Formicidae, Hymenoptera, Insecta, Arthropoda, Animalia
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Range
Costa Rica, Panama, Guyana (type locality), Trinidad, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia (Kempf 1975, Longino 1988). Costa Rica: La Selva Biological Station.
Identification
Mandible with a small basal tooth, in addition to the three long tines; head width 1.29mm (n=1). See notes.
Natural History
In Costa Rica, this species is known from a single specimen, from La Selva Biological Station (SSE 700), in a berlese sample of litter and soil from the forest floor. A Brazilian species, Thaumatomyrmex mutilatus, is a specialist predator of polyxenid millipedes (Brandao et al. 1991), and thus atrox may be as well.
Type Data
Thaumatomyrmex atrox Weber 1939:98. Holotype worker: Guyana, junction of Mazaruni and Cuyuni Rivers.
Literature Cited
Brandao, C. R. F., J. L. M. Diniz, and E. M. Tomotake. 1991. Thaumatomyrmex strips millipedes for prey, a novel predatory behaviour in ants and the first case of sympatry in the genus. Insectes Soc. 38:335-344.
Kempf, W. W. 1975. A revision of the Neotropical ponerine ant genus Thaumatomyrmex Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Stud. Entomol. 18:95-126.
Longino, J. T. 1988. Notes on the taxonomy of the neotropical ant genus Thaumatomyrmex Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). In J. C. Trager (ed.), Advances in Myrmecology, pp. 35-42. E. J. Brill, New York.
Weber, N. A. 1939. New ants of rare genera and a new genus of ponerine ants. Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 32:91-104.
Page author:
John T. Longino, The Evergreen State College, Olympia WA 98505 USA.longinoj@evergreen.edu
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