Alfaria minuta

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Alfaria minuta
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Ectatomminae
Tribe: Ectatommini
Genus: Alfaria
Species: A. minuta
Binomial name
Alfaria minuta
Emery, 1896

Gnamptogenys minuta casent0178680 profile 1.jpg

Gnamptogenys minuta casent0178680 dorsal 1.jpg

Specimen labels

Synonyms

A nest was uncovered in a cocoa plantation close to the northcentral Venezuelan coastal town of Ocumare by Dr. Robert Johnson during the 2008 edition of Ant Course. The nest was found under a grapefruit-sized stone with a cusp shaped structure, it consisted of a single chamber dug out from the soil from which 24 workers were collected. Two specimens are deposited in the Museo del Instituto de Zoología Agrícola of the Universidad Central de Venezuela in Maracay, Venezuela, and the rest are in the Arizona State University collection. This observation further reinforces the notion that Alfaria species are subterranean nesters, in contrast with most members of Gnamptogenys which prefer to nest in decomposing wood. (Lattke and Delsinne 2016)

Identification

A widespread distribution in South America, but documented with relatively sparse and widely scattered occurrence records.

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 18.5859972° to -23.48944444°.

 
North
Temperate 		North
Subtropical 		Tropical South
Subtropical 		South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Neotropical Region: Bolivia (type locality), Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Suriname.

Distribution based on AntMaps

AntMapLegend.png

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.
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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.
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Biology

