidae). Stud. Entomol. 4: 113-180 (page 132, senior synonym of affinis, inquirens and mesonotalis, and material of the unavailable name clarus referred here.)
• Roger, J. 1863b. Verzeichniss der Formiciden-Gattungen und Arten. Berl. Entomol. Z. 7(B Beilage: 1-65 (page 35, Combination in Atta)
• Smith, F. 1858b. Catalogue of hymenopterous insects in the collection of the British Museum. Part VI. Formicidae. London: British Museum, 216 pp. (page 185, pl. 10, fig. 17 queen described)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

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• Cuezzo, F. 1998. Formicidae. Chapter 42 in Morrone J.J., and S. Coscaron (dirs) Biodiversidad de artropodos argentinos: una perspectiva biotaxonomica Ediciones Sur, La Plata. Pages 452-462.
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