Cephalotes pinelii

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Cephalotes pinelii
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Tribe: Attini
Genus: Cephalotes
Species group: pinelii
Species: C. pinelii
Binomial name
Cephalotes pinelii
(Guérin-Méneville, 1844)

De Andrade 1999 Cephalotes OCR - Copy-394 Cephalotes-pinelii.jpg

Nothing is known about the biology of Cephalotes pinelii.

Identification

A member of the pinelii clade differing from its two closest species, Cephalotes liepini and Cephalotes pileini, as follows: in the worker, from liepini by the shallower sculpture and by the much longer gaster, and from pileini, by the head as long as the pronotal width, and in the soldier from both species by the deeper depression on the vertex. (de Andrade and Baroni Urbani 1999)

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: -8.083333° to -31.771°.

   
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Neotropical Region: Argentina, Brazil (type locality), Paraguay.

Distribution based on AntMaps

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Distribution based on AntWeb specimens

Check data from AntWeb

Countries Occupied

Number of countries occupied by this species based on AntWiki Regional Taxon Lists. In general, fewer countries occupied indicates a narrower range, while more countries indicates a more widespread species.
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Estimated Abundance

Relative abundance based on number of AntMaps records per species (this species within the purple bar). Fewer records (to the left) indicates a less abundant/encountered species while more records (to the right) indicates more abundant/encountered species.
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Biology

Explore-icon.png Explore Overview of Cephalotes biology 
The biology of many Cephalotes species is not known. Ants in this genus are common in the New World tropics and subtropics and are especially abundant and diverse in the canopies of Neotropical forests. The majority of species are arboreal. Species that live in other strata inhabit smaller trees, bushes or grass stems. These noon-arboreal species, due to their accessibility, are among the better studied members of the genus. There are also species that can be found in downed wood but it is likely the wood housed the colony before it fell to the ground. Soil nests are not known for any species nor do most species appear to extensively excavate plant tissue. They nest instead in preformed cavities. Overall, ants in the genus utilize a wide range of plants. Some species are predictable in their plant use but none appear to have evolved specialized mutualisms with particular plant species.

Worker castes typically include two forms, a worker and soldier, but there are a few species that are monomorphic. The larger soldier caste typically has an enlarged head disk. In some species the head of the soldier is very different from the worker while in others these differences are less pronounced. Queens and soldiers tend to share similar head morphology. Soldiers use their heads to plug the nest entrance. This can be very effective in excluding potential intruders. Other morphological differences between the worker castes are present but these differences have not been studied as well as head moprhology.

The behavioral repertoire of Cephalotes varians has been examined in great detail (ethograms from Wilson 1976, Cole 1980 and Cole 1983). Soldiers do little else besides defend the nest. This specialized soldier behavior is presumed to be the norm for most species. An especially interesting behavior occurs when workers are dislodged from trees: they "fly" towards the tree, often grabbing the trunk well above the ground (video).

Mature nest size varies, by species, from less than a hundred to many thousands of workers. Available evidence suggests most species are monogynous. Queens may mate with multiple males.

The proventriculus of the Cephalotes is peculiar relative to other ants. The morphology of the structure suggests it serves as a powerful pump and filter. This does not appear to lead these ants to have a highly specialized diet as most species appear to be general scavengers. Foragers have been observed feeding on carrion, bird feces, extrafloral nectaries and even tending membracids. Pollen feeding has been observed in some species, and this is somewhat specialized for ants, but it is not evident that any species restricts its diet to this resource in any significant way. Evidence for pollen feeding in Cephalotes has accumulated, in part, via finding digested pollen grains seen in infrabucal pellets. It has been suggested that the morphology of the proventriculus is a specialization for processing pollen.

More research examining all aspects of the biology of Cephalotes is needed. Our present understanding of these ants is largely based on species that live in locations other than the forest canopy, which is where Cephalotes are most common and diverse. ‎

Castes

Nomenclature

The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.

