Myrmelachista ambigua

Myrmelachista ambigua
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Formicinae
Tribe:	Myrmelachistini
Genus:	Myrmelachista
Species:	M. ambigua
Binomial name
Myrmelachista ambigua Forel, 1893 Specimen Labels

Longino (2006) - Myrmelachista ambigua was described from a single worker from St. Vincent. Given the relative uniformity of workers, the published description and even examination of the type will be of little use. Queen and male-associated collections of Myrmelachista from St. Vincent will be needed to compare with material from other parts of the Caribbean. Wheeler (1908) considered the worker of Myrmelachista ramulorum close to ambigua.

Identification

Worker with nine antennal segments. See Longino's comments regarding Caribbean Myrmelachista.

Distribution

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Neotropical Region: Lesser Antilles, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

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

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Nomenclature

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

• ambigua. Myrmelachista ambigua Forel, 1893g: 350 (w.) ANTILLES. Combination in M. (Decamera): Bruch, 1914: 227; in M. (Myrmelachista): Kempf, 1972a: 147.

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

Type Material

Longino (2006) - Holotype worker: Lesser Antilles, Saint Vincent, Upper Richmond Valley (H. H. Smith).

References

• Bruch, C. 1914. Catálogo sistemático de los formícidos argentinos. Rev. Mus. La Plata 19: 211-234 (page 227, Combination in M. (Decamera))
• Forel, A. 1893j. Formicides de l'Antille St. Vincent, récoltées par Mons. H. H. Smith. Trans. Entomol. Soc. Lond. 1893: 333-418 (page 350, worker described)
• Kempf, W. W. 1972b. Catálogo abreviado das formigas da regia~o Neotropical. Stud. Entomol. 15: 3-344 (page 147, Combination in M. (Myrmelachista))
• Longino, J.T. 2006. A taxonomic review of the genus Myrmelachista in Costa Rica. Zootaxa. 1141:1-54.
• Wetterer, J.K. 2021. Ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of St. Vincent, West Indies. Sociobiology 68, e6725 (doi:10.13102/sociobiology.v68i2.6725).

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

• Kempf, W.W. 1972. Catalago abreviado das formigas da regiao Neotropical (Hym. Formicidae) Studia Entomologica 15(1-4).
• Longino J. T. 2006. A taxonomic review of the genus Myrmelachista (hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Costa Rica. Zootaxa 1141: 1-54
• Wheeler W. M. 1905. The ants of the Bahamas, with a list of the known West Indian species. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 21: 79-135.