Nesomyrmex asper

Nesomyrmex asper
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmicinae
Tribe:	Crematogastrini
Genus:	Nesomyrmex
Species:	N. asper
Binomial name
Nesomyrmex asper (Mayr, 1887) Specimen labels
Synonyms
Leptothorax asper rufa Emery, 1896 Leptothorax asper sufurea Forel, 1912 Leptothorax tristani Emery, 1896

DaRocha et al. (2015) studied the diversity of ants found in bromeliads of a single large tree of Erythrina, a common cocoa shade tree, at an agricultural research center in Ilhéus, Brazil. Forty-seven species of ants were found in 36 of 52 the bromeliads examined. Bromeliads with suspended soil and those that were larger had higher ant diversity. Nesomyrmex asper was found in 6 different bromeliads but was associated with twigs and bark cavities, rather than suspended soil or litter, of the plants.

Identification

Longino (2006) - Costa Rican N. asper differs from South American N. asper in having a more elongate petiole. If further research reveals discontinuous variation, N. tristani (a synonym of N. asper) might emerge as a distinct Central American species. But Kempf noted that N. asper itself is highly variable, with two infraspecific synonyms. If N. tristani is distinct, then N. asper will probably resolve into multiple differentiated forms.

Keys including this Species

• Key to Nesomyrmex species of Neotropical region

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 25.68015° to -23.45°.

North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

• Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Neotropical Region: Argentina, Brazil (type locality), Costa Rica, Ecuador, Paraguay, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela.

Distribution based on AntMaps

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.

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.

Biology

Koch et al. (2018) sampled this species in Caryocar barsiliense trees, in southeastern Brazil cerrado, as part of a study examining species interactions in ant-plants.

Castes

Queen

Images from AntWeb

Queen (alate/dealate). Specimen code casent0173992. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by ALWC, Alex L. Wild Collection.

Nomenclature

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

• asper. Leptothorax asper Mayr, 1887: 618 (w.q.m.) BRAZIL. Combination in L. (Goniothorax): Emery, 1896g: 59 (in key); in L. (Nesomyrmex): Kempf, 1959c: 414; in Nesomyrmex: Bolton, 2003: 272. Senior synonym of rufa, sulfurea: Kempf, 1959c: 414; of tristani: Longino, 2006b: 136.
• rufa. Leptothorax (Goniothorax) asper var. rufa Emery, 1896g: 61 (w.q.) BRAZIL. Junior synonym of asper: Kempf, 1959c: 414.
• tristani. Leptothorax (Goniothorax) tristani Emery, 1896g: 61 (w.q.) COSTA RICA. Combination in L. (Nesomyrmex): Kempf, 1959c: 415; in Nesomyrmex: Bolton, 2003: 272. Junior synonym of asper: Longino, 2006b: 136.
• sulfurea. Leptothorax asper var. sufurea Forel, 1912g: 18 (w.) BRAZIL. [Justified emendation of spelling to sulfurea by Emery, 1924d: 250.] Junior synonym of asper: Kempf, 1959c: 414.

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

Longino (2006):

Kempf (1959) expressed doubt about the distinctness of the two species N. asper and Nesomyrmex tristani, but he saw evidence of two sympatric species in the vicinity of Caracas, Venezuela. One of the species matched his concept of N. asper. The other one differed from N. asper as follows:

“1) Longitudinal rugae on cephalic dorsum regular, more widely spaced, often fading out to a variable degree on front, vertex and occiput. 2) Rugae of thoracic dorsum usually less strikingly vermiculate, obsolescent on basal face of epinotum. 3) Epinotal spines shorter, more elevated and more diverging toward apex. 4) Petiolar node, as seen from the side, more depressed; broader, with sides diverging caudad, when seen from above. Each side postero-laterally with at least two prominent teeth. 5) Postpetiole laterally with two prominent teeth. 6) First gastric tergite generally distinctly transverse, broader than long.” This second form also matched Forel's N. asper antoniensis, from the Santa Marta region of Colombia, and additional material from Trinidad and Colombia. Kempf misidentified this second form as N. tristani, and illustrated N. tristani (figs. 11 and 15) with a worker from Trinidad.

