Cephalotes taino

Considering the young age of Dominican copal as given by Schlee (1984), i. e. less than 280 years, this species may still be discovered on the island of Hispaniola today. It is noteworthy that both copal species described here from the Dominican Republic (taino and resinae) but none of the much more numerous true fossils from Dominican amber belong to the recent Hispaniolan endemic hamulus clade. (de Andrade and Baroni Urbani 1999)

Identification
A member of the hamulus clade characterised by the following combination of characters: body striation sinuous and first gastral tergite entirely reddish brown. C. taino shows clear relationships with the recent species Cephalotes flavigaster and Cephalotes argentiventris. The three species share the sinuous body sculpture, the absence of rugosities on the anterior fourth of the gastral dorsum and the basal face of the propodeum narrow. In particular, C. taino shares with flavigaster and vinosus the first gastral tergite contrasting in colour with the other body parts, but vinosus differs from taino for its much denser pilosity and more regular striae. The most remarkable character of taino is the presence of relatively deep piligerous foveae on the gastral dorsum. Such foveae are less impressed in both flavigaster and ''argentiventris. C. taino shares also with the other copal species, Cephalotes resinae, the pilosity hiding the sculpture on the basal face of the propodeum, but resinae differs from Cephalotes taino'' by its more regular striation and by its completely black body. (de Andrade and Baroni Urbani 1999)

Species included in the clade: Cephalotes argentiventris, Cephalotes auricomus, Cephalotes flavigaster, Cephalotes hamulus, Cephalotes resinae, Cephalotes taino, Cephalotes unimaculatus, Cephalotes vinosus.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Neotropical Region: Dominican Republic, Greater Antilles.

Nomenclature

 *  taino. Cephalotes taino De Andrade, in De Andrade & Baroni Urbani, 1999: 106, fig. 36 (w.) DOMINICAN REPUBLIC (in copal).

Worker
Vertexal angles round, with crenulate margin; vertexal margin gently concave medially. Vertex with a trace of transverse carina. Anterior clypeal border concave in the middle and bearing two small lateral teeth. Eyes convex. Mandibles without lateral carinae, robust and directed ventrally.

Mesosoma robust, convex in side view. Scapular angles bearing a small, rounded denticle. Anterior pronotal border marked by an impressed carina. Humeral angles with a pair of stout spines with subround tips, directed anterolaterally. Pro notal sides straight, ending in a rounded tooth visible in dorsal view. Promesonotal suture laterally impressed. Mesonotal teeth minute. Propodeal suture deeply impressed dorsally. Propodeum with differentiate basal and declivous faces, ca. 1/4 narrower than the mesonotum. Basal face of propodeum ca. 1/3 broader than long, with subparallel sides anteriorly and with a pair of small anterior denticles; declivous face as long as the basal one, with posteriorly slightly converging sides. Propodeal spines shorter than the basal face of the propodeum, thin and diverging.

Petiole ca. 1/3 broader than long, its anterior face truncated and marginate dorsally by a crenulate carina interrupted in the middle; its sides gently converging posteriorly in a pair of small pointed teeth medially. Postpetiole ca. 1/2 broader than and as long as the petiole; postpetiolar spines pointed, inserted anteriorly and curved backwards.

Gaster and legs as in the other species of the group.

Sculpture. Head minutely reticulate; vertexal area covered by broad impressions or foveae gradually shallower towards the eyes, sparser to rare on the anterior part of the head dorsum. Frontal carinae superficially reticulate and faintly rugulose. Ventral side of the head laterally covered by thick, sinuous striae. Hypostomal area deeply reticulate. Cheeks reticulate and superficially rugulose.

Mesosoma, petiole and postpetiole covered by superficial reticulation and irregular, thick striae ordered longitudinally on the middle of the mesosoma. Declivous face of the propodeum with few longitudinal striae.

First gastral tergite superficially reticulate and with faint, minute, superficial foveae. Corresponding sternite with superficial longitudinal rugosities on the anterior half of the sides, the rest with impressed reticulation and rare foveae smaller than those on the first gastral tergite.

Legs as in argentiventris but with the rugosities on the distal part of the femora more regular.

Pilosity. Body with the following types of hairs: (1) truncate, erect to suberect, of variable size on the whole body; (2) appressed, long, sparse on the vertexal area, on the pronotum, on the mesonotum and on the pedicel, slightly denser on the propodeum and on the first gastral tergite, rare on the legs; (3) thin, long and pointed on the gastral sternites.

Colour. Black. Frontal carinae, scapes, tips of the propodeal spines, and tarsomeres dark orange to light brown. Gaster reddish-brown.

Measurements (in mm) and indices: TL 6.48; HL 1.64; HW 1.80; EL 0.44; PW 1.56; PeW 0.64; PpW 0.84; HBaL 0.68; HBaW 0.17; CI 109.7; PI 115.4; PPeI 243.7; PPpI 185.7; HBaI 25.0.

Type Material
Holotype worker (unique) in the Dominican copal sample Do-3014 in the.

Etymology
From "Taino", the name of the inhabitants of the island of Hispaniola at the time of the European arrival in the Caribic.