Pseudoatta argentina

Pseudoatta argentina
Conservation status
Vulnerable (IUCN 2.3)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmicinae
Tribe:	Attini
Genus:	Pseudoatta
Species:	P. argentina
Binomial name
Pseudoatta argentina Gallardo, 1916 Specimen labels
Subspecies
Pseudoatta argentina platensis Santschi, 1926

The parasitic queens of Pseudoatta argentina are known to use Acromyrmex heyeri, Acromyrmex lundii and possibly Acromyrmex balzani as hosts. Details concerning their biology can be found in Bruch (1928) and Gallardo (1929).

At a Glance

• Workerless Inquiline

Distribution

Pseudoatta argentina is distributed throughout southern Brazil (States of Paraná and Rio Grande do Sul), Uruguay, and northern Argentina. Rabeling et al. 2019.

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: -26.808285° to -31.632389°.

North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

• Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Neotropical Region: Argentina (type locality).

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

Bruch 1928. Obrera de hormiga podadora, Acromyrmex lundii con una reina adoptiva de Pseudoatta argentina. (Siete veces aumentadas)

Castes

Inquilines; workers are not produced.

Queen

Images from AntWeb

Queen (alate/dealate). Specimen code casent0178486. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by MZSP, Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Queen (alate/dealate). Specimen code casent0178533. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by MCZ, Cambridge, MA, USA.

Nomenclature

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

• argentina. Pseudoatta argentina Gallardo, 1916d: 321, figs. 1, 2 (q.m.) ARGENTINA. See also: Bruch, 1928: 341; Gallardo, 1929: 197; Wheeler, W.M. 1937c: 52. Current subspecies: nominal plus platensis.

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

Description

Gallardo 1916

References

• Bruch, C. 1928. Estudios mirmecológicos. An. Mus. Nac. Hist. Nat. B. Aires 34:341-360.
• Buschinger, A. (2009). Social parasitism among ants: a review. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Myrmecological News 12: 219-235.
• Dahan, R.A., Grove, N.K., Bollazzi, M., Gerstner, B.P., Rabeling, C. 2021. Decoupled evolution of mating biology and social structure in Acromyrmex leaf-cutting ants. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 76, 7 (doi:10.1007/s00265-021-03113-1).
• Gallardo, A. 1916e. Notes systématiques et éthologiques sur les fourmis attines de la République Argentine. An. Mus. Nac. Hist. Nat. B. Aires 28: 317-344 (page 321, figs. 1, 2 queen, male described)
• Gallardo, A. 1929a. Note sur les moeurs de la fourmi Pseudoatta argentina. Rev. Soc. Entomol. Argent. 2: 197-202 (page 197, see also)
• Rabeling, C. 2020. Social Parasitism. In: Starr, C. (ed.) Encyclopedia of Social Insects. Springer, Cham. (doi:10.1007/978-3-319-90306-4_175-1).
• Rabeling, C., Messer, S., Lacau, S., do Nascimento, I.C., Bacci, M., Delabie, J.H.C. 2019. Acromyrmex fowleri: a new inquiline social parasite species of leaf-cutting ants from South America, with a discussion of social parasite biogeography in the Neotropical region. Insectes Sociaux. 66:435–451. doi:10.1007/s00040-019-00705-z
• Wheeler, W. M. 1937c. Mosaics and other anomalies among ants. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 95 pp. (page 52, see also)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

• Bruch C. 1928. Estudios mirmecológicos. Anales del Museo Nacional de Historia Natural de Buenos Aires 34: 341-360.
• Cuezzo, F. 1998. Formicidae. Chapter 42 in Morrone J.J., and S. Coscaron (dirs) Biodiversidad de artropodos argentinos: una perspectiva biotaxonomica Ediciones Sur, La Plata. Pages 452-462.
• Gallardo A. 1916. Notes systématiques et éthologiques sur les fourmis attines de la République Argentine. Anales del Museo Nacional de Historia Natural de Buenos Aires 28: 317-344.
• Gallardo A. 1929. Note sur les moeurs de la fourmi Pseudoatta argentina. Revista de la Sociedad Entomológica Argentina 2: 197-202.
• Kempf, W.W. 1972. Catalago abreviado das formigas da regiao Neotropical (Hym. Formicidae) Studia Entomologica 15(1-4).
• Kusnezov N. 1956. Claves para la identificación de las hormigas de la fauna argentina. Idia 104-105: 1-56.
• Rabeling C., S. Messer, S. Lacau, I. C. do Nascimento, M. Bacci Jr., and J. H. C. Delabie. 2019. Acromyrmex fowleri: a new inquiline social parasite species of leaf‑cutting ants from South America, with a discussion of social parasite biogeography in the Neotropical region. Insectes Sociaux https://doi.org/10.1007/s00040-019-00705-z
• Vittar, F. 2008. Hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) de la Mesopotamia Argentina. INSUGEO Miscelania 17(2):447-466
• Vittar, F., and F. Cuezzo. "Hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) de la provincia de Santa Fe, Argentina." Revista de la Sociedad Entomológica Argentina (versión On-line ISSN 1851-7471) 67, no. 1-2 (2008).