Anochetus mayri

Anochetus mayri is widespread and regularly encountered in Central and South America. It is found mostly in forests under stones, in moss on rocks or logs, in rotten twigs on the forest floor, or in larger bodies of rotten wood. Colonies are small, often with only a few workers. The workers and queen feign death, and are difficult to see (Brown, 1978; Smith, 1936). It has been introduced into southern Florida where it is found in leaf litter and hollow twigs (Deyrup, 2002).

Identification
In the Neotropics there appears to be a confusing array of species similar to A. mayri, some of which may be geographic variants of that species (Brown 1978). There is some evidence that males may provide useful characters for separating the species in this complex (Brown 1978). We presume that the Florida population is derived from the West Indies. Florida specimens appear identical to specimens we have seen from Puerto Rico and St. John (the type locality is St. Thomas). In the U.S. there is no likelihood of confusing A. mayri with any other species, unless more Anochetus species are introduced.

Distribution
This species has been introduced from the Neotropics into Florida where it is a rare species in leaf litter and hollow twigs in Dade county (first found in 1987), and also Palm Beach Co. (found in 2002) (Deyrup 2002). It seems likely that the species will expand its range, as Dade and Palm Beach counties have numerous nurseries for tropical and subtropical plants, as well as a population of mobile humans who take their landscape plants to new residences.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Nearctic Region: United States. Neotropical Region: Barbados, Brazil, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, French Guiana, Greater Antilles, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Martinique, Mexico, Netherlands Antilles, Peru, Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia, Venezuela.

Biology
This widely distributed species is found in leaf litter where it is a predator of smaller arthropods. Collection of this species in Florida was detailed by Deyrup (2002). Individuals were found to be common in deep litter at the base of pines and oaks in an environmental teaching facility in West Palm Beach Co. The ant was not a dominant species (in terms of abundance), and was neither aggressive nor strongly defensive.

Puerto Rico
Wheeler (1908): Common under dead leaves and stones in the shade of the cafetals and platanals. The colonies are small, comprising only about a dozen individuals. Usually one finds isolated workers or females moving about under cover of the dead leaves in search of prey. The females seem to be apterous, although the thorax is large and of the usual structure. Specimens with distinct wing-stumps are rare. The larvae are covered with pointed tubercles and resemble those of Odontomachus; the cocoons are rather broad, lemon yellow, with a black meconial spot at the anal pole.

Chemistry
From Jones et al (1999) - Head extracts of A. mayri have been shown to contain 2,5-dimethyl-3-isoamylpyrazine and 3-methyl-4-phenylpyrrole. These compounds most likely are mandibular gland products and have a pheromonal role.

Nomenclature

 * . Anochetus mayri Emery, 1884a: 378 (diagnosis in key) (w.) VIRGIN IS (St Thomas I.).
 * Type-material: holotype(?) worker.
 * [Note: no indication of number of specimens is given.]
 * Type-locality: Virgin Is: St Thomas I. (no collector’s name).
 * Type-depository: MSNG.
 * Emery, 1890a: 65 (q.); Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1964b: 455 (l.).
 * Status as species: Forel, 1893g: 356; Emery, 1890a: 65; Dalla Torre, 1893: 48; Emery, 1894c: 187 (in key); Forel, 1897b: 298; Forel, 1905b: 156; Wheeler, W.M. 1905b: 121; Wheeler, W.M. 1908a: 125; Emery, 1911d: 110; Forel, 1912c: 29; Wheeler, W.M. 1913d: 239; Wheeler, W.M. & Mann, 1914: 15; Donisthorpe, 1915d: 336; Mann, 1916: 417; Wheeler, W.M. 1916c: 3; Borgmeier, 1923: 76; Donisthorpe, 1927b: 386; Santschi, 1931c: 270; Weber, 1934a: 23; Smith, M.R. 1937: 826; Kempf, 1961b: 497; Kempf, 1972a: 21; Alayo, 1974: 31; Brown, 1978c: 557, 617; Deyrup, et al. 1989: 94; Brandão, 1991: 325; Bolton, 1995b: 65; Deyrup, et al. 2000: 295; Deyrup, 2003: 44; Zabala, 2008: 133; Branstetter & Sáenz, 2012: 262; Bezděčková, et al. 2015: 123; Feitosa, 2015c: 98; Wetterer, et al. 2016: 7; Deyrup, 2017: 19; Fernández & Guerrero, 2019: 516; Lubertazzi, 2019: 73.
 * Senior synonym of laeviusculus: Brown, 1978c: 557; Brandão, 1991: 325; Bolton, 1995b: 64.
 * Distribution: Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, St Vincent & the Grenadines, U.S.A. (Florida), Venezuela, Virgin Is.
 * laeviusculus. Anochetus mayri subsp. laeviusculus Wheeler, W.M. 1911a: 22 (w.q.) JAMAICA.
 * Type-material: 10 syntype workers, 1 syntype queen.
 * Type-locality: Jamaica: Troy, 1909 (A.E. Wight).
 * Type-depository: AMNH.
 * [Misspelled as laevior by Aguayo, 1932: 216.]
 * Subspecies of mayri: Kempf, 1972a: 21; Alayo, 1974: 31.
 * Junior synonym of mayri: Brown, 1978c: 557, 618; Brandão, 1991: 325; Bolton, 1995b: 64.

