Formicidae, Hymenoptera, Insecta, Arthropoda, Animalia
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Range
Costa Rica (Atlantic lowland rainforest, to 500m elevation on Cordillera Volcanica Central; Pacific lowland rainforest from Carara to Osa and up to San Vito area).
Identification
Opening of propodeal spiracle viewed perpendicularly slit-shaped, more than twice as long as wide (spiracle is very small, and boss around spiracle is round, but actual orifice still slit-shaped); petiole scale-shaped, tapering dorsally to rounded summit; mandible with 7 teeth, basal and masticatory margins distinct; lateral wings of clypeus divided by distinct transverse ridge, anterior portion distinctly concave and bent ventrad; frontal carinae not very closely approximated, ratio of greatest distance between frontal carinae to smallest distance 2.5; mesosoma red-brown, head contrasting brown-black.
Similar species: cauta, stigma, JTL-007.
Natural History
This species shows an interesting difference between the Atlantic slope and Pacific slope populations. The Atlantic slope collections have all been from canopy collections under epiphytes or in recent treefalls. The Pacific slope collections are from three different samples of sifted leaf litter from the forest floor (Winkler samples). This is another example demonstrating that the microclimatic envelope is pushed up on the Atlantic side, such that species found at ground level in the more seasonal Pacific slope forests are found in the canopy of the less seasonal rainforests of the Atlantic slope.
Type Data
Ponera cognata Emery 1896:56. Syntype worker, queen: Costa Rica, Jimenez (Alfaro) [MCSN] (examined, 1990).
Literature Cited
Emery, C. 1896. Studi sulle formiche della fauna neotropica. XVII-XXV. Bullettino della Societa Entomologica Italiana 28:33-107.
Page author:
John T. Longino, The Evergreen State College, Olympia WA 98505 USA.longinoj@evergreen.edu
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