Dacetini, Formicidae, Hymenoptera, Insecta, Arthropoda, Animalia
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Range
Costa Rica: Atlantic lowlands, Cordillera de Talamanca, Cordillera de Tilaran, and Cordillera de Guanacaste.
Identification
Mandibles in side view straight, not broadly curved ventrally; mandibles relatively short, subtriangular, much of the apical portion meeting along a serially toothed masticatory margin when closed (former Smithistruma); head relatively broad, CI 77-83; leading edge of the scape with entirely anteriorly directed short spatulate hairs; color red-brown; face punctate; disc of postpetiole reticulate-punctate; surface of face granular but not tuberculate; cephalic dorsum at level of frontal lobes without a transverse row of hairs that are much longer than the surrounding pilosity; face but not promesonotal dorsum covered with short, stiff, erect setae (stubble).
It is very similar to two other species of Pyramica: microthrix and stauroma. The former has no stubble. The latter has stubble, but also is covered with sharp low tubercles, giving the surface a very rough look. Also see Bolton (2000:216).
Natural History
Members of the genus are all predaceous, with a static pressure mode of attack (Bolton 1999).
This species occurs in wet forest habitats, in leaf litter on the forest floor. It is known from relatively few collections.
Original Description
Pyramica cassicuspis Bolton 2000:216, fig. 147. Holotype worker: Costa Rica, Prov. Alajuela, Rio Penas Blancas, 10 degrees 19'N, 84 degrees 43'W, 800m, 26-28.iv.1987, #1579-s (J. Longino) [INBIO]. Paratype workers: same data as holotype; Costa Rica, Prov. Heredia, Est. Biol. La Selva, 10 degrees 26'N, 84 degrees 00'W, 50m, 14.x.1991, #3078-s (J. Longino) [BMNH, MCZ, LACM].
Literature Cited
Bolton, B. 1999. Ant genera of the tribe Dacetonini (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). J. Nat. Hist. 33:1639-1689.
Bolton, B. 2000. The ant tribe Dacetini, with a revision of the Strumigenys species of the Malagasy Region by Brian L. Fisher, and a revision of the Austral epopostrumiform genera by Steven O. Shattuck. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute 65:1-1028.
Page author:
John T. Longino, The Evergreen State College, Olympia WA 98505 USA.longinoj@evergreen.edu
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