Worker
This species was described in as much as it was included in a key. "Mandibole terminate con tre denti distinti, dei quali l' intermedio piu piccolo. Squama del picciuolo troncata superiormente o bidentata, metanoto con due denti. Squama con due denti." (Mandibles terminate with three distinct teeth, with the intermediate being smaller. The upper scale of the petiole truncated or bidentate, metanotum with two teeth. Scale with two teeth.)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Alayo D. P. 1974. Introduccion al estudio de los Himenopteros de Cuba. Superfamilia Formicoidea. Academia de Ciencias de Cuba. Instituto de Zoologia. Serie Biologica no.53: 58 pp. La Habana.
 * Alonso L. E., J. Persaud, and A. Williams. 2016. Biodiversity assessment survey of the south Rupununi Savannah, Guyana. BAT Survey Report No.1, 306 pages.
 * Barberena-Arias M. F., and T. M. Aide. 2003. Species Diversity and Trophic Composition of Litter Insects During Plant Secondary Succession. Caribbean Journal of Science 39(2): 161-169.
 * Boer P. 2019. Ants of Saba, species list. Accessed on January 22 2019 at http://www.nlmieren.nl/websitepages/SPECIES%20LIST%20SABA.html
 * Brandao, C.R.F. 1991. Adendos ao catalogo abreviado das formigas da regiao neotropical (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Rev. Bras. Entomol. 35: 319-412.
 * Carvalho Pereira L. P. 2012. Estrutura da comunidade de formigas poneromorfas (Hymenoptera:Formicidae) em uma área da Floresta Amazônica. Master Thesis Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro. 64 pages.
 * Castano-Meneses, G., M. Vasquez-Bolanos, J. L. Navarrete-Heredia, G. A. Quiroz-Rocha, and I. Alcala-Martinez. 2015. Avances de Formicidae de Mexico. Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico.
 * Dattilo W. et al. 2019. MEXICO ANTS: incidence and abundance along the Nearctic-Neotropical interface. Ecology https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2944
 * Del Toro, I., M. Vázquez, W.P. Mackay, P. Rojas and R. Zapata-Mata. Hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) de Tabasco: explorando la diversidad de la mirmecofauna en las selvas tropicales de baja altitud. Dugesiana 16(1):1-14.
 * Deyrup M., L. Davis, and S. Buckner. 1998. Composition of the ant fauna of three Bahamian islands. Proceedings of the seventh symposium on the natural history of the Bahamas. 23-32. Bahamian Field Station, San Salvador, Bahamas
 * Fernandes, P.R. XXXX. Los hormigas del suelo en Mexico: Diversidad, distribucion e importancia (Hymenoptera: Formicidae).
 * Fernández F. 2008. Subfamilia Ponerinae s.str. Pp. 123-218 in: Jiménez, E.; Fernández, F.; Arias, T.M.; Lozano-Zambrano F. H. (eds.) 2008. Sistemática, biogeografía y conservación de las hormigas cazadoras de Colombia. Bogotá: Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, xiv + 609 pp.
 * Fernández F., and T. M. Arias-Penna. 2008. Las hormigas cazadoras en la región Neotropical. Pp. 3-39 in: Jiménez, E.; Fernández, F.; Arias, T.M.; Lozano-Zambrano, F. H. (eds.) 2008. Sistemática, biogeografía y conservación de las hormigas cazadoras de Colombia. Bogotá: Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, xiv + 609 pp.
 * Fernández, F. and S. Sendoya. 2004. Lista de las hormigas neotropicales. Biota Colombiana Volume 5, Number 1.
 * Fontanla Rizo J.L. 1997. Lista preliminar de las hormigas de Cuba. Cocuyo 6: 18-21.
