Crematogaster monteverdensis

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Crematogaster monteverdensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Tribe: Crematogastrini
Genus: Crematogaster
Species: C. monteverdensis
Binomial name
Crematogaster monteverdensis
Longino, 2003

Crematogaster monteverdensis jtlc000001403 p 1 high.jpg

Crematogaster monteverdensis jtlc000001403 d 1 high.jpg

Specimen Labels

Longino (2003) - Crematogaster monteverdensis inhabits moist forest areas in the Monteverde community area in the Cordillera de Tilarán and at a similar elevation on Cerro Cacao in the Cordillera de Guanacaste. I first encountered the species in Monteverde, where I observed workers and the small, dealate queens foraging together on the outside walls of a house. Subsequent collections were from nests in dead branches, either in recent treefalls or on the ground. These collections were generally located at pasture/forest edges. Nests were polygynous, with multiple dealate queens. Workers could be recruited to baits of mixed honey and solid vegetable oil. I have never seen alate queens, and one nest collection contained small apterous males similar to Wheeler's description of the males of Crematogaster atitlanica (Wheeler 1936, see under sumichrasti).

Identification

Longino (2003) - The two closely related species monteverdensis and Crematogaster sumichrasti are uniquely characterized by the combination of yellow coloration, relatively long, upturned propodeal spines, and long flexuous posterolateral mesonotal setae that are subequal in length to humeral setae. The only difference is that Crematogaster sumichrasti has one or two extremely long setae on the tibiae.

I identified monteverdensis specimens first as sumichrasti until I discovered the consistent differences in tibial pilosity and promesonotal profile. Crematogaster sumichrasti seems to have a microparapatric distribution with monteverdensis, because typical sumichrasti occur just downslope from Monteverde, at 700m elevation on the road down to the PanAmerican Highway.

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 10.93008° to 10.333°.

 
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Neotropical Region: Costa Rica (type locality).

Distribution based on AntMaps

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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

Worker

Images from AntWeb

Crematogaster monteverdensis jtlc000001405 h 1 high.jpgCrematogaster monteverdensis jtlc000001405 p 1 high.jpgCrematogaster monteverdensis jtlc000001405 d 1 high.jpgCrematogaster monteverdensis jtlc000001405 l 1 high.jpg
Paratype of Crematogaster monteverdensisQueen (alate/dealate). Specimen code jtlc000001405. Photographer Ryan Perry, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by BMNH.
Crematogaster monteverdensis jtlc000002469 d 1 high.jpgCrematogaster monteverdensis jtlc000002469 p 1 high.jpg
Specimen code jtlc000002469. .
Crematogaster monteverdensis jtlc000001403 p 4 high.jpg
Holotype monteverdensisWorker. Specimen code jtlc000001403. Photographer C. Richart, uploaded by University of Utah.

Nomenclature

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

  • monteverdensis. Crematogaster monteverdensis Longino, 2003a: 89 (w.q.) COSTA RICA.
    • Type-material: holotype worker, 7 paratype workers, 8 paratype queens.
    • Type-locality: holotype Costa Rica: Prov. Guanacaste, 3 km. N Santa Elena, 10°20’N, 84°50’W, 1500 m., 26.vi.1991, JTL2938 (J. Longino); paratypes with same data.
    • Type-depositories: INBC (holotype); BMNH, INBC, LACM, MCZC, MHNG, NHMB, UCDC, USNM (paratypes).
    • Distribution: Costa Rica.

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

Description

Worker

Holotype: HL 0.702, HW 0.739, HC 0.685, SL 0.584, EL 0.192, WL 0.777, SPL 0.145, PTH 0.178, PTL 0.239, PTW 0.210, PPL 0.183, PPW 0.228, CI 105, OI 27, SI 83, PTHI 74, PTWI 88, PPI 125, SPI 19.

Other specimens: HL 0.726, 0.639, 0.718; HW 0.799, 0.686, 0.772; HC 0.732, 0.636, 0.699; SL 0.605, 0.554, 0.601; EL 0.199, 0.182, 0.208; A11L 0.248; A11W 0.135; A10L 0.114; A10W 0.119; A09L 0.076; A09W 0.093; A08L 0.057; A08W 0.074; WL 0.840, 0.719, 0.832; SPL 0.145, 0.134, 0.156; PTH 0.195, 0.184, 0.181; PTL 0.249, 0.222, 0.228; PTW 0.220, 0.206, 0.224; PPL 0.180, 0.151, 0.176; PPW 0.246, 0.220, 0.235; CI 110, 107, 108; OI 27, 28, 29; SI 83, 87, 84; PTHI 78, 83, 79; PTWI 88, 93, 98; PPI 137, 146, 134; SPI 17, 19, 19; ACI 0.24.

Differing from sumichrasti in the following respects: tibiae with abundant suberect setae, but more uniform in length and none longer than maximum width of tibia (sumichrasti has one or more long macrosetae, subequal in length to twice maximum tibia width); pronotal dorsum with stronger longitudinal carinulae; dorsal and posterior faces of mesonotum meeting at an angle but angle less strongly produced, not tuberculate; dorsal pilosity generally shorter.

Queen

A normal queen (dorsal face of propodeum drops steeply from postscutellum and much of propodeum appears ventral to scutellum and postscutellum) with general shape, sculpture, and pilosity characters of the worker; size characters as in Figures.

Type Material

Holotype worker. Costa Rica, Prov. Guanacaste, 3km N Santa Elena, 1500m, 10°20'N, 84°50'W, 26 Jun 1991 (Longino, collection code JTL2938) Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad, specimen code JTLC000001403.

Paratypes. One dealate queen, same data as holotype INBC, specimen code JTLC000001404; worker and queen, same data The Natural History Museum, specimen code JTLC000001405; worker and queen, same data Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, specimen code JTLC000001406; worker and queen, same data Museum of Comparative Zoology, specimen code JTLC000001407; worker and queen, same data Musee d'Histoire Naturelle Genève, specimen code JTLC000001408; worker and queen, same data Naturhistorisches Museum, Basel, specimen code JTLC000001409; worker and queen, same data National Museum of Natural History, specimen code JTLC000001410; worker and queen, same data University of California, Davis, specimen code JTLC000001411.

Etymology

This species is named after its type locality.

References

  • Longino, J. T. 2003a. The Crematogaster (Hymenoptera, Formicidae, Myrmicinae) of Costa Rica. Zootaxa 151: 1-150 (page 89, worker, queen described)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • Fernández, F. and S. Sendoya. 2004. Lista de las hormigas neotropicales. Biota Colombiana Volume 5, Number 1.
  • INBio Collection (via Gbif)
  • Longino J. T. 2013. Ants of Nicargua. Consulted on 18 Jan 2013. https://sites.google.com/site/longinollama/reports/ants-of-nicaragua
  • Longino, J.T. 2003. The Crematogaster (Hymenoptera, Formicidae, Myrmicinae) of Costa Rica. Zootaxa 151:1-150