  • pinelii. Cryptocerus pinelii Guérin-Méneville, 1844a: 425 (w.) BRAZIL (Rio de Janeiro).
    • Type-material: holotype worker.
    • Type-locality: Brazil: Prov. Moro-Gueimado (= Morro Queimado Mts, Rio de Janeiro) (no collector’s name).
    • Type-depository: unknown (perhaps MNHN ?).
    • [Note: De Andrade & Baroni Urbani, 1999: 390, suspect that the holotype is lost.]
    • Emery, 1890b: 75 (s.q.); Emery, 1894c: 208 (s.); Forel, 1908c: 354 (m.); De Andrade & Baroni Urbani, 1999: 391 (m.).
    • Combination in Cryptocerus (Cyathocephalus): Santschi, 1916e: 283;
    • combination in Paracryptocerus (Harnedia): Kempf, 1952: 22;
    • combination in Zacryptocerus: Brandão, 1991: 388;
    • combination in Cephalotes: De Andrade & Baroni Urbani, 1999: 390.
    • Status as species: Smith, F. 1853: 221; Smith, F. 1858b: 191; Smith, F. 1862d: 410; Mayr, 1863: 406; Roger, 1863b: 38; Emery, 1890a: 68; Emery, 1890b: 75; Dalla Torre, 1893: 144; Emery, 1894c: 208; von Jhering, 1894: 385; Emery, 1894k: 61; Forel, 1895b: 134; Emery, 1906c: 171; Forel, 1908c: 354; Forel, 1912e: 202; Bruch, 1914: 218; Santschi, 1916e: 383; Luederwaldt, 1918: 41; Emery, 1924d: 311; Borgmeier, 1927c: 119; Kempf, 1952: 22 (redescription); Kempf, 1958a: 19; Kempf, 1972a: 179; Kempf, 1974a: 73 (in key); Brandão, 1991: 388; Bolton, 1995b: 427; De Andrade & Baroni Urbani, 1999: 390 (redescription); Wild, 2007b: 32.
    • Distribution: Brazil, Paraguay.

Unless otherwise noted the text for the remainder of this section is reported from the publication that includes the original description.

Description

Worker

Kempf (1952) - Length 3.5-4.1 mm. Color variable. Brownish-black to ferruginous; callows may be ochraceous as grandinusus. Funiculus and legs ferruginous. Frontal carinae and membraneceous borders of the thorax, peduncle and gaster pale testaceous. In fully colored specimens the peripheral portions of the first gastral tergite are distinctly paler than the discal portions.

Head subquadrate, slightly longer than wide, longer than thorax, scarcely tapering cephalad; the interocular width greater than the median head length. Sides of head straight, scarcely upturned above eyes. Occipital corners rounded and membranaceous. Occipital border scarcely emarginate. Greatest diameter of eyes less than one fourth of maximum head length.

Thorax as long as broad across the pronotum. Shoulders rounded or obtusely angulate. Sides of thorax forming a rentrant angle at mesonotum, which has, on each side, a submembranaceous, projecting denticule. Mesoepinotal suture vestigial mesally. Epinotum narrower than pronotum, with distinct basal and declivous faces. Dorsum of hind femora longitudinally marginate distad of the angle, but without a dorsal and ventral crest.

Petiole shallowly and broadly impressed antero-mesally. Membranaceous lobes of peduncular segments less expanded than in grandinosus.

Gaster ovate, usually elongate, with anterolateral, rounded, membranaceous borders. Opaque, finely shagreened. Head and thorax with squamiferous foveolae on dorsum. First gastral tergite with fine, more or less longitudinal rugulae on the basal half. Sides of thorax and the declivous face without striae. Scales shiny and appressed, smallest on gaster. No erect setae on the first gastral tergite.

de Andrade and Baroni Urbani (1999) - Measurements (in mm) and indices: TL 3.16-4.46; HL 0.78-1.04; HW 0.90-1.18; EL 0.22-0.26; PW 0.80-1.04; PeW 0.50-0.60; PpW 0.51-0.60; HBaL 0.23-0.33; HBaW 0.09-0.11; CI 110.4-115.4; PI 110.4-113.5; PPeI 153.8-173.3; PPpI 156.9-173.3; HBaI 33.3-39.1.

