Formicidae, Hymenoptera, Insecta, Arthropoda, Animalia
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Range
Costa Rica, Panama, Trinidad (type locality). Costa Rica: Atlantic and southern Pacific lowlands.
Identification
Minor worker: head length 0.39mm, head width 0.38mm, scape length 0.30mm, Webers length 0.38mm (n=1). Antenna 10-segmented; head somewhat flattened behind, with weak median indentation; mesonotal suture absent; propodeal spines moderately long; face shallowly foveolate throughout, somewhat shining (rather than the mat surface typical of more strongly foveolate species); pronotum smooth and shining except for transverse dorsal band between humeri; rest of mesosoma foveolate; first gastral tergum smooth and shining; dorsal pilosity sparse, moderately long, stiff; color red brown.
Major worker: head length 0.72mm, head width 0.69mm, scape length 0.34mm (n=1). Face punctatorugose throughout; hypostomal margin gently curved, with median tooth, and a pair of stout teeth about one half distance from midline to recessed teeth flanking mandible bases; dorsal pilosity moderately abundant; head with abundant short setae projecting from sides of head in face view.
A similar species, JTL-121, occurs in the southern Pacific lowlands of Costa Rica.
Taxonomic observation: The subgenus Decapheidole contains species with ten antennal segments. There are three described species: decem, perpusilla, and zeteki. perpusilla was described from Belem as being like flavens, with the same sculpture. This implies an entirely foveolate mesosoma and face. MCZ material that has 10-seg antennae and completely foveolate face and mesosoma includes numerous collections from northern South America and collections from BCI, including the types of zeteki. This could easily be a complex of species, but none have been recorded from Costa Rica. decem was described from Trinidad, and was described as having shiny pronotum. MCZ has one collection from BCI, with shiny pronotum, and a Bill Brown det label stating it was compared to type of decem. Another nearly identical det label was just above it, with the same year, stating compared with type of perpusilla. We presume Brown thought perpusilla and decem synonyms. The BCI series matches exactly the species common in the canopy at La Selva. Thus, the La Selva species is decem, known from Costa Rica, Panama, and Trinidad. A shiny faced ecological cognate in Corcovado matches closely (but not exactly) a single MCZ specimen from Erwin's fogging program in Peru. This we consider a distinct species in Decapheidole, to which we have given the code name JTL-121.
Noted added 11 Oct: New collections from La Selva show variability in the degree of shininess on the face, and one collection approaches the condition seen in JTL-121. This calls into question the distinctness of JTL-121.
Natural History
This is a common canopy species that nests beneath epiphytes. Workers may also forage at or near ground level, and occasionally are found in open disturbed areas.
Selected Records
La Selva: the species has been taken most often in canopy fogging samples, as scattered foragers in recent treefalls, in nests beneath epiphytes in recent treefalls, and in the antgardens of Odontomachus panamensis. Workers have less commonly been taken in Malaise traps, and one collection is from a Winkler sample from the forest floor.
Sierpe: A small town in the southern Pacific lowlands, bordered by open agricultural land on one side, mangroves on the other; Longino found a worker in the small plaza in the town center; an open lawn with scattered ornamental trees.
Page authors:
John T. Longino, The Evergreen State College, Olympia WA 98505 USA. longinoj@evergreen.edu
Stefan Cover, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge MA 02138 USA. scover@oeb.harvard.edu
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