 * Fontenla J. L., and J. Alfonso-Simonetti. 2018. Classification of Cuban ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) into functional groups. Poeyana Revista Cubana de Zoologia 506: 21-30.
 * Fontenla Rizo J. L. 1993. Composición y estructura de comunidades de hormigas en un sistema de formaciones vegetales costeras. Poeyana. Instituto de Ecología y Sistemática, Academia de Ciencias de Cuba 441: 1-19.
 * Fontenla Rizo J. L. 1993. Mirmecofauna de Isla de la Juventud y de algunos cayos del archipielago cubano. Poeyana. Instituto de Ecologia y Sistematica, Academia de Ciencias de Cuba 444:1-7.
 * Fontenla Rizo J. L. 1997. Lista preliminar de las hormigas de Cuba (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Cocuyo 6: 18-21.
 * Forel A. 1897. Quelques Formicides de l'Antille de Grenada récoltés par M. H. H. Smith. Transactions of the Entomological Society of London. 1897: 297-300.
 * Forel A. 1905. Miscellanea myrmécologiques II (1905). Ann. Soc. Entomol. Belg. 49: 155-185.
 * Forel A. 1912. Formicides néotropiques. Part I. Annales de la Société Entomologique de Belgique. 56: 28-49.
 * 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.
 * Galkowski C. 2016. New data on the ants from the Guadeloupe (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Bull. Soc. Linn. Bordeaux 151, 44(1): 25-36.
 * Gonzales-Valvidia N. A., G. Gonzales-Escolastico, E. Barba, S. Hernandez-Daumas, and S. Ochoa-Gaona. 2013. Mirmecofauna associated with agroforestry systems in the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor in Tabasco, Mexico. Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad 84: 306-317.
 * Groc S., J. Orivel, A. Dejean, J. Martin, M. Etienne, B. Corbara, and J. H. C. Delabie. 2009. Baseline study of the leaf-litter ant fauna in a French Guianese forest. Insect Conservation and Diversity 2: 183-193.
 * INBio Collection (via Gbif)
 * Jacquemin J., T. Drouet, T. Delsinne, Y. Roisin, and M. Leponce. 2012. Soil properties only weakly affect subterranean ant distribution at small spatial scales. Applied Soil Ecology 62: 163-169.
 * Kempf W. W. 1961. A survey of the ants of the soil fauna in Surinam (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Studia Entomologica 4: 481-524.
 * Kempf, W.W. 1972. Catalago abreviado das formigas da regiao Neotropical (Hym. Formicidae) Studia Entomologica 15(1-4).
 * Kusnezov N. 1978. Hormigas argentinas: clave para su identificación. Miscelánea. Instituto Miguel Lillo 61:1-147 + 28 pl.
 * Lapolla, J.S., T. Suman, J. Soso-Calvo and T.R. Schultz. 2006. Leaf litter ant diversity in Guyana. Biodiversity and Conservation 16:491510
 * Longino J. T. L., and M. G. Branstetter. 2018. The truncated bell: an enigmatic but pervasive elevational diversity pattern in Middle American ants. Ecography 41: 1-12.
 * Longino J. et al. ADMAC project. Accessed on March 24th 2017 at https://sites.google.com/site/admacsite/
 * Longino, J.T. 2010. Personal Communication. Longino Collection Database
 * Lozano-Zambrano F. H., E. Jimenez, T. M. Arias-Penna, A. M. Arcila, J. Rodriguez, and D. P. Ramirez. 2008. Biogeografía de las hormigas cazadoras de Colombia. Pp. 349-406. in: Jiménez, E.; Fernández, F.; Arias, T.M.; Lozano-Zambrano, F. H. (eds.) 2008. Sistemática, biogeografía y conservación de las hormigas cazadoras de Colombia. Bogotá: Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, xiv + 609 pp.
 * Lubertazzi D. 2019. The ants of Hispaniola. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, 162(2): 59-210.
