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Myrmelachista osa
| Myrmelachista osa | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Formicinae |
| Tribe: | Myrmelachistini |
| Genus: | Myrmelachista |
| Species: | M. osa |
| Binomial name | |
| Myrmelachista osa Longino, 2006
| |
This species is known from mature wet forest. I collected it from three different Ocotea nicaraguensis trees, and it appears to have a biology similar to Myrmelachista flavocotea and others. (Longino 2006)
Identification
Longino (2006) - Worker with antenna 9-segmented, maxillary palpus 5-segmented, color yellow. Queen black; mandible punctatorugose; face smooth and shining; sides of head with short appressed to suberect pubescence, no longer erect setae; maxillary palpus 6-segmented; CI 79–84.
Keys including this Species
Distribution
Known from Rancho Quemado on the Osa Peninsula.
Latitudinal Distribution Pattern
Latitudinal Range: 8.7° to 8.7°.
| North Temperate |
North Subtropical |
Tropical | South Subtropical |
South Temperate |
- Source: AntMaps
Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Neotropical Region: Costa Rica (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. |
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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
Castes
Males have yet to be collected.
Queen
Images from AntWeb
   
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| Holotype queen osa. Queen (alate/dealate). Specimen code jtlc000006231. Photographer J. Longino, uploaded by University of Utah. | Owned by INBC. |
Nomenclature
The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.
- osa. Myrmelachista osa Longino, 2006a: 42, figs. 1, 4, 7, 8, 9 (w.q.) COSTA RICA.
Unless otherwise noted the text for the remainder of this section is reported from the publication that includes the original description.
Description
Worker
HL 0.518–0.521, HW 0.479–0.511, SL 0.256–0.265, EL 0.097–0.105, CI 92–98 (n=3).
Same as Myrmelachista flavocotea but with tendency to develop faint infuscated bands on gastral tergites.
Queen
HL 1.181–1.226, HW 0.971–0.997, SL 0.491–0.507, EL 0.283–0.303, OW 0.062–0.081, OD 0.173–0.185, CI 79–84, OI 28–31, OcI 5–7 (n=3).
Antenna 9-segmented; maxillary palpus 6-segmented; labrum short, bilobed, not covering mouthparts; dorsal surface of mandible punctatorugose; face and clypeus largely smooth, variably roughened anteriorly; in full face view, with abundant short suberect setae on rear and side margins of head, longer setae on posterolateral vertex; ventral surface of head with abundant short erect setae; scapes with abundant erect to suberect setae, longer setae subequal to width of scape; outer surface of hind tibia with abundant short subdecumbent setae, longer setae shorter than width of tibia; color solid black.
Type Material
Holotype alate queen: Costa Rica, Prov. Puntarenas, Rancho Quemado, Osa Peninsula, 8°42’N, 83°33’W, 200m, 15 Dec 1990 (J. Longino#2752) Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad, specimen code JTLC000006231.
Paratypes: workers and queens, from same nest as holotype, specimen codes JTLC000006232-JTLC000006236, distributed to Museum of Comparative Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, University of California, Davis, Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, The Natural History Museum.
Etymology
The name refers to the Osa Peninsula, which is the type locality.