| Oxyepoecus bidentatus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Myrmicinae |
| Genus: | Oxyepoecus |
| Species: | O. bidentatus |
| Binomial name | |
| Oxyepoecus bidentatus Delsinne & Mackay, 2011 | |
Oxyepoecus bidentatus is a Neotropical species of ant in the genus Oxyepoecus . The species is only known from workers from Paraguay.
Oxyepoecus bidentatus is known from three localities of the Paraguayan dry Chaco. Because the maximal distance between localities was 340 km, O. bidentatus is suspected to be widely distributed in xeromorphic Chacoan forests, even if rarely found. [1]
Its worker morphology places the species within the rastratus species-group. Oxyepoecus bidentatus is the only species of the genus to have both the dorsal surface of the head entirely covered by sculpture and a bidentate subpostpetiolar process. The anterior subpostpetiolar process of O. bruchi of the vezenyii species-group is also prominent and bidentate, but the dorsal surface of the head is mainly smooth and shining except for two patches of fine, longitudinal rugulae which do not reach posteriorly to the vertex margin nor laterally to the compound eye. Criteria separating O. bidentatus from other species of the rastratus species-group are the mesopleuron and lateropropodeum covered by longitudinal costae (and not reticulate as for O. myops , O. rosai , and O. reticulatus ), and the presence of a reticulate-costulate sculpture on the dorsal surface of the head reaching posteriorly to the vertexal margin and laterally to the compound eye. [1]
Gynes and males are unknown [1]
The fact that workers were extracted from leaf litter (Winkler method) or were collected in pitfall samples, while no gynes were found, suggests that this species nests in the soil, but workers forage in the leaf litter when abiotic conditions are favorable. Localities where the species was found have a mean annual rainfall and temperature ranging from 593 to 887 mm and from 23 to 25 °C, respectively. [1]
Monomorium bidentatum is a species of ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae. It is endemic to two South American countries, Chile and Argentina.
Oxyepoecus is a Neotropical genus of ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae. The genus is a member of the tribe Solenopsidini and currently includes 20 species.
Oxyepoecus inquilinus is species of ant in the genus Oxyepoecus. It is endemic to Argentina. The species is listed together with two other Oxyepoecus species as "Vulnerable D2" by IUCN.
Diaphoromyrma is a genus of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae. It contains the single species Diaphoromyrma sofiae, known only from workers from the type locality in Bahia, Brazil. The genus is apparently close to Allomerus and Diplomorium in the Solenopsidini, but its tribal attribution remains uncertain.
Procryptocerus is a Neotropical genus of gliding ants, with the ability to "parachute" by steering their fall if they drop off of the tree they're on.
Apterostigma is a genus of New World ants of the subfamily Myrmicinae. Two species have been described from fossils preserved in Dominican amber, while the others are extant. They are fungus-growing ants, though, unlike the majority of other species in Attini who grow Lepiotaceae, some species have begun cultivating Tricholomataceae.
Agroecomyrmecinae is a subfamily of ants containing two extant and two fossil genera. The subfamily was originally classified in 1930 by Carpenter as Agroecomyrmecini, a Myrmicinae tribe. Bolton raised the tribe to subfamily status in 2003, suggesting that Agroecomyrmecinae might be the sister taxon to Myrmicinae. It has since been discovered to be one of the earliest lineages of ants, a clade from the basal polytomy for all ants. In 2014, the subfamily was expanded to two tribes. The tribe Ankylomyrmini was moved from the subfamily Myrmicinae to Agroemyrmecinae.
Tatuidris, or armadillo ant, is a rare genus of ants consisting of a single species, Tatuidris tatusia. The ants are small in size and inhabit the leaf litter of Neotropical forests in Central and South America, from Mexico to Brazil. Workers are ferruginous-colored to dark red and present a distinctive morphology, consisting of a shield-like head with a broad vertex, ventrally-turned heavy mandibles which do not overlap at full closure, and unique among ants – an antenna socket apparatus sitting upside-down. Little is known about the biology of the ants, but they are likely nocturnal and specialist predators.
Lordomyrma is a genus of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae.
Lenomyrmex is a Neotropical genus of ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae.
Tyrannomyrmex is a rare tropical genus of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae. Three similar species, only known from workers, are recognized and share small eyes and edentate mandibles.
Daceton boltoni is a Neotropical species of arboreal ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae. The species occurs in Peru and Brazil and is similar to its sister species, D. armigerum.
Sphinctomyrmex marcoyi is a Neotropical species of ants in the subfamily Dorylinae. It is the only Sphinctomyrmex species recorded in the Amazon Forest. Gynes and males are unknown.
Sphinctomyrmex stali is a Neotropical species of ants in the subfamily Dorylinae. Mayr described the genus Sphinctomyrmex with S. stali as its type species, based on a single dealate gyne. However, except for the holotype, there are no records of normal (alate) gynes for S. stali. All reproductive females collected after the original description are ergatoids.
Sphinctomyrmex schoerederi is a Neotropical species of ants in the subfamily Dorylinae. S. schoerederi is known only from the holotype, collected in a leaf litter sample from a forest remnant in the campus of Universidade Federal de Viçosa in Brazil, where it occurs in sympatry with S. stali. Gynes and males are unknown.
Gnamptogenys triangularis is a Neotropical species of ants in the subfamily Ectatomminae. Native to the forests of South and Central America, G. triangularis is a predatory ant that feeds on millipedes. In its native range, this species is known from Buenos Aires, Argentina in the south to Costa Rica in the north, with records from eight countries in South America, and two countries of Central America. The first records of G. triangularis outside its native range came from Florida beginning in 1985 and Alabama in 1996.
Lenomyrmex inusitatus is a Neotropical species of ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae. The worker of Lenomyrmex inusitatus is distinguished from other Lenomyrmex workers by smooth and shiny mesosoma with well-developed propodeal spines and by the foveolate-striate sculpture covering all the dorsal surface of its head. L. inusitatus has an unusual distribution since it is the single Lenomyrmex species recorded east of the Andes.
Stenamma andersoni is a Neotropical species of ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae.
Slave-making ants or slaver ants are brood parasites that capture broods of other ant species to increase the worker force of their colony. After emerging in the slave-maker nest, slave workers work as if they were in their own colony, while parasite workers only concentrate on replenishing the labor force from neighboring host nests, a process called slave raiding.
Camponotus senex is a fairly common species of weaver ant from the New World. They are opportunistic cavity-dwellers, semi-nomadic carpenter ants which are found around grasslands in Central and South America. It is taxonomically believed to be a complex of cryptic species and was previously considered synonymous with Camponotus textor.which once included a distantly-related species of weaver-ant.
This article incorporates text from a scholarly publication published under a copyright license that allows anyone to reuse, revise, remix and redistribute the materials in any form for any purpose: Delsinne, T.; MacKay, W.; Wild, A.; Roisin, Y.; Leponce, M. (2012). "Distribution and Diversity of the Cryptic Ant Genus Oxyepoecus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae) in Paraguay with Descriptions of Two New Species". Psyche: A Journal of Entomology. 2012: 1–8. doi: 10.1155/2012/594302 . Please check the source for the exact licensing terms.