Temnothorax ciferrii

Present collection localities show an unusual disjunct distribution: Los Siete Hermanos islands, a group of small, uninhabited islands off the northern coast of Hispaniola and Jaragua National Park in southern Hispaniola.

Identification
Prebus (2021) – A member of the pulchellus group of the Temnothorax salvini clade. Temnothorax ciferrii can be separated from all other species in the salvini clade by the following character combination: head in full face view with posterior margin flat to slightly convex; antennal scapes very long, surpassing the posterior margin of the head by about two times the maximum width of the antennal scape; compound eyes relatively small, with nine to eleven ommatidia in the longest row; in profile view, dorsum of mesosoma evenly, strongly convex; pronotal declivity indistinct; metanotal groove not impressed; propodeum not depressed below the level of the promesonotum; propodeum bearing standing setae dorsally; propodeal spines longer than the propodeal declivity, directed posteriorly, and weakly downcurved; hind femora weakly to moderately incrassate; petiolar node flat and elongate dorsally; transition of dorsal to posterior face of petiolar node marked by an angle; in dorsal view, apex of petiolar node narrower or slightly wider than the caudal cylinder of the petiole; postpetiole very broad: greater than or equal to 2.3 times the width of the petiole; dorsum of head smooth and shining; petiolar node with four erect setae dorsally; setae on head, mesosoma, waist segments and gaster erect, moderately long, sparse and blunt (never long and tapering); integument variously colored: either predominantly dark brown, with the antennae, pronotal neck, propodeal spines, and tarsi testaceous, mandibles and tibiae nearly white, or: femora, meso- and metacoxae light yellow in addition to the previous color scheme, or: pronotum, procoxa, petiolar node, and base of gaster in yellow in addition to the previous color scheme.

Similar species: Temnothorax flavidulus, Temnothorax harlequina, Temnothorax hippolyta, Temnothorax magnabulla, Temnothorax pulchellus, and Temnothorax terricola. The erect setae count of four on the dorsum of the petiolar node differentiates T. ciferrii from T. terricola and T. hippolyta, which have only two along the posterior margin. The flat relatively small compound eyes, with nine to eleven ommatidia in the longest row, and dark integument separate T. ciferrii from T. flavidulus, which has 12 ommatidia in the longest row of the compound eye and is uniformly light yellow. The presence of erect setae on the propodeum distinguishes T. ciferrii from T. pulchellus. The strongly convex dorsal margin of the mesosoma and angulate transition between the dorsal and posterior faces of the petiolar node distinguishes T. ciferrii from T. magnabulla, in which the mesosoma is flatter and the petiolar node transition is evenly rounded. Temnothorax ciferrii and T. harlequina can be separated most easily by the color of the integument: T. harlequina has a light yellow gaster, whereas the gaster of T. ciferrii is always dark brown, or brown with the anterior quarter of the first gastral tergite yellowish. The structure of the clypeus may also be used to separate the two species: T. harlequina has an evenly convex anterior margin of the clypeus, whereas T. ciferrii has a medially flattened anterior clypeal margin. The medial two pairs of setae on the anterior clypeus margin may also be used to separate T. harlequina and T. ciferrii: in T. ciferrii, the setae flanking the central pair are thickened to nearly twice the width of the central pair, whereas in T. harlequina they are nearly the same width.

Baroni Urbani (1978) - T. ciferrii is similar to Temnothorax albispinus but differs with its smooth and shiny mesosoma and distinctive whitish spine. Also similar to Temnothorax terricola from Cuba but ciferrii is larger, > 2 mm, and has a black body; terricola is smaller > 2 mm and is brown. Also see the remarks in the nomenclature section below.

Distribution
Known from Los Siete Hermanos islands, a group of small, uninhabited islands off the northern coast of Hispaniola near Monte Cristi and Jaragua National Park in southern Hispaniola.

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

Biology
Temnothorax ciferrii is known from a few geographically distinct collections. The type series was collected from the Los Siete Hermanos islands, a group of small, uninhabited islands off the northern coast of Hispaniola near Monte Cristi, which are dominated by mangroves and xerophytic vegetation. Two additional series of workers and a dealate gyne were collected from Jaragua National Park in southern Hispaniola. The details of the type collection are not known, but the latter two were made from soil in low lying dry forest and leaf litter in mid-elevation transitional forest, respectively. The biology of this species remains unknown but is likely to be similar to other members of the ground or litter nesting, pan-Caribbean pulchellus group.

Nomenclature

 *  ciferrii. Macromischa (Antillaemyrmex) ciferrii Menozzi & Russo, 1930: 160, fig. 5 (w.) DOMINICAN REPUBLIC. Combination in Antillaemyrmex: Wheeler, W.M. 1931b: 32; in Leptothorax: Baroni Urbani, 1978b: 433; in Temnothorax: Bolton, 2003: 271.

