Pseudomyrmex osurus

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Pseudomyrmex osurus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Pseudomyrmecinae
Genus: Pseudomyrmex
Species: P. osurus
Binomial name
Pseudomyrmex osurus
(Forel, 1911)

Pseudomyrmex osurus casent0005847 profile 1.jpg

Pseudomyrmex osurus casent0005847 dorsal 1.jpg

Specimen labels

Synonyms

Identification

Ward (1989) - Examination of the syntype worker of P. osurus shows this to be a distinct species, differing from Pseudomyrmex faber (F. Smith) by the shape of the petiole (possessing a distinct anterior peduncle and differentiated node, in lateral view), and the smooth, shiny puncticulate head. Enzmann 's description of P. insularis fits P. osurus tolerably well, and agrees more closely with P. osurus than with any other species in the P. laevigatus complex known to me from Central America.

P. osurus is typically concolorous orange (head black in some Costa Rican and Colombian workers, which I take to be this species), while P. faber is more variable, with some workers (including the type) having a dark brown to black head and mesosoma.

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 8.69625° to 8.69625°.

 
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Neotropical Region: Costa Rica (type locality), Panama.

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

Castes

Nomenclature

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

  • osurus. Pseudomyrma levigata subsp. osura Forel, 1911e: 279 (w.) COSTA RICA. Junior synonym of faber: Kempf, 1958f: 449. Combination in Pseudomyrmex: Ward, 1989: 441. Revived from synonymy, raised to species and senior synonym of insularis: Ward, 1989: 441.
  • insularis. Pseudomyrma laevigata subsp. insularis Enzmann, E.V. 1944: 88 (w.) PANAMA. Junior synonym of faber: Kempf, 1958f: 449; of osurus: Ward, 1989: 441.

Description

Type Material

Syntype worker. Costa Rica (pittier) (Musee d'Histoire Naturelle Genève) [Examined].

Pseudomyrma laevigata subsp. insularis Holotype worker, Barro Colorado Island, Panama (location unknown) [not examined].

References

  • Forel, A. 1911g. Die Ameisen des K. Zoologischen Museums in München. Sitzungsber. Math.-Phys. Kl. K. Bayer. Akad. Wiss. Münch. 11: 249-303 (page 279, worker described)
  • Kempf, W. W. 1958f. Estudos sôbre Pseudomyrmex. II. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Stud. Entomol. (n.s.) 1: 433-462 (page 449, Junior synonym of faber)
  • 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 441, Combination in Pseudomyrmex, revived from synonymy, raised to species, and senior synonym of insularis: )

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • Brandao, C.R.F. 1991. Adendos ao catalogo abreviado das formigas da regiao neotropical (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Rev. Bras. Entomol. 35: 319-412.
  • Enzmann E. V. 1944. Systematic notes on the genus Pseudomyrma. Psyche (Camb.) 51: 59-103.
  • Fernández F., E. E. Palacio, W. P. Mackay, and E. S. MacKay. 1996. Introducción al estudio de las hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) de Colombia. Pp. 349-412 in: Andrade M. G., G. Amat García, and F. Fernández. (eds.) 1996. Insectos de Colombia. Estudios escogidos. Bogotá: Academia Colombiana de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, 541 pp
  • Fernández F., and E. E. Palacio. 1995. Hormigas de Colombia IV: nuevos registros de géneros y especies. Caldasia 17: 587-596.
  • Fernández, F. and S. Sendoya. 2004. Lista de las hormigas neotropicales. Biota Colombiana Volume 5, Number 1.
  • INBio Collection (via Gbif)
  • Longino J. et al. ADMAC project. Accessed on March 24th 2017 at https://sites.google.com/site/admacsite/
  • Rodriguez-Garza J. A., and J. J. Reynoso-Campos. 2013. Hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) del género Pseudomyrmex encontradas en el estado de Quintana Roo, México. In Formicidae de Mexico (eds. M. Vasquez-Bolanos, G. Castano-Meneses, A. Cisneros-Caballero, G. A. Quiroz-Rocha, and J. L. Navarrete-Heredia) p21-32.
  • Valdes-Rodriguez S., P. Chacon de Ulloa, and I. Armbrecht. 2014. Soil ant species in Gorgona Island, Colombian Pacific. Rev. Biol. Trop. 62 (1): 265-276.
  • Ward P. S. 1990. The Ant Subfamily Pseudomyrmecinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): Generic Revision and Relationship to Other Formicids. Systematic Entomology 15: 449-489
  • Ward, P. S. 1989. Systematic Studies on Pseudomyrmecine Ants: Revision of the Pseudomyrmex Oculatus and P. Subtilissimus Species Groups with Taxonomic Comments on Other Species. Questiones Entomologicae 25: 393-468