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Nylanderia lazulina
| Nylanderia lazulina | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Formicinae |
| Tribe: | Lasiini |
| Genus: | Nylanderia |
| Species: | N. lazulina |
| Binomial name | |
| Nylanderia lazulina Williams, Williams, LaPolla & Lucky, 2025 | |
Photo Gallery
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Identification
Antennae relatively long, with scapes surpassing posterior margin by nearly half their length; medium to dark reddish-brown and with strongly contrasting whitish meso- and metacoxae; microsculpture very finely matte, causing intense blue iridescence on head, mesosoma, and gaster; erect setae on all parts of body thick, long, and dark; sparse thick erect setae on scapes that strongly contrast with relatively fine appressed pubescence; moderate cephalic pubescence; metatibiae relatively long (HTI > 125).
Nylanderia lazulina workers have whitish meso- and metacoxae like those of Nylanderia contraria and Nylanderia luceata but are otherwise distinct and not likely to be confused with other species. Unlike all other species, it is medium to dark reddish brown with dense microsculpture that gives the overall surface of the cuticle a matte appearance. It also has a very strong blue iridescence, perhaps more intense than any other known Nylanderia species.
Compare with: Nylanderia contraria, Nylanderia luceata.
Keys including this Species
Distribution
This species is primarily found in moderate to high elevation forests ranging from Veracruz, Mexico to Nicaragua (Fig. 2B), and is relatively common across this range compared to other Nylanderia species.
Williams et al. (2025), Fig. 2. Distributions of species: (A) N. austroccidua in the United States and northern Mexico, (B) species found across southern Mexico and Mesoamerica, and (C) N. docilis in South America. Maps were created using GPS coordinates listed in Table S1 and from the Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics (GABI; Guénard et al. 2017) database.
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Latitudinal Distribution Pattern
Latitudinal Range: 20.0° to 13.0°.
| North Temperate |
North Subtropical |
Tropical | South Subtropical |
South Temperate |
- Source: Williams et al., 2025
Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Neotropical Region: Guatemala, Mexico (type locality), Nicaragua.
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
Nomenclature
The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.
- lazulina. Nylanderia lazulina Williams et al., 2025: 571, figs. 35-43 (w.q.m.) MEXICO (Oaxaca).
Type Material
- Holotype worker, MEXICO: Oaxaca, Uluapan, 4km NE San Bartolomé Ayautla, 18.05817 -96.64624 ±20m, elev. 390m, 9.vi.2016, lowland rainforest, sifted litter, ADMAC#Wa-F-03-2-36, (USNM: USNMENT01131154).
- 5 paratype workers with same locality data as holotype (USNM: USNMENT01131308, USNMENT01131309; MNCR: USNMENT01131310, USNMENT01131311, USNMENT01131312). 1 paratype worker, 2 paratype males, and 1 paratype queen, MEXICO: Oaxaca, Uluapan, 4km NE San Bartolomé Ayautla, 18.0593 -96.64624 ±20m, elev. 420m, 9.vi.2016, lowland rainforest, sifted litter, ADMAC#Wa-F-03-2-13, (USNM: USNMENT01131339, USNMENT01131866; MNCR: USNMENT01131865).