Mycetomoellerius cirratus

Mycetomoellerius cirratus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmicinae
Tribe:	Attini
Genus:	Mycetomoellerius
Species:	M. cirratus
Binomial name
Mycetomoellerius cirratus (Mayhé-Nunes & Brandão, 2005)

Kempf’s notebooks entries #1500 and #1992 say only “ninho no solo” (nests in soil), a common feature for Trachymyrmex.

Identification

A member of the iheringi species group. Mayhe-Nunes and Brandão (2005) - The recognition of this species is evident by the thick and strongly curved hairs scattered on many parts of the body, subquadrated frontal lobes, and transversely rounded lobes of the antennal scapes. Also the presence of hairs in the mesopleura distinguishes T. cirratus from Mycetomoellerius holmgreni, Mycetomoellerius pruinosus and Mycetomoellerius tucumanus.

Santos et al. (2025) provide a multi-entry interactive key based on the xper3 platform which contains 27 characters and, as terminals, 30 species of Mycetomoellerius, representing almost all described species except for Mycetomoellerius echinus, Mycetomoellerius gaigei and Mycetomoellerius guianensis, which are excluded due to lack of clear information or available specimens for study.

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: -17.75° to -27.66211°.

North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

• Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Neotropical Region: Brazil (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

Explore Fungus Growing  For additional details see Fungus growing ants. A handful of ant species (approx. 275 out of the known 15,000 species) have developed the ability to cultivate fungus within their nests. In most species the fungus is used as the sole food source for the larvae and is an important resource for the adults as well. Additionally, in a limited number of cases, the fungus is used to construct part of the nest structure but is not as a food source. These fungus-feeding species are limited to North and South America, extending from the pine barrens of New Jersey, United States, in the north (Trachymyrmex septentrionalis) to the cold deserts in Argentina in the south (several species of Acromyrmex). Species that use fungi in nest construction are known from Europe and Africa (a few species in the genera Crematogaster, Lasius). The details of fungal cultivation are rich and complex. First, a wide variety of materials are used as substrate for fungus cultivating. The so-called lower genera include species that prefer dead vegetation, seeds, flowers, fruits, insect corpses, and feces, which are collected in the vicinity of their nests. The higher genera include non leaf-cutting species that collect mostly fallen leaflets, fruit, and flowers, as well as the leafcutters that collect fresh leaves from shrubs and trees. Second, while the majority of fungi that are farmed by fungus-feeding ants belong to the family Lepiotaceae, mostly the genera Leucoagaricus and Leucocoprinus, other fungi are also involved. Some species utilise fungi in the family Tricholomataceae while a few others cultivate yeast. The fungi used by the higher genera no longer produce spores. Their fungi produce nutritious and swollen hyphal tips (gongylidia) that grow in bundles called staphylae, to specifically feed the ants. Finally, colony size varies tremendously among these ants. Lower taxa mostly live in inconspicuous nests with 100–1000 individuals and relatively small fungus gardens. Higher taxa, in contrast, live in colonies made of 5–10 million ants that live and work within hundreds of interconnected fungus-bearing chambers in huge subterranean nests. Some colonies are so large, they can be seen from satellite photos, measuring up to 600 m3. Based on these habits, and taking phylogenetic information into consideration, these ants can be divided into six biologically distinct agricultural systems (with a list of genera involved in each category): Nest Construction A limited number of species that use fungi in the construction of their nests. some Crematogaster some Lasius Lower Agriculture Practiced by species in the majority of fungus-feeding genera, including those thought to retain more primitive features, which cultivate a wide range of fungal species in the tribe Leucocoprineae. some Apterostigma Cyatta (1 species) some Cyphomyrmex Kalathomyrmex (1 species) Mycocepurus (6 species) Myrmicocrypta (31 species) Mycetarotes (4 species) Mycetosoritis (2 species) Mycetophylax (21 species) Paramycetophylax (1 species) Xerolitor (1 species) Coral Fungus Agriculture Practiced by species in the Apterostigma pilosum species-group, which cultivate fungi within the Pterulaceae. some Apterostigma Yeast Agriculture Practiced by species within the Cyphomyrmex rimosus species-group, which cultivate a distinct clade of leucocoprineaceous fungi derived from the lower attine fungi. some Cyphomyrmex Generalized Higher Agriculture Practiced by species in several genera of non-leaf-cutting "higher attine" ants, which cultivate a distinct clade of leucocoprineaceous fungi separately derived from the lower attine fungi. Mycetomoellerius (33 species) Paratrachymyrmex (9 species) Sericomyrmex (11 species) Trachymyrmex (9 species) Leaf-Cutter Agriculture A subdivision of higher attine agriculture practiced by species within several ecologically dominant genera, which cultivate a single highly derived species of higher attine fungus. Acromyrmex (51 species) Amoimyrmex (3 species) Atta (20 species) Note that the farming habits of Mycetagroicus (4 species) are unknown. Also, while species of Pseudoatta (2 species) are closely related to the fungus-feeding genus Acromyrmex, they are social parasites, living in the nests of their hosts and are not actively involved in fungus growing. ‎

