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Aphaenogaster punctaticeps
| Aphaenogaster punctaticeps | |
|---|---|
| |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Myrmicinae |
| Tribe: | Attini |
| Genus: | Aphaenogaster |
| Species: | A. punctaticeps |
| Binomial name | |
| Aphaenogaster punctaticeps Mackay, W.P., 1989
| |
This ant nests in kangaroo rat mounds (Cover, pers. commun.) or in prairie dog towns (Fagerlund, pers. comun.). It apparently steals seeds from the rodents. (Mackay and Mackay 2002)
Identification
The head of this species is elongate (head width /head length 0.71), and nearly completely covered with punctures. Most of the mesosoma has similar sculpture. The propodeal spines are small. This species is similar to Aphaenogaster texana but differs in that the posterior border of the head is moderately pointed (rounded in A. texana) and the dorsum of the head is primarily punctate (rugose with punctures in the intrarugal spaces in A. texana). (Mackay and Mackay 2002)
Aphaenogaster punctaticeps is similar to A. texana, but with the posterior border of head moderately pointed as opposed to rounded (DeMarco, 2015).
Keys including this Species
Distribution
United States: Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. Mexico.
Latitudinal Distribution Pattern
Latitudinal Range: 34.406954° to 19.50138889°.
| North Temperate |
North Subtropical |
Tropical | South Subtropical |
South Temperate |
- Source: AntMaps
Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Nearctic Region: United States (type locality).
Neotropical Region: Mexico.
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. |
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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
Creosotebush scrub.
Biology
Castes
Nomenclature
The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.
- punctaticeps. Aphaenogaster punctaticeps Mackay, 1989: 47, figs. 1, 4, 6, 7 (w.) U.S.A. (New Mexico).
- Type-material: holotype worker, 1 paratype worker.
- Type-locality: holotype U.S.A.: New Mexico, Dona Ana County, Jornada Experimental Range, 7.viii.1979 (W. Wisdom); paratype with same data.
- Type-depositories: USNM (holotype); LACM (paratype).
- Status as species: Bolton, 1995b: 72; Umphrey, 1996: 557 (in key); Mackay & Mackay, 2002: 76; Mackay & Mackay, 2017: 366 (redescription).
- Distribution: Mexico, U.S.A.
Description
References
- Bolton, B. 1995b. A new general catalogue of the ants of the world. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 504 pp. (page 72, catalogue)
- DeMarco, B.B. 2015. Phylogeny of North American Aphaenogaster species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) reconstructed with morphological and DNA data. Ph.D. thesis, Michigan State University.
- Mackay, W.P. 1989. A new Aphaenogaster from southern New Mexico. Journal of the New York Entomological Society 97: 47-49. [29.iii.1989.] page 47, figs. worker described)
- Mackay, W. P. and E. Mackay. 2002. The ants of New Mexico (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Edwin Mellen Press, Lewiston, NY.
- Umphrey, G. J. 1996. Morphometric discrimination among sibling species in the fulva-rudis-texana complex of the ant genus Aphaenogaster (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Can. J. Zool. 74: 528-559 (page 557, see also (in key))
References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics
- Cover S. P., and R. A. Johnson. 20011. Checklist of Arizona Ants. Downloaded on January 7th at http://www.asu.edu/clas/sirgtools/AZants-2011%20updatev2.pdf
- Dattilo W. et al. 2019. MEXICO ANTS: incidence and abundance along the Nearctic-Neotropical interface. Ecology https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2944
- MacKay W. P. 1989. A new Aphaenogaster (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from southern New Mexico. Journal of the New York Entomological Society 97: 47-49.
- Mackay W. P., and E. E. Mackay. 2002. The ants of New Mexico (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Lewiston, New York: Edwin Mellen Press, 400 pp.
- O'Keefe S. T., J. L. Cook, T. Dudek, D. F. Wunneburger, M. D. Guzman, R. N. Coulson, and S. B. Vinson. 2000. The Distribution of Texas Ants. The Southwestern Entomologist 22: 1-92.
- Villalvazo-Palacios M., J. F. Pérez-Domínguez, & M. Vásquez-Bolaños. 2014. New record of Aphaenogaster punctaticeps Mackay, 1989 for Mexico and first record of Aphaenogaster mexicana (Pergande, 1896) for Jalisco state (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae). Acta Zoológica Mexicana, 30(2): 431-433.