Castes

Nomenclature

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

  • minuta. Alfaria minnta Emery, 1896g: 106 (q.) BOLIVIA.
    • [Note: correct spelling minuta' noted earlier in same paper by Emery, 1896g: 43.]
    • Type-material: 2 syntype queens.
    • Type-locality: Bolivia: chaco (no further data) (Staudinger & Bang-Haas).
    • Type-depository: MSNG.
    • Combination in Gnamptogenys: Brown, 1958g: 228;
    • combination in Alfaria: Camacho, Franco, Branstetter, et al. 2022: 10.
    • Status as species: Emery, 1911d: 46; Borgmeier, 1949: 205 (in key); Brown, in Borgmeier, 1957: 115; Brown, 1958g: 228, 316; Kempf, 1961b: 492; Kempf, 1972a: 113; Lattke, 1992a: 127; Bolton, 1995b: 209; Lattke, et al. 2004: 346; Lattke, et al. 2007: 264 (in key); Lattke, et al. 2008: 93; Feitosa, 2015c: 98; Guénard & Economo, 2015: 226; Lattke & Delsinne, 2016: 142; Feitosa & Prada-Achiardi, 2019: 672; Camacho, et al. 2020: 462 (in key); Camacho, Franco, Branstetter, et al. 2022: 10.
    • Senior synonym of carinata: Brown, in Borgmeier, 1957: 115; Brown, 1958g: 228, 317; Kempf, 1972a: 113; Brandão & Lattke, 1990: 489; Lattke, 1992a: 127; Bolton, 1995b: 209; Camacho, Franco, Branstetter, et al. 2022: 10.
    • Senior synonym of emeryi: Brown, in Borgmeier, 1957: 115; Brown, 1958g: 228, 317; Kempf, 1972a: 113; Brandão & Lattke, 1990: 489; Lattke, 1992a: 127; Bolton, 1995b: 209; Camacho, Franco, Branstetter, et al. 2022: 10.
    • Senior synonym of mus: Brown, in Borgmeier, 1957: 115; Brown, 1958g: 228, 317; Kempf, 1972a: 113; Brandão & Lattke, 1990: 489; Lattke, 1992a: 127; Bolton, 1995b: 209; Camacho, Franco, Branstetter, et al. 2022: 10.
    • Senior synonym of panamensis: Brown, in Borgmeier, 1957: 115; Brown, 1958g: 228, 317; Kempf, 1972a: 113; Brandão & Lattke, 1990: 489; Lattke, 1992a: 127; Bolton, 1995b: 209; Camacho, Franco, Branstetter, et al. 2022: 10.
    • Senior synonym of pneodonax: Lattke, 1992a: 127; Camacho, Franco, Branstetter, et al. 2022: 10.
    • Senior synonym of scabrosus: Brown, in Borgmeier, 1957: 115; Brown, 1958g: 228, 317; Kempf, 1972a: 113; Brandão & Lattke, 1990: 489; Lattke, 1992a: 127; Bolton, 1995b: 209; Camacho, Franco, Branstetter, et al. 2022: 10.
    • Distribution: Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Suriname, Venezuela.
  • carinata. Alfaria carinata Weber, 1940b: 82, fig. 3 (q.) GUYANA.
    • Type-material: 2 syntype queens.
    • Type-locality: Guyana (“British Guiana”): Mazaruni River, Forest Settlement, 20.viii.1935 (N.A. Weber).
    • Type-depository: MCZC.
    • Status as species: Borgmeier, 1949: 205 (in key).
    • Junior synonym of minuta: Brown, in Borgmeier, 1957: 115; Brown, 1958g: 228, 317; Kempf, 1972a: 113; Brandão & Lattke, 1990: 489; Lattke, 1992a: 127; Bolton, 1995b: 208; Camacho, Franco, Branstetter, et al. 2022: 10.
  • emeryi. Alfaria emeryi Forel, 1901f: 326 (w.) COLOMBIA.
    • Type-material: holotype (?) worker.
    • [Note: no indication of number of specimens is given.]
    • Type-locality: Colombia: foot of Sierra Nevada de Santa-Marta, Hacienda de l’Esperanza, nr Dibulla (A. Forel).
    • Type-depository: MHNG.
    • Status as species: Emery, 1911d: 46; Borgmeier, 1949: 205 (in key).
    • Junior synonym of minuta: Brown, in Borgmeier, 1957: 115; Brown, 1958g: 228, 317; Kempf, 1972a: 113; Brandão & Lattke, 1990: 489; Lattke, 1992a: 127; Bolton, 1995b: 209; Camacho, Franco, Branstetter, et al. 2022: 10.
  • mus. Alfaria mus Santschi, 1931c: 265 (w.) PANAMA.
    • Type-material: holotype worker.
    • Type-locality: Panama: France Field, 2.vi.1930 (A. Bierig).
    • Type-depository: NHMB.
    • Status as species: Borgmeier, 1949: 205 (in key).
    • Junior synonym of minuta: Brown, in Borgmeier, 1957: 115; Brown, 1958g: 228, 317; Kempf, 1972a: 113; Brandão & Lattke, 1990: 489; Lattke, 1992a: 127; Bolton, 1995b: 209; Camacho, Franco, Branstetter, et al. 2022: 10.
  • panamensis. Alfaria panamensis Weber, 1940b: 80 (w.q.) PANAMA.
    • Type-material: 1 syntype worker, 1 syntype queen.
    • Type-locality: worker Panama: Canal Zone, Barro Colorado I., 29.vii.1938, no. 58 (E.C. Williams), queen with same data but 4.viii.1938, no. 534.
    • Type-depository: MCZC.
    • Status as species: Borgmeier, 1949: 205 (in key).
    • Junior synonym of minuta: Brown, in Borgmeier, 1957: 115; Brown, 1958g: 228, 317; Kempf, 1972a: 113; Brandão & Lattke, 1990: 489; Lattke, 1992a: 127; Bolton, 1995b: 210; Camacho, Franco, Branstetter, et al. 2022: 10.
  • pneodonax. Gnamptogenys pneodonax Kempf, 1968b: 375, figs. 2, 3 (w.) BRAZIL (Amazonas).
    • Type-material: holotype worker.
    • Type-locality: Brazil: Amazonas, Benjamim Constant, 18-28.ix.1962 (K. Lenko).
    • Type-depository: DZSP.
    • Status as species: Kempf, 1972a: 114; Lattke, 1990b: 19; Brandão, 1991: 345.
    • Junior synonym of minuta: Lattke, 1992a: 127; Bolton, 1995b: 210; Camacho, Franco, Branstetter, et al. 2022: 10.
  • scabrosus. Opisthoscyphus scabrosus Mann, 1922: 5, figs. 2, 3 (w.) HONDURAS.
    • Type-material: holotype worker.
    • Type-locality: Honduras: Lombardia, ii.-iii.1920 (W.M. Mann).
    • Type-depository: USNM.
    • Junior synonym of minuta: Brown, in Borgmeier, 1957: 115; Brown, 1958g: 228, 317; Kempf, 1972a: 113; Brandão & Lattke, 1990: 489; Lattke, 1992a: 127; Bolton, 1995b: 210; Camacho, Franco, Branstetter, et al. 2022: 10.

Unless otherwise noted the text for the remainder of this section is reported from the publication that includes the original description.

Description

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

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