Mycetomoellerius compactus

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Mycetomoellerius compactus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Tribe: Attini
Genus: Mycetomoellerius
Species: M. compactus
Binomial name
Mycetomoellerius compactus
(Mayhé-Nunes & Brandão, 2002)

Trachymyrmex compactus P.png

Known only from the holotype worker. Mayhé-Nunes & Brandão (2002) - We have found the following information in Kempf (1961) regarding the type locality: “primary forest on sand, slope of the hill,” located “about 130 Km south of Paramaribo, in the interior, on the eastern side of Sarakreek near Dam.”

Identification

Mayhé-Nunes & Brandão (2002) - Differs from Mycetomoellerius dichrous by being unicolored, of much smaller size, by having the frontal lobes rounded and much more expanded laterad, shorter antennal scapes, better developed supraocular tumulus and paired carinae on vertex; the lateral pronotal spines are higher than the anterior mesonotal ones, and the gaster is distinctly marginate on sides. The differences from Mycetomoellerius opulentus and Mycetomoellerius relictus are as follows: anteroinferior corner of pronotum not angular nor dentate, but rounded; second pair of mesonotal projections very low; postero-dorsal border of postpetiole broadly excised.

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 5.266667° to 5.266667°.

 
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Neotropical Region: Brazil, Suriname (type locality).

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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Biology

Explore-icon.png 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.

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.

Coral Fungus Agriculture

Practiced by species in the Apterostigma pilosum species-group, which cultivate fungi within the Pterulaceae.

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.

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.

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.

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

Known only from the worker caste.

Nomenclature

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

  • compactus. Trachymyrmex compactus Mayhé-Nunes & Brandão, 2002: 673, figs. 2-4 (w.) SURINAM.
    • 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 3.8; HL 0 .86; HW 0.86; IFW0.57; ScL0.73; TrL 1.21; WL 1.21; HfL0.97. Medium brown, head more reddish brown. Integument finely and indistinctly shagreened, opaque. Body and appendages clothed with more or less curved, oblique to decumbent hairs of variable length, longest on clypeus, occiput, dorsum of alitrunk, petiole, postpetiole and tergum I of gaster. Trunk hairs arising from more or less prominent piligerous tubercles. Fine and dense pubescence appressed on antennae and legs, suberect or strongly curved elsewhere. quite distinct on tergum I of gaster. but never masking the integument.

Head. Mandibles smooth and shining except laterally on base where they are finely transversely striate. and near the masticatory margin, which bears with an apical tooth and approximately 8 regularly developed teeth. Clypeus with a pair of minute teeth, each arising near the base of the frontal lobes. Frontal lobes semicircular. lateral borders strongly crenate, strongly expanded laterad, the interfrontal width exceeding one half of the head width across the eyes. Frontal carinae diverging caudad, fading out a little before the apex of scrobe. Front and vertex irregularly to longitudinally rugulose, without isolated piligerous tubercles. Preocular carinae not curving mesad above eyes, but extending strictly caudad, fading out halfway between posterior orbit of eyes and apex of scrobe. Posterior third of antennal scrobe vestigially delimited, its apex only slightly projecting in a tuberous fashion. Supraocular tumulus vestigial; occipital corners angular and dentate in full-face view. Occiput shallowly notched in the middle. Carinae of vertex vestigial. Occipital tooth absent. Inferior occipital corner indistinctly marginate or rounded . Eyes moderately convex, not more than l0 facets in a row across the greatest diameter. Antennal scapes shorter than head capsule. only shortly surpassing the occipital corner when laid back over head as much as possible. Funicular segments II-VIII slightly longer than broad.

Alitrunk covered by more or less prominent piligerous tubercles. Pronotum with an indistinct humeral angle, its anteroinferior corners rounded, the lateral spines pointed. Mesonotum with both the first and second pair of dorsal projections very low, the third pair represented by minute teeth. Alitrunk constricted dorsa-laterally at the deeply impressed metanotal groove. Basal face of propodeum narrow, laterally delimited by a row of tubercles; propodeal spines low, about as high as the lateral pronotal spines. Hind femora shorter than length of alitrunk.

Waist and gaster. Petiole pedunculate, the node proper a bit longer than broad, lacking a dorsal armature; supetiolar process absent. Postpetiole broader than long, shallowly excavate above with a deep excision on the postero-dorsa1 border, the postero-lateral corners slightly tuberous. Gaster opaque with dense. minute piligerous tubercles rather evenly distributed. Tergum I of gaster laterally sharply marginate and ridged in almost the entire length.

Type Material

Holotype: Worker, SURINAME: Maripaheuvel, [September] 1959, J. van der Drift col. (WWK 14-X:X:-15). We were not able to secure coordinates for this locality in the several printed and electronic consulted gazetteers. Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de Sao Paulo

Etymology

The name was chosen by Kempf in reference to the alitrunk of this species, which is more compact than in other species of the opulentus group.

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • Franco W., N. Ladino, J. H. C. Delabie, A. Dejean, J. Orivel, M. Fichaux, S. Groc, M. Leponce, and R. M. Feitosa. 2019. First checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of French Guiana. Zootaxa 4674(5): 509-543.
  • Groc S., J. H. C. Delabie, F. Fernandez, F. Petitclerc, B. Corbara, M. Leponce, R. Cereghino, and A. Dejean. 2017. Litter-dwelling ants as bioindicators to gauge the sustainability of small arboreal monocultures embedded in the Amazonian rainforest. Ecological Indicators 82: 43-49.
  • Groc S., J. H. C. Delabie, F. Fernandez, M. Leponce, J. Orivel, R. Silvestre, Heraldo L. Vasconcelos, and A. Dejean. 2013. Leaf-litter ant communities (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in a pristine Guianese rainforest: stable functional structure versus high species turnover. Myrmecological News 19: 43-51.
  • Klingenberg, C. and C.R.F. Brandao. 2005. The type specimens of fungus growing ants, Attini (Hymenoptera, Formicidae, Myrmicinae) deposited in the Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de Sao Paulo, Brazil. Papeis Avulsos de Zoologia 45(4):41-50