Castes

Worker

.

Phylogeny

Mycetomoellerius	Mycetomoellerius urichii Mycetomoellerius papulatus Mycetomoellerius papulatus Mycetomoellerius holmgreni Mycetomoellerius cirratus Mycetomoellerius kempfi Mycetomoellerius iheringi Mycetomoellerius sp. near cirratus
	Mycetomoellerius ruthae Mycetomoellerius jamaicensis Mycetomoellerius atlanticus Mycetomoellerius near haytianus Mycetomoellerius opulentus Mycetomoellerius dichrous Mycetomoellerius relictus Mycetomoellerius turrifex Mycetomoellerius zeteki

Based on Micolino et al., 2020 (selected species only).

Nomenclature

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

• cirratus. Trachymyrmex cirratus Mayhé-Nunes & Brandão, 2005: 275, figs. 9-12 (w.) BRAZIL.
  • Combination in Mycetomoellerius: Solomon et al., 2019: 948.

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

Description

Worker

TL 3.2-3.4; HL 0 .97-1.00; I-IW 0.91-0.92; IFW 0.58-0.60; ScL 0 .69-0.81; TrL 1.17-1.32; HtL 1.01-1.07. Reddish-brown with a darker spot on the head front. Integument fine and indistinctly shagreened, opaque. Body clothed With thick strongly curved short hairs, and slender and longer hairs, oblique to decumbent on appendages, clypeus, occiput, dorsum of alitrunk, waist and tergum I of gaster.

Head in full face view little longer than broad (CI 93). Mandible smooth and shining except laterally on base where it is inconspicuously striate, and near the masticatory margin, which bears the apical and sub-apical teeth, and 7 regularly developed teeth. Frontal lobe subquadrate, moderately expanded laterad (FLI 64); anterior border concave in the middle; posterior border weakly concave. Frontal carina diverging caudad, fading out a little before the apex of scrobe. Front and vertex without longitudinal rugulae, with minute isolated piligerous tubercles. Posterior third of antennal scrobe vestigially delimited. Supraocular projection inconspicuous. Occiptal corner rounded in full-face view, with many small piligerous tubercles. Occiput notched in the middle. Occipital tooth developed as a stout and tubercle-like projection, rather microtuberculated. Inferior occipital corner with weak carina. Eye weakly convex, no more than 12 facets in a row across the greatest diameter. Antennal scape slightly surpassing the occipital corner, when laid back over head as much as possible; basal lobe transversely enlarged, its lateral projections equally expanded to the sides; anterior surface surmounted by small tubercles.