 * Maes, J.-M. and W.P. MacKay. 1993. Catalogo de las hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) de Nicaragua. Revista Nicaraguense de Entomologia 23.
 * Nascimento Santos M., J. H. C. Delabie, and J. M. Queiroz. 2019. Biodiversity conservation in urban parks: a study of ground-dwelling ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Rio de Janeiro City. Urban Ecosystems https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-019-00872-8
 * Olson D. M. 1991. A comparison of the efficacy of litter sifting and pitfall traps for sampling leaf litter ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in a tropical wet forest, Costa Rica. Biotropica 23(2): 166-172.
 * Orsolon-Souza G., C. E. L. Esberard, A. J. Mayhe-Nunes, A. B. Vargas, S. Veiga-Ferreira, and E. Folly-Ramos. 2011. Comparison between Winklers extractor and pitfall traps to estimate leaf litter ants richness (Formicidae) at a rainforest site in southest Brazil. Braz. J. Biol. 71(4): 873-880.
 * Osorio-Perez K., M. F. Barberena-Arias, and T. M. Aide. 2007. Changes in Ant Species Richness and Composition During Plant Secondary Succession in Puerto Rico. Caribbean Journal of Science 43(2): 244-253.
 * Ottonetti L., L. Tucci, F. Frizzi, G. Chelazzi, and G. Santini. 2010. Changes in ground-foraging ant assemblages along a disturbance gradient in a tropical agricultural landscape. Ethology Ecology & Evolution 22: 7386.
 * Perez-Gelabert D. E. 2008. Arthropods of Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti): A checklist and bibliography. Zootaxa 1831:1-530.
 * Pignalberi C. T. 1961. Contribución al conocimiento de los formícidos de la provincia de Santa Fé. Pp. 165-173 in: Comisión Investigación Científica; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (Argentina) 1961. Actas y trabajos del primer Congreso Sudamericano de Zoología (La Plata, 12-24 octubre 1959). Tomo III. Buenos Aires: Librart, 276 pp.
 * Pires de Prado L., R. M. Feitosa, S. Pinzon Triana, J. A. Munoz Gutierrez, G. X. Rousseau, R. Alves Silva, G. M. Siqueira, C. L. Caldas dos Santos, F. Veras Silva, T. Sanches Ranzani da Silva, A. Casadei-Ferreira, R. Rosa da Silva, and J. Andrade-Silva. 2019. An overview of the ant fauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the state of Maranhao, Brazil. Pap. Avulsos Zool. 59: e20195938.
 * Portuondo E. F., and J. L. Reyes. 2002. Mirmecofauna de los macizos montañosos de Sierra Maestra y Nipe-Sagua-Baracoa. Cocuyo 12: 10-13
 * Portuondo Ferrer E., and J. L. Fernández Triana. 2005. Species of hymenopterans (bees, wasps, and ants) recorded in Alejandro de Humboldt National Park, from literature records, revision of the collection at BIOECO, and collections before and during the rapid inventory, 12-22 February 2004. In Fong G., A., D. Maceira F., W. S. Alverson, y/and T. Wachter, eds. 2005. Cuba: Parque Nacional Alejandro de Humboldt. Rapid Biological Inventories Report 14. The Field Museum, Chicago.
 * Portuondo Ferrer, E. and J. Fernandez Triana. Biodiversidad del orden Hymenoptera en Los Macizos Montanosos de Cuba Oriental. Boletin S.E.A. 35:121-136.
 * Quiroz-Robledo, L.N. and J. Valenzuela-Gonzalez. 2007. Distribution of poneromorph ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the Mexican state of Morelos. Florida Entomologist 90(4):609-615