Prebus (2021) - Temnothorax ciferrii is part of a large complex of species endemic to the island of Hispaniola and its smaller outlying islands, including T. flavidulus, T. wilsoni, T. balaclava, and T. bahoruco, none of which have been collected in sympatry. While it is possible to distinguish T. ciferrii from each of these taxa based on morphology, it remains to be seen whether this putative species is simply a variant of a widespread, morphologically diverse species. I have observed a couple of color variants of T. ciferrii, which were also noted by Baroni Urbani (1978): both have dark mesosomata, but the degree of infuscation on the legs varies (see worker images, figures 139 g-l, above in the caste section). In the first formal morphology-based phylogenetic work including this species, Fontenla Rizo (2000), while not including all of the taxa in Baroni Urbani's pulchellus group, corroborated these relationships to some degree, with the caveat that T. terricola and T. torrei fell outside of this group. Combined molecular and morphological analyses (Prebus, in prep.) mostly agree with Fontenla's analysis. The type specimens of T. ciferrii were not examined in this revision, so while the original description of T. ciferrii closely matches the characteristics of the more southern collections, these may be yet another, distinct member of the flavidulus complex.

As noted by Baroni Urbani (1978), this species closely resembles T. flavidulus, which is known only from the type specimens collected from Manneville, Haiti. Baroni Urbani (1978) uses the conformation of the postpetiole as a character that distinguishes T. flavidulus from T. ciferrii, with T. flavidulus having more angulate anterior corners of the postpetiole. My observations of the types of T. flavidulus offer several more distinguishing characteristics, for example the eye of T. flavidulus is distinctly larger than that of T. ciferrii.

Baroni Urbani (1978) - Temnothorax ciferrii e specie prossima a Temnothorax albispinus ed alla sua forma pallipes dell'isola Mona, per taglia, colorazione e morfologia generale e soprattutto per la morfologia delle spine propodeali e per il singolare sviluppo del postpeziolo. Le due specie sono peraltro facilmente distinguibili per alcuni dettagli morfologici minori che appaiono dalle rispettive figure e soprattutto per il peziolo (piu brevemente peduncolato in albispinus) e per il tegumento pressoche interamente liscio e lucidissimo in ciferrii in luogo di minutamente zigrinato ed opaco come in albispinus. Quest'ultimo carattere avvicina notevolmente ciferrii a Temnothorax terricola (Mann) di Cuba, tanto che per qualche tempo avevo considerato la possibilita di sinonimizzare le due specie. In base all'unico esemplare da me esaminato ciferrii differisce da terricola soprattutto per la taglia leggermente maggiore (cfr. tutte le misure qui citate) e per il colorito piceo. Lo stesso Menozzi, pero, nella descrizione originale, menziona la presenza di esemplari brunicci. I femori pero, sembrano costantemente colorati in modo diverso e lo scapo di ciferrii e anche proporzionalmente piu lungo (ISC 104,35, mentre, in terricola ISC > 113). Data anche l’allopatricita delle due popolazioni, la loro separazione specifica mi sembra pertanto la soluzione piu ragionevole

Worker
Prebus (2021) - (n = 9): SL = 0.405–0.462 (0.435); FRS = 0.146–0.190 (0.172); CW = 0.482–0.548 (0.505); CWb = 0.437–0.501 (0.454); PoOC = 0.194–0.214 (0.202); CL = 0.505–0.576 (0.535); EL = 0.115–0.140 (0.127); EW = 0.094–0.108 (0.102); MD = 0.122–0.139 (0.132); WL = 0.532–0.630 (0.578); SPST = 0.210–0.277 (0.236); MPST = 0.202–0.235 (0.214); PEL = 0.251–0.297 (0.269); NOL = 0.133–0.182 (0.151); NOH = 0.079–0.101 (0.092); PEH = 0.149–0.181 (0.168); PPL = 0.138–0.184 (0.156); PPH = 0.179–0.207 (0.196); PW = 0.303–0.366 (0.332); SBPA = 0.123–0.155 (0.138); SPTI = 0.210–0.276 (0.228); PEW = 0.116–0.142 (0.132); PNW = 0.111–0.134 (0.122); PPW = 0.300–0.349 (0.319); HFL = 0.387–0.450 (0.418); HFWmax = 0.109–0.132 (0.120); HFWmin = 0.039–0.056 (0.045); CS = 0.690–0.789 (0.722); ES = 0.165–0.193 (0.178); SI = 91–104 (96); OI = 24–25 (25); CI = 82–87 (85); WLI = 122–131 (127); SBI = 28–33 (30); PSI = 39–45 (41); PWI = 229–270 (243); PLI = 146–187 (173); NI = 148–194 (164); PNWI = 83–110 (93); NLI = 48–62 (56); FI = 227–321 (268).