Alitrunk. Pronotum with an indistinct humeral angle; antero-inferior corner roundly angulated; lateral spine small but stout; median projections as two small microtuberculated spines, similar to lateral ones. Mesonotum with the first pair of projections shorter than pronotal lateral spines; second pair lower, a small and crenulated longitudinal ridge; third pair inconspicuously projected as minute teeth. Mesopleura covered with hairs; blunt teeth-like projection on superior border of katepisternum. Alitrunk constricted dorso-laterally at the deeply impressed metanotal groove. Basal face of propodeum narrow, laterally delimited by a row of small teeth; propodeal spines higher and slender than lateral pronotal spines.

Waist and gaster. Petiole shortly pedunculate, the node proper as long as broad, with two small bifid dorsal teeth; subpetiolar process absent. Postpetiole as long as broad, shallowly excavate above; postero-dorsal border straight; postero-lateral corners without projections. Gaster opaque with minute piligerous tubercles more or less distributed in four irregular longitudinal series in the tergum I.

Type Material

Worker holotype (MZSP; examined) and 22 worker paratypes (Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de Sao Paulo, Instituto de Biologia Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro). BRAZIL, Sao Paulo: Agudos [22° 28' S, 49° 00' W] W. W. Kempf [leg.] several dates: 8.iii.l952 (l paratype); 16.xii.l955 (holotype and 10 paratypes labelled WWK # 1500), 22.xii.1955 (1 paratype), 28.xii.1955 (1 paratype); 15.i.1956 (3 paratypes), 5.xii.l957 paratypes; WWK # 1992).

Etymology

In the drafts we found in MZSP, we noticed that Kempf had chosen the Latin adjective cirrus (curly) to name this species, in reference to its thick, strongly curved short hairs.

References

• Mayhé-Nunes, A. J. and Brandão, C. R. F. 2005. Revisionary studies on the attine ant genus Trachymyrmex Forel. Part 2: the Iheringi group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Sociobiology. 45(2):271-305. (page 275, figs. 9-12 worker described)
• Santos, C.D.A.D., Chaul, J.C.M., Serrao, J.E. 2025. Taxonomic contributions to Mycetomoellerius Solomon et al., 2019 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae): description of two new species and a key for the genus. Zootaxa 5569(1), 93–118 (doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5569.1.3).
• Solomon, S.E., Rabeling, C., Sosa-Calvo, J., Lopes, C.T., Rodrigues, A., Vasconcelos, H.L., Bacci Jr, M., Mueller, U.G., Schultz, T.R. 2019. The molecular phylogenetics of Trachymyrmex Forel ants and their fungal cultivars provide insights into the origin and coevolutionary history of ‘higher-attine’ ant agriculture. Systematic Entomology 44: 939-956 (doi:10.1111/syen.12370).

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

• Frizzo T. L. M., R. I. Campos, and H. L. Vasconcelos. 2012. Contrasting Effects of Fire on Arboreal and Ground?Dwelling Ant Communities of a Neotropical Savanna. Biotropica 44(2): 254-261.
• Kempf W. W. 1978. A preliminary zoogeographical analysis of a regional ant fauna in Latin America. 114. Studia Entomologica 20: 43-62.
• Mayhé-Nunes A. J., and C. R. F. Brandão. 2005. Revisionary studies on the attine ant genus Trachymyrmex Forel. Part 2: the Iheringi group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Sociobiology 45(2): 271-305.
• Solomon S. E., C. Rabeling, J. Sosa-Calvo, C. Lopes, A. Rodrigues, H. L. Vasconcelos, M. Bacci, U. G. Mueller, and T. R. Schultz. 2019. The molecular phylogenetics of Trachymyrmex Forel ants and their fungal cultivars provide insights into the origin and coevolutionary history of ‘higher-attine’ ant agriculture. Systematic Entomology 44: 939–956.
• Vasconcelos H. L., B. B. Araujo, A. J. Mayhé-Nunes. 2008. Patterns of diversity and abundance of fungus-growing ants (Formicidae: Attini) in areas of the Brazilian Cerrado. Revista Brasileira de Zoologia 25(3): 445-450.