Pseudomyrmex boopis

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Pseudomyrmex boopis
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Pseudomyrmecinae
Genus: Pseudomyrmex
Species: P. boopis
Binomial name
Pseudomyrmex boopis
(Roger, 1863)

Pseudomyrmex boopis inbiocri001281684 profile 1.jpg

Pseudomyrmex boopis inbiocri001281684 dorsal 1.jpg

Specimen labels

Synonyms

This species is less arboreal than most Pseudomyrmex, and nests typically in rotten wood on or near the ground. The type specimen of P. boopis came from a nest in a swollen-thorn acacia (Smith 1862:33), however, and Janzen found colonies in thorns of Acacia melanoceras seedlings in Panama (Ward 1993). Gillette et al. (2015) in a Chaipas, Mexico field study of twig-nesting ants in coffee plants found P. boopis nesting within one sampled plot of plants at 1200m.

Identification

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 21.29525° to -4.26306°.

 
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Neotropical Region: Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama (type locality), Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela.

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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Habitat

Rainforest and tropical moist forest.

Biology

Castes

Nomenclature

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

  • modesta. Pseudomyrma modesta Smith, F. 1862b: 32 (w.) PANAMA. [Junior primary homonym of modesta Smith, F. 1860b: 106, above.] Replacement name: boopis Roger, 1863b: 25.
  • boopis. Pseudomyrma boopis Roger, 1863b: 25. Replacement name for modesta Smith, F. 1862b: 32. [Junior primary homonym of modesta Smith, F. 1860b: 106.] Combination in Pseudomyrmex: Kempf, 1967c: 2. Senior synonym of excavata (and its junior synonyms flaviventris, fusciceps, guatemalensis): Kempf, 1967c: 2; of thoracica: Ward, 1993: 154.
  • excavata. Pseudomyrma excavata Mayr, 1870a: 410 (w.) COLOMBIA. Kempf, 1960a: 23 (q.). Combination in Pseudomyrmex: Kempf, 1960a: 7. Senior synonym of flaviventris, fusciceps, guatemalensis: Kempf, 1960a: 22. Junior synonym of boopis: Kempf, 1967c: 2.
  • flaviventris. Pseudomyrma excavata var. flaviventris Emery, 1896b: 2 (w.) PANAMA. Junior synonym of excavata: Kempf, 1960a: 22.
  • fusciceps. Pseudomyrma excavata var. fusciceps Santschi, 1931c: 271 (w.) PANAMA. Junior synonym of excavata: Kempf, 1960a: 22.
  • guatemalensis. Pseudomyrma tenuis var. guatemalensis Enzmann, E.V. 1944: 92 (w.) GUATEMALA. Junior synonym of excavata: Kempf, 1960a: 22.
  • thoracica. Pseudomyrma thoracica Norton, 1868c: 8 (w.) MEXICO. Combination in Pseudomyrmex: Kempf, 1972a: 225. [P. thoracica Norton, 1868a: 66. Nomen nudum.] Junior synonym of boopis: Ward, 1993: 154.

The following notes on F. Smith type specimens have been provided by Barry Bolton (details):

Pseudomyrma modesta

Holotype worker in Oxford University Museum of Natural History. Labelled “Bac.”

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

Description

Ward (1993) - Medium-sized species (HW 1.16-1.29) in the P. tenuis group, with a broad head (CI 0.92-1.02), tectiform and laterally rounded median clypeal lobe, large eyes (REL 0.66), and laterally marginate pronotum. Mesosoma arched and angular in profile; petiole short, high and thin, laterally marginate, with a gently ascending anterodorsal face which rounds into a much steeper (almost vertical) posterior face. Standing pilosity sparse, lacking on the mesonotum, propodeum, and petiole. Color highly variable, ranging from light testaceous brown to bicolored orange and black (usually with the gaster and pronotum lightest in color) to dark brown.

Type Material

Ward (1993):

Holotype (unique syntype) worker, Panama (Stretch) (The Natural History Museum) [Examined].

Pseudomyrma thoracica Syntype workers, Cordova, Mexico (Sumichrast) [Not examined].

Pseudomyrma excavata Syntype workers, "N. Granada" (BMNH, Musee d'Histoire Naturelle Genève, Naturhistorisches Museum Wien, Vienna) [Examined].

Pseudomyrma excavata var. flaviventris Syntype workers, Darien, Panama (Festa) (Museo Civico di Storia Naturale, Genoa, MHNG) [Examined].

Pseudomyrma excavata var. jusciceps Two syntype workers, France Field, Panama (A. Bierig) (Naturhistorisches Museum, Basel) [Examined].

Pseudomyrma tenuis var. guatemalensis Holotype worker, Escuintla, Guatemala [Not examined].

References

  • Gillette, P. N., K. K. Ennis, G. D. Martinez, and S. M. Philpott. 2015. Changes in Species Richness, Abundance, and Composition of Arboreal Twig-nesting Ants Along an Elevational Gradient in Coffee Landscapes. Biotropica. 47:712-722. doi:10.1111/btp.12263
  • Kempf, W. W. 1967c. Estudos sôbre Pseudomyrmex. IV (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Rev. Bras. Entomol. 12: 1-12 (page 2, Combination in Pseudomyrmex, Senior synonym of excavata (and its junior synonyms flaviventris, fusciceps and guatemalensis))
  • Roger, J. 1863b. Verzeichniss der Formiciden-Gattungen und Arten. Berl. Entomol. Z. 7(B Beilage: 1-65 (page 25, Replacement name for modesta)
  • Smith, F. 1862b. Descriptions of new species of aculeate Hymenoptera, collected at Panama by R. W. Stretch, Esq., with a list of described species, and the various localities where they have previously occurred. Trans. Entomol. Soc. Lond. (3) 1: 29-44 (page 32, [Junior primary homonym of modesta Smith, F. 1860b: 106.] )
  • Ward, P. S. 1993. Systematic studies on Pseudomyrmex acacia-ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Pseudomyrmecinae). J. Hym. Res. 2: 117-168 (page 154, Senior synonym of thoracica)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

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