Formicidae, Hymenoptera, Insecta, Arthropoda, Animalia
TEAM specimen from near La Selva:
|
|
|
Kaspari specimen from Las Cruces:
|
|
|
Range
Mexico, Belize (type locality), Costa Rica. Costa Rica: Atlantic lowlands, southern highlands.
Identification
Abundant flexuous setae on dorsa of head, mesosoma, and gaster; no shorter decumbent pilosity; eyes small; petiole with a distinct node; face and mesosoma coarsely rugose; propodeal spines very long, stout at base, tapering to sharp points; WL 1.12-1.30mm (in Costa Rica); propodeal spine length (measured from outer edge of propodeal spiracle to tip of spine) 0.35mm.
Biology
This species is known from very few specimens. The holotype and paratype were collected from Berlese samples of forest floor leaf litter, from Belize and southern Mexico, respectively. Costa Rican material is tentatively identified here as R. cornuta. Two specimens were collected as part of Mike Kaspari's Species Energy Theory project. The specimen data are:
Costa Rica: San Vito, Las Cruces BS, 8¡47'N 82¡58'W, July 1996, L and A Alonso, MEK54044.01. barcode: MEKOU221471. This specimen is currently in the Longino collection in Olympia.
Costa Rica: San Vito, Las Cruces BS, 8¡47'N 82¡58'W, July 1996, L and A Alonso, MEK54254.03. barcode: MEKOU221408. This specimen is currently in the Kaspari lab in Oklahoma.
Two additional specimens were found in mature lowland rainforest, at 100m elevation in Braulio Carrillo National Park, immediately south of La Selva Biological Station. They were collected in two different Winkler samples of sifted leaf litter from the forest floor, as part of Conservation International's TEAM project at La Selva.
Comments
There is substantial variation among the different collections, and it is unknown whether this is intraspecific geographic variation or interspecific variation. Costa Rican specimens are larger than the types. WL of the Belize holotype is 0.93mm; WL of the Mexican paratype is 1.02mm; WL of TEAM specimen from near La Selva is 1.12mm; WL of a Kaspari specimen from southern Costa Rica is 1.30mm. Within Costa Rica the TEAM specimens from near La Selva are different from the Kaspari specimens from Las Cruces. The former are smaller, the rugose sculpture is more irregular and less longitudinally oriented on the mesosomal sides and dorsum, the postpetiolar dorsum is more coarsely rugose, and the propodeal spines are smaller.
I used to refer to the Las Cruces specimens as a distinct morphospecies, JTL-005.
Literature Cited
Kugler, C. 1994. Revision of the ant genus Rogeria (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) with descriptions of the sting apparatus. Journal of Hymenoptera Research 3:17-89.
Page author:
John T. Longino, The Evergreen State College, Olympia WA 98505 USA.longinoj@evergreen.edu
Go back to top
