Pseudomyrmex filiformis

Pseudomyrmex filiformis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Pseudomyrmecinae
Genus:	Pseudomyrmex
Species:	P. filiformis
Binomial name
Pseudomyrmex filiformis (Fabricius, 1804) Specimen labels
Synonyms
Pseudomyrma biconvexa Forel, 1899 Pseudomyrma biconvexa longiceps Forel, 1906 Pseudomyrma cephalica Smith, F., 1855 Pseudomyrma longiceps Stitz, 1933

Ward (1996) suggests this ant is a temporary social parasite of a number of common, co-occurring Pseudomyrmex species, including Pseudomyrmex elongatus, Pseudomyrmex holmgreni and Pseudomyrmex (sp. PSW-14).

At a Glance

• Temporary parasite

Identification

Keys including this Species

• Key to Pseudomyrmex species groups

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 19.58333° to -22.809943°.

North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

• Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Neotropical Region: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guatemala, Guyana, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela.

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

Ward (1996) - Incipient colonies of this species have been found inhabiting a nest in small dead twigs with several workers of a different Pseudomyrmex species. This contrasts with mature colonies, which form large monospecific nests with a single functional queen. This suggests the queens are temporary social parasites.

Gillette et al. (2015) in a Chaipas, Mexico field study of twig-nesting ants in coffee plants found P. ejectus occurred in 9% of the twigs with nests. All of its nests were below 1300 m.

Castes

Worker

Images from AntWeb

Worker. Specimen code casent0178622. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by MIZA, Maracay, Venezuela.

Specimen code lacm. .

Queen

Images from AntWeb

Queen (alate/dealate). Specimen code casent0173753. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by ALWC, Alex L. Wild Collection.

Nomenclature

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

• filiformis. Formica filiformis Fabricius, 1804: 405 (q.) CENTRAL AMERICA. Wheeler, W.M. 1919i: 125 (w.m.); Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1956: 384 (l.). Combination in Leptalea: Erichson, 1839: 309; in Pseudomyrma: Roger, 1862c: 289; in Pseudomyrmex: Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1956: 384. Senior synonym of cephalica: Roger, 1862c: 289; of biconvexa: Wheeler, W.M. 1919i: 125; of longiceps Forel, longiceps Stitz: Ward, 1989: 438.
• cephalica. Pseudomyrma cephalica Smith, F. 1855c: 168 (w.q.m.) BRAZIL. Junior synonym of filiformis: Roger, 1862c: 289.
• biconvexa. Pseudomyrma biconvexa Forel, 1899c: 95, pl. 4, fig. 10 (w.) GUATEMALA. Junior synonym of filiformis: Wheeler, W.M. 1919i: 125.
• longiceps. Pseudomyrma biconvexa var. longiceps Forel, 1906d: 229 (w.) COLOMBIA. Combination in Pseudomyrmex: Kempf, 1972a: 218. Subspecies of filiformis: Wheeler, W.M. 1919i: 131. Junior synonym of filiformis: Ward, 1989: 438.
• longiceps. Pseudomyrma longiceps Stitz, 1933: 68 (q.) VENEZUELA. [Unresolved junior primary homonym of longiceps Wheeler, above.] Combination in Pseudomyrmex: Kempf, 1972a: 221. Junior synonym of filiformis: Ward, 1989: 438.

Type Material

Ward (1989):

Syntype dealate queen, Essequibo, Guyana (Smidt) (Zoologisk Museum, University of Copenhagen) [Examined]; here designated as LECTOTYPE. A second syntype dealate queen in ZMUC, lacking head, metasoma, and a locality label, has been labelled paralectotype.

Pseudomyrma cephalica F. Smith, 1855:168. Dealate queen, labelled as type, Santarem, Brazil (Bates); two workers. probable syntypes, Villa Nova, Brazil (Bates) (The Natural History Museum) [Examined].

