Strumigenys elongata group

Strumigenys elongata group Bolton (2000)

Species

Neotropical-Nearctic

Worker Diagnosis

Apical fork of mandible without trace of intercalary teeth or denticles. Mandible without trace of preapical dentition of any form. MI 55-63.

Leading edge of scape with two or more hairs curved or directed toward the base of the scape. Scape slender, subcylindrical, the subbasal curve shallow; moderate to long, SI 84-97.

Preocular carina in profile straight, running above eye and usually terminates at about level of midlength of eye, but may be slightly longer or shorter.

Ventrolateral margin of head not indented nor deeply concave in front of eye, at most very shallowly concave. Postbuccal groove obtuse and shallow.

Propodeum with slender short spines sub tended by a carina or narrow concave lamella on the declivity; without a sharp tooth or spine at base of declivity although a small rounded lobe may occur.

Ventral surface of petiole without a spongiform crest or curtain, or at most with a minute lobe posteroventrally; a cuticular carina may be present.

Pilosity. Pronotal humeral hair present, usually flagellate but sometimes filiform. Ground pilosity of head and alitrunk of curved spatulate hairs. Apicoscrobal hair present. Cephalic dorsum with one or two pairs of standing hairs, always a pair near the occipital margin. Mesonotum with a pair of standing hairs.

Sculpture. Head and alitrunk reticulate-punctate; a smooth area present on mesopleuron, metapleuron or both. First gastral tergite smooth behind basigastral costulae.

Notes

The five species included here form a compact and, apart from consanii, a very uniform group of similar species, which appears to be extremely closely related to the emeryi group. When first mentioned by Brown (1954c) the group contained Strumigenys elongata and Strumigenys consanii, that are still included, but it also contained the disparate species Strumigenys ludia and Strumigenys precava. Brown (1962b) later excluded the first of these and the subsequent discoveries of the species Strumigenys princeps and Strumigenys thomae have made it obvious that precava should also be excluded. Most species of the group are of fairly limited distribution, but elongata is one of the most successful, widely distributed and most commonly collected members of Strumigenys in the Neotropical region.

References

Baroni Urbani, C. & De Andrade, M.L. 2007. The ant tribe Dacetini: limits and constituent genera, with descriptions of new species. Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale “G. Doria” 99:1-191.
Bolton, B. 2000. The ant tribe Dacetini. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute. 65:1-1028.
Brown, W. L., Jr. 1954. The neotropical species of the ant genus Strumigenys Fr. Smith: group of elongata Roger. Journal of the New York Entomological Society. 61:189-200.
Brown, W. L., Jr. 1962. The neotropical species of the ant genus Strumigenys Fr. Smith: synopsis and keys to the species. Psyche. 69:238-267.