Soldier

Kempf (1952) - Length 4.8-5.7 mm. Head, thorax, peduncle and appendages ferruginous, often somewhat infuseated. Gaster slightly darker, the first tergite with a broad, pale band toward the anterior border and along the sides, the disc brownish black. Membranaceous portions of frontal carinae, shoulders, epinotum and peduncular segments pale testaceous.

Head about as long as wide, surmounted by a circular, strongly excavate, disc, the border of which is crenulated. Cephalic disc with a median longitudinal convexity, and a deeply excavate groove mesally on the occipital border, flanked by strong ridges. Supramandibular excision subsemicircular. Part of the disc covering the antennal scrobe membranaceous.

Thorax shorter than head, slightly broader than long. Shoulders membranaceous, obtusely angulate. Sides of pronotum moderately convex. Transverse pronotal carina crested. Mesonotum about twice as broad as long, with a more or less rounded, projecting lobe on each side. Basal and declivous faces of epinotum narrowly crested, the posterior corners of the basal face having an upturned tubercular tooth. Femora as in worker.

Peduncular segments similar to those of worker.

Gaster elongate, the anterolateral borders evenly rounded.

Disc of head somewhat shiny, less so on dorsum of thorax. Both strongly, coarsely, and densely foveolate. Gaster with the same minute rugulae as in worker.

de Andrade and Baroni Urbani (1999) - Measurements (in mm) and indices: TL 4.64-5 .36; HL 1.16-1.36; HW 1.32-1.44; EL 0.28-0.32; PW 1.28-1.44; PeW 0.58-0.70; PpW 0.58-0.67; HBaL 0.30-0.33; HBaW 0.11-0.12; CI 94.4-113.8; PI 97.1-103.1; PPeI 205.7-222.9; PPpI 206.1-222.9; HBaI 34.4-40.0.

Queen

Kempf (1952) - Length 6.5-7.0 mm. Color as in soldier with the following differences: occipital lobes, shoulders, basal face of epinotum, orange-brown; disc of head, scutum, sides of thorax, and gaster infuscated. The portion of the cephalic disc covering the antennal scrobe is partly membranaceous. First gastral tergite with an elongate, yellowish macula on each corner, the pair on each side nearly fusing.

Head as in soldier, but more elongate. Cephalic disc elliptical, excavate laterad, moderately convex discally. Borders of the disc distinctly crested and submembranaceous. Median groove on vertex as in soldier.

Thorax longer than wide. Shoulders angulate. Transverse pronotal carina vestigial to obsolete. Anterior tooth of lower mesopleura small or absent. Basal face of epinotum with a blunt rounded, lateral lobe and a strong, rather blunt teeth on the posterior corner.

Petiole with a small denticule on each side, pointing obliquely caudad. Anterolateral lobes of gaster rounded.

Wings hyaline, the venation brunneous. Marginal cell of fore wing closed and appendiculate. Transverse cubital vein present.

Sculpture and pilosity as in soldier. Scales on gaster minute, appressed.

de Andrade and Baroni Urbani (1999) - Measurements (in mm) and indices: TL 6.36-7.36; HL 1.28-1.32; HW 1.26-1.38; EL 0.32-0.33; PW 1.24-1.36; PeW 0.54-0.61; PpW 0.70-0.76; HBaL 0.36-0.43; HBaW 0.12-0.15; CI 94.4-104.5; PI 98.4-106.4; PPeI 203.3-251.8; PPpI 168.4-214.9; HBaI 33.3-38.9.

