Ecitoninae, Formicidae, Hymenoptera, Insecta, Arthropoda, Animalia
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Additional images: worker petiole (small, large).
Range
Costa Rica: Barva transect in Braulio Carrillo National Park, 300m.
Identification
Similar to Hypoponera but with a fenestra on the anteroventral petiolar tooth. A fenestra is a circular thin spot, like a small window.
Natural History
I know this species from a single worker. It was in wet forest habitat, at 300m elevation on the Barva transect in Braulio Carrillo National Park. The worker was collected by the ALAS project, in a miniWinkler sample of sifted leaf litter from the forest floor.
Comments
I originally identified this specimen in the genus Ponera, because of the petiolar fenestra. Bob Taylor informed me that all Ponera have posterior teeth on the ventral margin of the petiole, and this species does not. He also said that some Hypoponera have an anterior fenestra like Ponera. Bob suggested that this species might be Hypoponera zwaluwenburgi, but it does not match too well the images of that species at the Japanese Ant Image Database. Although the habitus is very similar, H. zwaluwenburgi lacks the petiolar fenestra and the head shape is different. This specimen does not match any genus too well.
Page author:
John T. Longino, The Evergreen State College, Olympia WA 98505 USA.longinoj@evergreen.edu
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