 * Reyes, J. L. "Inventario de la colección de hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) del Centro Oriental de Ecosistemas y Biodiversidad, Santiago de Cuba, Cuba." Boletín de la Sociedad Aragonesa 36 (2005): 279-283.
 * Salinas P. J. 2010. Catalogue of the ants of the Táchira State, Venezuela, with notes on their biodiversity, biogeography and ecology (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Amblyioponinae, Ponerinae, Proceratiinae, Myrmicinae, Ecitoninae, Formicinae, Pseudomyrmecinae, Dolichoderinae). Boletín de la SEA 47: 315-328.
 * Santschi F. 1931. Fourmis de Cuba et de Panama. Revista de Entomologia (Rio de Janeiro). 1: 265-282.
 * Silva R.R., and C. R. F. Brandao. 2014. Ecosystem-Wide Morphological Structure of Leaf-Litter Ant Communities along a Tropical Latitudinal Gradient. PLoSONE 9(3): e93049. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0093049
 * Smith M. R. 1937. The ants of Puerto Rico. Journal of Agriculture of the University of Puerto Rico 20: 819-875.
 * Sosa-Calvo J. 2007. Ants of the leaf litter of two plateaus in Eastern Suriname. In Alonso, L.E. and J.H. Mol (eds.). 2007. A rapid biological assessment of the Lely and Nassau plateaus, Suriname (with additional information on the Brownsberg Plateau). RAP Bulletin of Biological Assessment 43. Conservation International, Arlington, VA, USA.
 * Torres J.A. 1984. Niches and Coexistence of Ant Communities in Puerto Rico: Repeated Patterns. Biotropica 16(4): 284-295.
 * Torres, Juan A. and Roy R. Snelling. 1997. Biogeography of Puerto Rican ants: a non-equilibrium case?. Biodiversity and Conservation 6:1103-1121.
 * Vargas A. B., A. J. Mayhé-Nunes, J. M. Queroz, G. O. Souza, and E. F. Ramos. 2007. Effects of Environmental Factors on the Ant Fauna of Restinga Community in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Neotropical Entomology 36(1): 028-037
 * Vittar, F., and F. Cuezzo. "Hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) de la provincia de Santa Fe, Argentina." Revista de la Sociedad Entomológica Argentina (versión On-line ISSN 1851-7471) 67, no. 1-2 (2008).
 * Vásquez-Bolaños M. 2011. Lista de especies de hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) para México. Dugesiana 18: 95-133
 * Vásquez-Bolaños M., and A. Meza-Lopez. 2011. Primer registro del género Anochetus Mayr 1861 (Hymenoptera:Formicidae) para el estado de Jalisco, México. Acta Zoológica Mexicana (n.s.), 27(3)): 887-889.
 * Weber N. A. 1934. Notes on neotropical ants, including the descriptions of new forms. Revista de Entomologia (Rio de Janeiro) 4: 22-59.
 * Wheeler W. M. 1905. The ants of the Bahamas, with a list of the known West Indian species. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 21: 79-135.
 * Wheeler W. M. 1908. The ants of Porto Rico and the Virgin Islands. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 24: 117-158.
 * Wheeler W. M. 1916. Ants collected in British Guiana by the expedition of the American Museum of Natural History during 1911. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 35: 1-14.
 * Wheeler W. M., and W. M. Mann. 1914. The ants of Haiti. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 33: 1-61.
 * Wheeler, William Morton. 1911. Additions to the Ant-Fauna of Jamaica. Bulletin American Museum of Natural History. 30:21-29.
 * Wheeler, William Morton. 1911. Ants Collected in Grenada, W.I. by Mr. C. T. Brues. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparitive Zoology at Harvard College. 54(5):166-172.