Male

de Andrade and Baroni Urbani (1999) - Head (eyes included and mandibles excluded) 1/3 broader than long; vertexal angles convex. Vertex slightly protruding dorsally and bearing salient ocelli. Compound eyes broadly convex, in the middle of the sides of the head. Frontal carinae diverging backwards, not reaching the median ocellus posteriorly. Frons flat. Clypeus slightly convex; its posterior border marked by a convex sulcus, the anterior border concave medially and laterally denticulate. Mandibles slender. Scapes thick, twice as long as the first funicular joint; remaining funicular joints filiform and thickening from the base to the apex.

Mesosoma. Pronotum in dorsal view with the sides diverging backwards and feebly carinate. Mesonotal scutum convex in side view; median Mayrian furrow superficially impressed and visible in some specimens only. Scutellum convex, its sides converging posteriorly. Basal and declivous faces of the propodeum differentiated; basal face unarmed and with the sides converging posteriorly; declivous face with the sides carinate and converging posteriorly.

Petiole as broad as the postpetiole; its anterior face concave. Petiolar sides convex or slightly obtuse anteriorly, converging posteriorly. Postpetiole laterally and dorsally convex.

Gaster almost as broad as the mesosoma.

Wings. As in the gyne.

Sculpture. Head and mesosoma reticulate-punctate, with sparse, irregular foveae and irregular rugosities, the rugosities more regular on the centre of the ventral part of the head and on the pleurae. Pedicel superficially reticulate and with faint longitudinal rugosities. Gaster and legs reticulate, the reticulation less impressed on the legs.

Pilosity. Body with three types of hairs: (1) long, thin, pointed hairs dense on the head, on the mesosoma, sparse on the pedicel; (2) shorter than the cephalic hairs, decumbent on the gaster and on the legs; (3) short, subtruncate, subdecumbent on the funiculi.

Colour. Head, mesosoma, pedicel and coxae black. Gaster, femora and tarsi castaneous-brown. Tibiae yellow to light brown.

Measurements (in mm) and indices: TL 4.52-4.86; HL 0.66-0.71; HW 0.85-0.91; EL 0.35; PW 0.84-0.91; PeW 0.42-0.47; PpW 0.40-0.46; HBaL 0.41-0.44; HBaW 0.08; CI 128.2-128.8; PI 100.0-109.0; PPeI 193.6-200.0; PPpI 197.8-210.0; HBaI 18.2-19.5.

Type Material

Worker. Type locality: Morro Queimado (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). Type material: presumably lost (Emery, 1894 a), not found in the Zoologische Staatssammlung, Munich.

References

  • Brandão, C. R. F. 1991. Adendos ao catálogo abreviado das formigas da região Neotropical (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Rev. Bras. Entomol. 35: 319-412 (page 388, Combination in Zacryptocerus)
  • de Andrade, M. L.; Baroni Urbani, C. 1999. Diversity and adaptation in the ant genus Cephalotes, past and present. Stuttgarter Beitrage zur Naturkunde Series B (Geolgie and Palaontologie). 271:1-889. (page 390, Combination in Cephalotes)
  • Emery, C. 1890b. Voyage de M. E. Simon au Venezuela (Décembre 1887 - Avril 1888). Formicides. Ann. Soc. Entomol. Fr. (6)(10): 55-76 (page 75, soldier, queen described)
  • Emery, C. 1894d. Studi sulle formiche della fauna neotropica. VI-XVI. Bull. Soc. Entomol. Ital. 26: 137-241 (page 208, soldier described)
  • Forel, A. 1908h. Ameisen aus Sao Paulo (Brasilien), Paraguay etc. gesammelt von Prof. Herm. v. Ihering, Dr. Lutz, Dr. Fiebrig, etc. Verh. K-K. Zool.-Bot. Ges. Wien 58: 340-418 (page 354, male described)
  • Guérin-Méneville, F. E. 1844a. Iconographie du règne animal de G. Cuvier, ou représentation d'après nature de l'une des espèces les plus remarquables, et souvent non encore figurées, de chaque genre d'animaux. Insectes. Paris: J. B. Baillière, 576 pp. (page 425, worker described)
  • Kempf, W. W. 1952. A synopsis of the pinelii-complex in the genus Paracryptocerus (Hym. Formicidae). Stud. Entomol. 1: 1-30 (page 22, Combination in Paracryptocerus (Harnedia))
  • Oliveira, A.M., Powell, S., Feitosa, R.M. 2021. A taxonomic study of the Brazilian turtle ants (Formicidae: Myrmicinae: Cephalotes). Revista Brasileira de Entomologia 65, e20210028 (doi:10.1590/1806-9665-rbent-2021-0028).
  • Santschi, F. 1916e. Formicides sudaméricains nouveaux ou peu connus. Physis (B. Aires) 2: 365-399 (page 283?, Combination in Cryptocerus (Cyathocephalus))