In full-face view, head subquadrate, longer than broad (CI 82–87). Mandibles weakly striate, shining, and armed with five teeth: the apical-most well developed, followed by a less developed preapical tooth and three equally developed smaller teeth. Anterior clypeal margin entire and evenly rounded. Antennal scapes very long: when fully retracted, extending past the posterior margin of the head capsule by about two times the maximum width of the scape (SI 91–104). Antennae 12-segmented; antennal club of three segments, with the apical-most segment about as long as the preceding two in combination. Frontal carinae short, extending past the antennal toruli by about one and a half times the maximum width of the antennal scape. Compound eyes moderately protruding past the lateral margins of the head capsule. Lateral margin of head evenly convex, forming a continuous arc from the posterior of the head to the mandibular insertions. Posterior head margin weakly convex, rounding evenly into the lateral margins.

In profile view, compound eyes ovular and moderately large (OI 24–25), with 9 ommatidia in longest row. Pronotal declivity indistinct, neck and anterior face of pronotum forming a ~120° angle. Mesosoma strongly convex from where it joins the pronotal neck to the propodeal spines. Promesonotal suture extending from the posterior margin of the procoxal insertion only to the mesothoracic spiracle, which is well developed. Metanotal groove visible as a disruption of the sculpture laterally from where it arises between the mid- and hind coxae to where it ends in the poorly developed metathoracic spiracle. Propodeal spiracle poorly developed, directed posterolaterally, and separated from the propodeal declivity by about three spiracle diameters. Propodeal spines well developed and long (PSI 39-45), about one and a quarter times the length of the propodeal declivity, tapering evenly from the base, weakly downcurved, and acute. Propodeal declivity straight and flat, angled anteriorly so that it continues the even curve of dorsal surface of the mesosoma, forming a ~100° angle with the base of the propodeal spines. Propodeal lobes rounded and weakly developed. Metapleural gland bulla small, extending from the metacoxal insertion one quarter of the way to the propodeal spiracle. Petiole moderately long (PLI 146-187), without tubercles anterodorsally. Subpetiolar process in the form of a small, very acute tooth; ventral margin of petiole weakly concave posterior to it. Petiolar peduncle short: comprising roughly a third of the length of the petiole. Petiolar node robust: transition between peduncle and node marked by a rounded angle of ~150°, resulting in a weakly concave anterior node face; anterior face forming a ~120° angle with the dorsal face, which is long and weakly convex, nearly flat; dorsal face rounding evenly into the short posterior face, which forms a ~110° angle with the caudal cylinder. Postpetiole evenly rounded anteriorly, flattened dorsally, and weakly lobed ventrally.

In dorsal view, humeri not well developed: evenly rounding into the rest of the mesosoma; mesothoracic spiracles not protruding past the lateral margins of the mesosoma. Metanotal groove absent: mesonotum and propodeum completely fused and converging evenly to the bases of the propodeal spines. Propodeal spines closely approximated basally, and strongly diverging apically, their apices separated from each other by a little less than their length; negative space between them 'U' shaped. Petiolar peduncle with spiracles slightly protruding past the lateral margins, peduncle not noticeably constricted anterior to them. Petiolar node evenly ovate and narrowest anteriorly, slightly wider than the peduncle, and evenly grading into the caudal cylinder, which is slightly wider than the node. Postpetiole very broad (PWI 229-270) and campaniform, articulating with nearly the entire anterior margin of the gaster. Anterior margin of the postpetiole broadly convex, with the corners evenly rounding into the lateral margins, which diverge to the angulate posterior corners; posterior margin broadly concave. Metafemur weakly to strongly incrassate (FI 227-321).

Sculpture: median clypeal carina present, extending posteriorly nearly to frontal triangle. Lateral clypeal lobes with additional, weaker carinae; ground sculpture smooth and shining. Antennal scapes shining through weak ground sculpture. Cephalic dorsum smooth and shining. Pronotal neck areolate. Mesosoma with weak rugulae on the lateral face of the pronotum, mesopleurae, metapleurae and propodeal declivity; weak areolate sculpture surrounding the metanotal groove laterally; otherwise smooth and shining. Femora smooth and shining. Petiole smooth and shining ventrally, with very weak areolate sculpture on the peduncle and the lateral surfaces of the petiolar node; the dorsal surface of the node smooth and shining. Postpetiole entirely smooth and shining, with weak areolate sculpture on the posterior quarter. Gaster smooth and shining, without spectral iridescence.

Setae: antennal scapes and funiculi with short, adpressed pilosity. Dorsum of head, pronotum, waist segments and gaster with sparse, erect, blunt-tipped setae, the longest of which are about the length of the compound eye. The head bears ~24, mesosoma ~14, petiole 4, postpetiole ~10, and first gastral tergite ~20 setae. Short, sparse pubescence present over the entire body.