The type locality of N. tristani is Costa Rica. I have examined abundant material from Costa Rica, and it all closely matches Kempf's description and illustration of N. asper. In Emery's description of the N. tristani worker, he states that the side of the postpetiole has two obtuse tubercles that are more or less distinct, which matches all the Costa Rican material I have seen. In contrast, workers from Colombia and Venezuela that I have examined have distinct acuminate teeth on the postpetiole, matching Kempf’s description of what he thought was N. tristani. I conclude that N. tristani is a junior synonym of N. asper, and that what Kempf thought was N. tristani is a distinct species. Forel's N. antoniensis is the valid name for the form.

Type Material

Syntype worker, queen, male: Brazil, Santa Catarina.

References

• Albuquerque, E., Prado, L., Andrade-Silva, J., Siqueira, E., Sampaio, K., Alves, D., Brandão, C., Andrade, P., Feitosa, R., Koch, E., Delabie, J., Fernandes, I., Baccaro, F., Souza, J., Almeida, R., Silva, R. 2021. Ants of the State of Pará, Brazil: a historical and comprehensive dataset of a key biodiversity hotspot in the Amazon Basin. Zootaxa 5001, 1–83 (doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5001.1.1).
• Bolton, B. 2003. Synopsis and Classification of Formicidae. Mem. Am. Entomol. Inst. 71: 370pp (page 272, Combination in Nesomyrmex)
• Cantone S. 2017. Winged Ants, The Male, Dichotomous key to genera of winged male ants in the World, Behavioral ecology of mating flight (self-published).
• DaRocha, W. D., S. P. Ribeiro, F. S. Neves, G. W. Fernandes, M. Leponce, and J. H. C. Delabie. 2015. How does bromeliad distribution structure the arboreal ant assemblage (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) on a single tree in a Brazilian Atlantic forest agroecosystem? Myrmecological News. 21:83-92.
• Emery, C. 1896g. Studi sulle formiche della fauna neotropica. XVII-XXV. Bull. Soc. Entomol. Ital. 28: 33-107 (page 59, (in key) Combination in L. (Goniothorax))
• Franco, W., Ladino, N., Delabie, J.H.C., Dejean, A., Orivel, J., Fichaux, M., Groc, S., Leponce, M., Feitosa, R.M. 2019. First checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of French Guiana. Zootaxa 4674, 509–543 (doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4674.5.2).
• Kempf, W. W. 1959d. A synopsis of the New World species belonging to the Nesomyrmex-group of the ant genus Leptothorax Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Stud. Entomol. (n.s.) 2: 391-432 (page 414, Combination in L. (Nesomyrmex), and senior synonym of rufa and sulfurea)
• Koch, E. B. A., W. Dattilo, F. Camarota, and H. L. Vasconcelos. 2018. From species to individuals: does the variation in ant-plant networks scale result in structural and functional changes? Population Ecology. 60:309-318. doi:10.1007/s10144-018-0634-5
• Longino, J.T. 2006. New species and nomenclatural changes for the Costa Rican ant fauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Myrmecologische Nachrichten 8, 131–143.
• López-Dávila, A.J., Escobar-Ramírez, S., Armbrecht, I. 2021. Nesting of arboreal ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in artificial substrates in coffee plantations in the Colombian Andes. Uniciencia 35, 1–18 (doi:10.15359/ru.35-2.13).
• Mayr, G. 1887. Südamerikanische Formiciden. Verh. K-K. Zool.-Bot. Ges. Wien 37: 511-632 (page 618, worker, queen, male described)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

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• Kempf W. W. 1959. A synopsis of the New World species belonging to the Nesomyrmex-group of the ant genus Leptothorax Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Studia Entomologica (n.s.)2: 391-432.
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• Longino J. T. 2013. Ants of Nicargua. Consulted on 18 Jan 2013. https://sites.google.com/site/longinollama/reports/ants-of-nicaragua
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