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • Arruda F. V., M. A. Pesquero, D. G. Marcelino, G. A. Leiter, J. H. C. Delabie, and R. Fagundes. 2015. Size and condition of bamboo as structural factors behind the vertical stratification of the bamboo-nesting ant community. Insectes Sociaux DOI 10.1007/s00040-015-0440-4
  • Brandao, C.R.F. 1991. Adendos ao catalogo abreviado das formigas da regiao neotropical (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Rev. Bras. Entomol. 35: 319-412.
  • Emery C. 1890. Studii sulle formiche della fauna neotropica. Bull. Soc. Entomol. Ital. 22: 38-8
  • Emery C. 1894. Studi sulle formiche della fauna neotropica. VI-XVI. Bullettino della Società Entomologica Italiana 26: 137-241.
  • Fernández, F. and S. Sendoya. 2004. Lista de las hormigas neotropicales. Biota Colombiana Volume 5, Number 1.
  • Forel A. 1908. Ameisen aus Sao Paulo (Brasilien), Paraguay etc. gesammelt von Prof. Herm. v. Ihering, Dr. Lutz, Dr. Fiebrig, etc. Verhandlungen der Kaiserlich-Königlichen Zoologisch-Botanischen Gesellschaft in Wien 58: 340-418.
  • Kempf W. W. 1952. A synopsis of the pinelii-complex in the genus Paracryptocerus (Hym. Formicidae). Studia Entomologica 1: 1-30.
  • Kempf, W.W. 1972. Catalago abreviado das formigas da regiao Neotropical (Hym. Formicidae) Studia Entomologica 15(1-4).
  • Luederwaldt H. 1918. Notas myrmecologicas. Rev. Mus. Paul. 10: 29-64.
  • Lutinski J. A., B. C. Lopes, and A. B. B.de Morais. 2013. Diversidade de formigas urbanas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) de dez cidades do sul do Brasil. Biota Neotrop. 13(3): 332-342.
  • Rosa da Silva R. 1999. Formigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) do oeste de Santa Catarina: historico das coletas e lista atualizada das especies do Estado de Santa Catarina. Biotemas 12(2): 75-100.
  • Ulyssea M.A., C. E. Cereto, F. B. Rosumek, R. R. Silva, and B. C. Lopes. 2011. Updated list of ant species (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) recorded in Santa Catarina State, southern Brazil, with a discussion of research advances and priorities. Revista Brasileira de Entomologia 55(4): 603-–611.
  • Wild, A. L.. "A catalogue of the ants of Paraguay (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)." Zootaxa 1622 (2007): 1-55.
  • de Andrade, M.L. & C. Baroni Urbani. 1999. Diversity and Adaptation in the ant genus Cephalotes, past and present. Stuttgarter Beitrage zur Naturkunde Serie B 271. 893 pages, Stuttgart