Forelius heyeri

Forelius heyeri
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Dolichoderinae
Genus:	Forelius
Species:	F. heyeri
Binomial name
Forelius heyeri (Forel, 1902) Specimen Labels
Synonyms
Forelius breviscapus pusillus Santschi, 1922 Neoforelius tucumanus Kusnezov, 1953 Tapinoma heyeri risii Forel, 1912

Identification

Posterior cephalic margin completely straight. Mandible with five teeth and one denticle. Scape much shorter (≤ 0.43 mm) than that of Forelius antarcticus (SL ≥ 0.69 mm), below or barely reaching the posterior cephalic margin by a length less than the width of the pedicel. Pronotum with two thick dark erect setae that contrast with the light integument, each seta arising from a distinct fovea. (Guerrero, 2021)

Keys including this Species

• Key to Forelius with rounded spiracles

Distribution

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

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

Castes

Worker

Images from AntWeb

Syntype of Tapinoma heyeri risii. Worker. Specimen code casent0909772. Photographer Z. Lieberman, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by MHNG, Geneva, Switzerland.

Worker. Specimen code casent0173739. 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.

• heyeri. Tapinoma heyeri Forel, 1902e: 296 (footnote), pl. 1, fig. 11 (w.) BRAZIL.
  • Combination in Forelius: Guerrero, 2021: 433.
• pusillus. Forelius breviscapus var. pusillus Santschi, 1922b: 374 (w.) ARGENTINA.
  • Raised to species and senior synonym of tucumanus: Cuezzo, 2000: 263.
  • Junior synonym of heyeri: Guerrero, 2021: 433.
• risii. Tapinoma heyeri var. risii Forel, 1912h: 58 (w.) URUGUAY.
  • Junior synonym of heyeri: Guerrero, 2021: 433.
• tucumanus. Neoforelius tucumanus Kusnezov, 1953b: 330, figs. 1-12 (w.q.m.) ARGENTINA.
  • Combination in Forelius: Shattuck, 1992c: 95.
  • Junior synonym of pusillus: Cuezzo, 2000: 263.
  • Junior synonym of heyeri: Guerrero, 2021: 433.

Type Material

• Tapinoma heyeri: Lectotype (designated by Guerrero, 2021: 433), worker, São Leopoldo, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, Heyer, CASENT0909771, Musee d'Histoire Naturelle Genève.
• Tapinoma heyeri: Paralectotype (designated by Guerrero, 2021: 433), 1 worker, São Leopoldo, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, Heyer, Musee d'Histoire Naturelle Genève.

References

• Forel, A. 1902f. [Untitled. Tapinoma Heyeri Forel n. sp.]. P. 296 in: Wasmann, E. Neues über die zusammengesetzten Nester und gemischten Kolonien der Ameisen [part]. Allg. Z. Entomol. 7:293-298. (page 296, (footnote) pl. 1, fig. 11 worker described)
• Guerrero, R.J. 2021. Transfer of two South American ant species from Tapinoma Foerster 1850 to Forelius Emery 1888 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Dolichoderinae). Zootaxa 4920, 428–438 (doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4920.3.8).*Varela-Hernández, F., Riquelme, F., Guerrero, R. 2023. A Miocene ant species of the genus Forelius Emery, 1888 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Dolichoderinae) from Mexico. Palaeontologia Electronica 26(3):a36 (doi:10.26879/1294).

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

• Fernández, F. and S. Sendoya. 2004. Lista de las hormigas neotropicales. Biota Colombiana Volume 5, Number 1.
• Kempf, W.W. 1972. Catalago abreviado das formigas da regiao Neotropical (Hym. Formicidae) Studia Entomologica 15(1-4).