Strumigenys myllorhapha
Strumigenys myllorhapha | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Hymenoptera |
Family: | Formicidae |
Subfamily: | Myrmicinae |
Tribe: | Attini |
Genus: | Strumigenys |
Species: | S. myllorhapha |
Binomial name | |
Strumigenys myllorhapha (Brown, 1959) |
A common inhabitant of moist tropical forest habitats across a wide range of elevation, from lowland rainforest through to cloud forest. It is a denizen of the litter as evidenced by the many hundreds of samples obtained from forest litter sampling but may also opportunistically nest in the canopy under epiphytes. Nests are presently known from in or under dead wood on ground. (Longino, Ants of Costa Rica)
Identification
Bolton (2000) - A member of the crassicornis-complex in the Strumigenys gundlachi group. The very long mandibles of myllorhapha (MI 61 - 67) are not matched by any other species of the crassicornis-complex, but several species of the gundlachi-complex have the MI approaching or exceeding 60. None of these have the dentition or the extremely elongated labral lobes of Strumigenys myllorhapha.
Longino (Ants of Costa Rica) - Mandibles in full-face view linear, elongate and narrow; at full closure engaging only at apex; ventral surface of petiole without spongiform tissue; leading edge of scape with freely projecting hairs; inner margin of mandible with a clearly defined submedian tooth near the midlength; labral lobes long, trigger hairs at apices of lobes short; middle preapical denticle distinctly larger than flanking denticles, similar in size to submedian tooth; mandibles relatively long (MI 61-67); mesosomal dorsum evenly convex, propodeal suture not impressed; total head length greater than 0.90mm. Also see Bolton (2000:190).
Specimens from the lowlands are light ferruginous and relatively smaller, while those from montane regions are dark brown and relatively larger (see Costa Rican Ants and Elevation). In the case of myllorhapha I have been able to detect neither morphological discontinuity between light and dark forms, nor zones of sympatry. Therefore I treat the light and dark forms as intraspecific variation in this case.
Keys including this Species
Distribution
Latitudinal Distribution Pattern
Latitudinal Range: 16.974° to 9.167°.
North Temperate |
North Subtropical |
Tropical | South Subtropical |
South Temperate |
- Source: AntMaps
Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Neotropical Region: Belize, Costa Rica (type locality), Honduras, Mexico, Panama.
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
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Castes
Nomenclature
The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.
- myllorhapha. Neostruma myllorhapha Brown, 1959b: 12, fig. 4 (w.) COSTA RICA. Combination in Pyramica: Bolton, 1999: 1672; in Strumigenys: Baroni Urbani & De Andrade, 2007: 124. See also: Bolton, 2000: 190.
Unless otherwise noted the text for the remainder of this section is reported from the publication that includes the original description.
Description
Worker
Bolton (2000) - TL 2.3-2.8, HL 0.58-0.67, HW 0.40-0.49, CI 72-75, ML 0.37-0.44, MI 61-67, SL 0.23-0.28, SI 55-59, PW 0.28-0.34, AL 0.60-0.74 (20 measured). Characters of crassicornis complex but with mandibles and labral lobes very long. Enlarged submedian tooth shifted distally so that it is between one-half and two-thirds the mandible length from the base. Between it and the apicodorsal tooth with 4 - 6 denticles of varying size, proximal to it with 5 - 8 denticles; generally there are more denticles proximal of the sub median tooth than distal to it. Apex of mandible with 3 minute intercalary denticles between apicodorsal and apicoventral teeth. Vertical inner face of mandible below masticatory margin with an elongate pale apparently glandular area close to the base. In shape it is an elongate tear-drop, pointed anteriorly and twice longer than broad; its margins are sharply defined and it is much paler in colour than the surrounding cuticle. The structure is visible even when the mandibles are fully closed. The basal mandibular gland described above is also discernible in Strumigenys auctidens, Strumigenys pasisops and Strumigenys stenotes but in all of these it is shorter, broader and by no means as sharply defined nor obviously paler than the surrounding cuticle. Colour is variable in myllorhapha, ranging from brownish yellow to almost black. Individual colour appears to be altitude linked, with darker specimens from higher altitudes.
Type Material
Bolton (2000) - Holotype worker, COSTA RICA: no locality data (F. Nevermann) (Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de Sao Paulo) (examined).
References
- Baroni Urbani, C. & De Andrade, M.L. 2007. The ant tribe Dacetini: limits and constituent genera, with descriptions of new species. Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale “G. Doria” 99:1-191.
- Bolton, B. 1999. Ant genera of the tribe Dacetonini (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Journal of Natural History. 33:1639-1689. (page 1672, Combination in Pyramica)
- Bolton, B. 2000. The ant tribe Dacetini. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute. 65:1-1028. (page 190, fig. 132 redescription of worker)
- Brown, W. L., Jr. 1959b. A revision of the dacetine ant genus Neostruma. Breviora 107: 1-13. (page 12, fig. 4 worker described)
- [[Media:Silva, T.S.R.D., Chaul, J.C.M. et al. 2022. Lectotype designation and redescription of four commonly collected Neotropical species of Strumigenys (10.5852@ejt.2022.798.1673).pdf|Silva, T.S.R.D., Chaul, J.C.M., Feitosa, R.M. 2022. Lectotype designation and redescription of four commonly collected Neotropical species of Strumigenys (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). European Journal of Taxonomy, 798(1), 103–126 (Template:Doi.org).]]
References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics
- Bolton, B. 2000. The Ant Tribe Dacetini. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute 65
- Branstetter M. G. and L. Sáenz. 2012. Las hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) de Guatemala. Pp. 221-268 in: Cano E. B. and J. C. Schuster. (eds.) 2012. Biodiversidad de Guatemala. Volumen 2. Guatemala: Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, iv + 328 pp
- Brown W. L. Jr. 1959. A revision of the dacetine ant genus Neostruma. Breviora 107: 1-13.
- Dattilo W. et al. 2019. MEXICO ANTS: incidence and abundance along the Nearctic-Neotropical interface. Ecology https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2944
- Fernández, F. and S. Sendoya. 2004. Lista de las hormigas neotropicales. Biota Colombiana Volume 5, Number 1.
- INBio Collection (via Gbif)
- Longino J. T. L., and M. G. Branstetter. 2018. The truncated bell: an enigmatic but pervasive elevational diversity pattern in Middle American ants. Ecography 41: 1-12.
- Longino J. T., and N. M. Nadkarni. 1990. A comparison of ground and canopy leaf litter ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in a Neotropical montane forest. Psyche (Cambridge) 97: 81-94.
- Longino J. T., and R. K. Colwell. 2011. Density compensation, species composition, and richness of ants on a neotropical elevational gradient. Ecosphere 2(3): 16pp.
- Longino J. et al. ADMAC project. Accessed on March 24th 2017 at https://sites.google.com/site/admacsite/
- Longino, J.T. and N. M. Nadkarni. 1990. A comparison of ground and canopy leaf litter ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in a Neotopical Montane Forest. Psyche 97:81-93.
- Smith M. A., W. Hallwachs, D. H. Janzen. 2014. Diversity and phylogenetic community structure of ants along a Costa Rican elevational gradient. Ecography 37(8): 720-731.
- Sosa-Calvo J., S. O. Shattuck, and T. R. Schultz. 2006. Dacetine ants of Panama: new records and description of a new species. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 108: 814-821.