Cephalotes complanatus

Identification
A member of the basalis clade characterised, in the worker, by the following combination of characters: frontal carinae weakly upturned over the eyes and ending in a triangular angle, in the soldier, by the frontal carinae upturned before the eyes up to the vertexal angles, and, in the gyne, by the first gastral tergite with a pair of orange spots not covered by hairs. Workers of C. complanatus from Mato Grosso, Brazil differ from those of the other localities for the frontal carinae reduced to a thin margin over and behind the eyes and for the vertexal angles, obtuse. Small soldiers, in general, differ from the large ones by having the foveae denser and more impressed, and for the body more opaque. (de Andrade and Baroni Urbani 1999)

Distribution
French Guiana, Suriname, Brazil, Peru, Bolivia and Colombia

This taxon was described from French Guiana.

Nomenclature

 *  complanatus. Cryptocerus complanatus Guérin-Méneville, 1844a: 424 (w.) FRENCH GUIANA. Mann, 1916: 451 (s.); De Andrade & Baroni Urbani, 1999: 257 (q.). Combination in Cryptocerus (Paracryptocerus): Emery, 1915i: 192; in Paracryptocerus: Kempf, 1951: 193; in Zacryptocerus: Brandão, 1991: 385; in Cephalotes: Baroni Urbani, 1998: 320. Senior synonym of angulatus: Emery, 1924d: 307; of amazonensis: Kempf, 1951: 193.
 * angulatus. Cryptocerus angulatus Smith, F. 1858b: 189 (w.) BRAZIL. Junior synonym of complanatus: Emery, 1924d: 307.
 * amazonensis. Cryptocerus multispinus var. amazonensis Forel, 1911e: 261 (w.) BRAZIL. Combination in Cryptocerus (Paracryptocerus): Emery, 1924d: 307. Junior synonym of complanatus: Kempf, 1951: 193.

Worker
Kempf (1951) - Length 6.9 mm. Median head length 1.68 mm; Weber's length of thorax 2,04 mm. Black; the following fuscous ferruginous: apex of mandibles, three apical tarsal segments. Tips of last funicular segment yellowish-brown.

Head subopaque, subquadrate. Mandibles finely reticulate-punctate, finely longitudinally rugulose. Sides of head very little sinuate, somewhat converging anteriorly, frontal carinae curved mesad, forming a blunt, small tooth in front of the eye, prolonged behind as a distinct carina, reaching the occipital corner, very scarcely upturned above the eye. Occipital corner forming a distinct angle. Occipital border emarginate mesally, sharply crested laterad. Upper surface of head very little convex, finely reticulate-punctate, more sparsely covered with shallow, oval grooves, each containing a conspicuous, usually canaliculate, silvery, appressed scale. Cheeks strongly carinate below, densely covered with large, canaliculate, silvery scales. Lower surface of head more fulgid, with sparser scales.

Thorax subopaque. Sides of lateral pronotal plates somewhat converging behind, anterior corner angulate, posterior corner rounded. Promesonotal suture obsolete. Mesonotum with a strong lateral spine. Mesoepinotal suture vestigial. Basal face of epinotum with a large, broad triangular, plate-like tooth on each side and a posterior rather short, slender, acuminate spine, projecting obliquely backward, much shorter than the length of the basal face. Promesonotum, in profile, somewhat convex. Posterior border of basal face of epinotum submarginate. Sides of declivous face carinate. Dorsum of thorax finely reticulate-punctate, with sparse, squamiferous foveolae, the scales being appressed and canaliculate. Laterotergite of pronotum longitudinally striated. Declivous face very finely, superficially reticulate. Tibiae prismatic.

Petiole and postpetiole subopaque, with a vestigial longitudinal medial carinule above, beginning behind the anterior border on the postpetiole. Spines of petiole upturned and slightly recurved.

Gaster subopaque, elongate, cordiform, shallowly emarginate anteriorly mesad; with an anterolateral foliaceous border. Sculpture as on dorsum of thorax, foveolae only vestigial, scales slender, simple. Erect hair confined to the terminal tergites and the sternites.

de Andrade and Baroni Urbani (1999) - Measurements (in mm) and indices: TL 4.44-7.88; HL 1.12-1.92; HW 1.36-2.28; EL 0.38-0.53; PW 1.28-2.16; PeW 0.88-1.60; PpW 0.80-1.36; HBaL 0.45-0.76; HBaW 0.19-0.32; CI 121.4-135.0; PI 105.5-114.9; PPeI 130.0-146.8; PPpI 139.1-160.0; HBaI 40.0-42.2.

Soldier
de Andrade and Baroni Urbani (1999) - Head strongly convex, without disc. Frontal carinae broad anteriorly, slightly converging and upturned before the beginning of the eyes and ending in the vertexal angles. Vertexal angles obtuse. Vertex with a pair of median, small denticles connected each other by a faint carina. Mandibles with a thick, lateral carina.

Mesosoma. Humeral angles with a broad lateral lamella, its anterior border making a straight angle with the sides and converging posteriorly. Pronotal carina thick, strongly marked and broadly interrupted in the middle by a superficial notch. Promesonotal and propodeal sutures impressed. Mesonotum with a broad, round, protruding tooth. Propodeum clearly differentiated in basal and declivous faces. Basal face narrow anteriorly, strongly diverging posteriorly to a pair of broad, round expansions and followed by a pair of subround teeth.

Petiole with distinctly differentiated anterior and posterior faces. Anterior face truncate and separated from the posterior one by a superficial carina; posterior face sloping backwards. Petiolar spines as long as the petiolar length; their base almost as broad as the sides of the petiole, curved back- and upwards. Postpetiole with anterior and posterior faces; anterior face truncate, high and separate from the posterior one by a carina shortly interrupted in the middle. Postpetiolar spines arising from the anterior face of the postpetiole, ending on the middle of the postpetiolar sides, thick and directed laterally.

