Formicidae, Hymenoptera, Insecta, Arthropoda, Animalia
Range
Honduras, Costa Rica. Costa Rica: known from one specimen from wet forest in the Atlantic lowlands.
Identification
Combined length of head and closed mandibles 1.75-2.2mm; petiolar node as seen from the front or rear with apical margin distinctly concave, the two free corners forming angles or produced as teeth; second segment of antennal funiculus at least twice as long as broad; compound eyes less than 0.08mm greatest diameter.
Natural History
Anochetus are presumably predators, using their snapping mandibles much like their larger relatives, Odontomachus. However, there are few direct observations.
Notes
The minans type is from Lombardia, Honduras. Brown (1978) based his concept of minans on a single specimen he obtained from "rotten wood in rain forest near the bridge over the Rio Toro Amarillo, west of Guapiles, Limon Prov., Costa Rica, in early March 1966." The specimen agreed well with Mann's description of the type. These are the only two records known for the species.
Type data
Anochetus minans Mann 1922. Syntype worker: Honduras, Lombardia.
Literature Cited
Brown, W. L., Jr. 1978. Contributions toward a reclassification of the Formicidae. Part VI. Ponerinae, tribe Ponerini, subtribe Odontomachiti. Section B. Genus Anochetus and bibliography. Studia Entomol. 20:549-652.
Mann, W. M. 1922. Ants from Honduras and Guatemala. Proc. U.S. Natn. Mus. 61:1-54.
Page author:
John T. Longino, The Evergreen State College, Olympia WA 98505 USA.longinoj@evergreen.edu