Pseudomyrma biconvexa Forel, 1899:95. Syntype workers, Pantaleon, Guatemala (Champion) (BMNH, Musee d'Histoire Naturelle Genève); Costa Rica (Tonduz) (BMNH) [Examined].

Pseudamyrma biconvexa var. longiceps Forel, 1906:229. Syntype worker, Santa Marta, Colombia (A. Forel) (MHNG) [Examined].

Pseudomyrma longiceps Stitz, 1933:69. Holotype queen, Macuto, near La Guayra, Venezuela (e. Gazgo) (not in Zoologisches Institut und Zoologisches Museum der Universität Hamburg. probably destroyed during World War II).

The syntype worker of P. longiceps (Forel) is simply a large P. filiformis worker, with a rather elongate head and a conspicuous subpetiolar tooth. I have seen such variant workers within nest-series of typical P. filiformis from elsewhere in Central and South America. Although the unique type of P. longiceps (Stitz) is lost, the original description (particularly as it pertains to head length, position of eyes, and petiole shape) is closer to that of P. filiformis than any other species known to me.

References

• Erichson, W. F. 1839. Bericht über die Leistungen im Gebiete der Naturgeschichte während des Jahres 1838. IX. Insecten. Arch. Naturgesch. 5(2 2: 281-375 (page 309, Combination in leptalea)
• Fabricius, J. C. 1804. Systema Piezatorum secundum ordines, genera, species, adjectis synonymis, locis, observationibus, descriptionibus. Brunswick: C. Reichard, xiv + 15-439 + 30 pp. (page 405, queen described)
• Franco, W., Ladino, N., Delabie, J.H.C., Dejean, A., Orivel, J., Fichaux, M., Groc, S., Leponce, M., Feitosa, R.M. 2019. First checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of French Guiana. Zootaxa 4674, 509–543 (doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4674.5.2).
• Gillette, P. N., K. K. Ennis, G. D. Martinez, and S. M. Philpott. 2015. Changes in Species Richness, Abundance, and Composition of Arboreal Twig-nesting Ants Along an Elevational Gradient in Coffee Landscapes. Biotropica. 47:712-722. doi:10.1111/btp.12263
• Roger, J. 1862c. Synonymische Bemerkungen. 1. Ueber Formiciden. Berl. Entomol. Z. 6: 283-297 (page 289, Combination in Pseudomyrma, Senior synonym of cephalica)
• Ward, P. S. 1989a. Systematic studies on pseudomyrmecine ants: revision of the Pseudomyrmex oculatus and P. subtilissimus species groups, with taxonomic comments on other species. Quaest. Entomol. 25: 393-468 (page 438, Senior synonym of longiceps Forel and longiceps Stitz)
• Ward, P. S. 1996. A new workerless social parasite in the ant genus Pseudomyrmex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), with a discussion of the origin of social parasitism in ants. Systeamtic Entomology. 21:253-263.
• Wheeler, G. C.; Wheeler, J. 1956. The ant larvae of the subfamily Pseudomyrmecinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Ann. Entomol. Soc. Am. 49: 374-398 (page 384, larva described, Combination in Pseudomyrmex)
• Wheeler, W. M. 1919k. A singular neotropical ant (Pseudomyrma filiformis Fabricius). Psyche (Camb.) 26: 124-131 (page 125, worker, male described, Senior synonym of biconvexa)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

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• De la Mora, A., C. J. Murnen, and S. M. Philpott. 2013. Local and landscape drivers of biodiversity of four groups of ants in Neotropical coffee landscapes. Biodiversity and Conservation 22: 871-888.
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• Fernández, F. and S. Sendoya. 2004. Lista de las hormigas neotropicales. Biota Colombiana Volume 5, Number 1.
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• Forel A. 1912. Formicides néotropiques. Part IV. 3me sous-famille Myrmicinae Lep. (suite). Mémoires de la Société Entomologique de Belgique. 20: 1-32.
• 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.
• INBio Collection (via Gbif)
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