Gaster oval, with a broad lamella reaching the stigma posteriorly.

Legs. Fore coxae tumuliform anteriorly. Fore femora broad, not angulate. Outer face of the mid and hind femora with a pair of denticles on the middle. Mid and hind basitarsi flat; their base twice broader than the apex.

Sculpture. Head minutely and superficially reticulate-punctate, covered by faint, small, foveae smaller than their interspaces. Mesosoma with the same type of sculpture as the head dorsum, but with larger and denser foveae on the sides of the pronotum, on the propodeum and on the propleurae. Pedicel, lower meso- and metapleurae, distal part of the outer face of the femora, outer face of the tibiae and anterolateral third of the first gastral tergite with dense, oval foveae. Declivous face of the propodeum, upper part of the meso- and metapleurae, anterior face of the pedicel, legs, and first gastral sternite reticulate-punctate, almost shining, with minute, superficial foveae on the sternite. Remaining part of the first gastral tergite superficially reticulate-punctate and with small, superficial foveae.

Pilosity. Each fovea bears a thick, appressed, hair of thickness proportional to the size of the fovea. Legs with rare, appressed, short and thin hairs. Border of the gastral segments with long, slightly clavate hairs; similar hairs but more clavate on the legs. Border of the sternites with rare, long, pointed hairs.

Colour. Black almost shining. Tip of the last funicular joints orange.

Measurements (in mm) and indices: TL 9.04-1 0.04; HL 2.32-2.60; HW 2.76-2.96; EL 0.56-0.64; PW 2.60-2.88; PeW 1 .60-1.92; PpW 1 .40-1 .72; HBaL 0.80-0.84; HBaW 0.32-0.36; CI 113.8-119.0; PI 102.4-106.1; PPeI 150.0-162.51; PPpI 167.4-185.7; HBaI 40.0-45.0.

Queen
de Andrade and Baroni Urbani (1999) - Head as in the soldier, but less convex, with the frontal carinae less broad and less upturned over the eyes. Vertexal angles more pointed. Ocelli far from the vertexal margin.

Mesosoma gently convex in profile. Pronotal sides angulate only. Pronotal carina superficially marked on the sides. Mesonotum flat in side view. Lower mesopleurae with a lateral tooth. Sides of the basal face of the propodeum with two pairs of teeth, the first pair broad and subtriangular, the second pair with parallel, not diverging, external sides, longer and more pointed than the first one. Declivous face of the propodeum with posteriorly converging sides.

Petiole with distinctly differentiate anterior and posterior faces; anterior face oblique truncate; posterior face sloping backwards. Petiolar sides with pointed, lateral spines slightly directed up- and backwards. Postpetiole convex; its anterior face higher than the petiolar dorsum; posterior face of the postpetiole not clearly separate from the anterior one by a "V" shaped carina; postpetiolar spines broad, short, pointed and directed laterally.

Gaster anterolaterally with protruding lobes and with a margin not reaching the stigma backwards.

Legs. As in the soldier.

Sculpture. Head minutely and superficially punctate, covered by superficial, small, variably clumped foveae. Ventral face of the head superficially with large, sparse foveae. Mesosoma with the same type of sculpture as the head dorsum, but with larger and denser foveae on the sides of the pronotum, on the propodeum, on the propleurae and on the lower mesopleurae. Posterior face of the petiole and of the postpetiole with dense, oval foveae; similar sculpture but with foveae smaller on the distal part of the outer face of the femora and on the outer face of the tibiae. Upper mesopleurae with dense, small foveae. Declivous face of the propodeum, anterior face of the pedicel, upper metapleurae, first sternite and femora minutely and superficially reticulate-punctate, almost shining; this same type of sculpture but more impressed and opaque on the lower metapleurae and on the remaining parts of the legs. First gastral tergite minutely and superficially punctate and shining.

Pilosity. Each fovea bears a thick, appressed, hair of thickness proportional to the size of the fovea. Legs and gaster with appressed, short, thin hairs, denser on the gaster. Border of the gastral segments with long, slightly clavate hairs; similar hairs but shorter on the first sternite. Legs with short, sparse, clavate hairs. Border of the sternites with rare, long, pointed hairs.

Colour. Black shining. First gastral tergite with a pair of orange spots on the anterolateral third.

Measurements (in mm) and indices: TL 11.84-12.48; HL 2.48-2.52; HW 2.78-2.80; EL 0.56-0.60; PW 2.64-2.68; PeW 1.36-1.52; PpW 1.48-1.64; HBaL 0.90-0.96; HBaW 0.37-0.38; CI 110.3-112.9; PI 104.5-105.3; PPeI 176.3-194.1; PPpI 163.4-178.4; HBaI 39.6-42.1.

Type Material


de Andrade and Baroni Urbani (1999):

Worker. Type locality: Cayenne, French Guyana. Type material presumably lost, not in the. A specimen (but not a type) labelled complanatus from Magdalena, Colombia in the Guerin collection at the ZSMC is actually C. femoralis.

Cryptocerus angulatus. Soldier. Type locality: Tunantins (Brazil). Type material: soldier in the Museum of the Department of Entomology, University of Oxford (Kempf: 1959: 97), not available for the present study, and a soldier labelled "Tunantins" and "57 125" in the, examined.

Cryptocerus multipinus var. amazonensis. Worker. Type locality: Amazon. Type material: two syntype workers labelled "Amazonas, H. W. Bates S.", one in and one in ZSMC, examined.