Color: predominantly dark brown, but with the antennae, pronotal neck, propodeal spines, and tarsi testaceous; the mandibles and tibiae nearly white.

Baroni Urbani (1978) - Capo corto a lati debolmente curvati passanti senza spigolo evidente nell'occipite. Bordo occipitale appena debolmente convesso. Clipeo a margine anteriore notevolmente prominente ed in forma di curva continua. Area frontale profondamente impressa, ma a margini poco evidenti. Occhi grandi ed abbastanza sporgenti. Mandibole armate di cinque denti minuti di grandezza crescente dal basale all'apicale. Antenne a scapo breve e curvato alla base: ripiegato all'indietro esso non raggiunge il margine occipitale. Funicoli a clava marcatamente triarticolata. Alitronco ad omeri prominenti ma arrotondati. Profilo dorsale in forma di curva continua fino all'inserzione delle spine propodeali. Sutura promesotoracica marcata sulle pleure. Una traccia impercettibile di sutura propodeale visibile solo come leggiera interruzione della scultura sulle pleure. Spine propodeali di media lunghezza, divergenti e curvate verso il basso. Incavo sottospinale lungo circa come l'estensione massima delle spine. Faccia discendente del propodeo continuante quasi quelle basale, difficilmente individuabile. Peziolo brevemente peduncolato e sormontato da un nodo alto a profilo subrettangolare. Postpeziolo campaniforme e globoso, circa quattro volte piu largo del peziolo alla base. Gastro senza angoli anteriori prominenti. Femori posteriori debolmente ingrossati. Colore del corpo interamente nero piceo, tendente al bruno con la base del gastro e le articolazioni piu chiare. Spine propodeali, salvo la base che e sempre bruna, bianchicce. Mandibole ed antenne testacee con il margine masticatorio e la clava imbruniti. Zampe, ad eccezione dei femori, bruni, interamente testacee. Tegumento perlopiu liscio e lucidissimo. Deboli tracce di striatura longitudinale sulle mandibole. Regione pleurale percorsa da una minutissima zigrinatura reticolare ordinata in cordoni longitudinali. Brevi peli eretti troncati o subclavati principalmente nella regione frontoclipeale, sull'alitronco, il peduncolo ed il gastro. Appendici ricoperte da minutissima pubescenza aderente, piu densa sulle antenne che sulle zampe.

Lunghezza totale 2,3 mm circa.

Dimensioni in mm ed indici: Lc 0,59; lc 0,49; Lsc 0,47; Lp 0,33; ap 0,18; lp 0,14; Lpp 0,18; lpp 0,34; IC 83,05; ISC 104,25; IAP 54,54; IP 42,42; IPP 188,89; IPA 41,18.

Queen
Prebus (2021) - (n = 1): SL = 0.552; FRS = 0.246; CW = 0.729; CWb = 0.68; PoOC = 0.259; CL = 0.667; EL = 0.209; EW = 0.165; MD = 0.144; WL = 1.141; SPST = 0.311; MPST = 0.299; PEL = 0.421; NOL = 0.225; NOH = 0.152; PEH = 0.272; PPL = 0.220; PPH = 0.332; PW = 0.696; SBPA = 0.350; SPTI = 0.310; PEW = 0.194; PNW = 0.194; PPW = 0.521; HFL = 0.653; HFWmax = 0.130; HFWmin = 0.052; CS = 1.014; ES = 0.292; SI = 81; OI = 29; CI = 102; WLI = 168; SBI = 51; PSI = 27; PWI = 269; PLI = 191; NI = 148; PNWI = 100; NLI = 53; FI = 250.

In full-face view, head subquadrate, slightly broader than long (CI 102). Mandibles weakly striate, shining, and armed with five teeth: the apical-most well developed, followed by a less developed preapical tooth and three equally developed smaller teeth. Anterior clypeal margin flat medially. Antennal scapes long: when fully retracted, surpassing the posterior margin of the head capsule by about one and a half times the maximum width of the antennal scape (SI 81). Antennae 12-segmented; antennal club of three segments, with the apical-most segment as long as the preceding two in combination. Frontal carinae long, extending past the antennal toruli by about five times the maximum width of the antennal scape. Compound eyes moderately protruding past the lateral margins of the head capsule. Lateral margin of head evenly convex, forming a continuous arc from the posterior of the head, but narrowing as they join the mandibular insertions. Posterior head margin very slightly convex, rounding evenly into the lateral margins.

In profile view, compound eyes teardrop-ovular and large (OI 29), with 16 ommatidia in the longest row. Mesoscutum rounded evenly anteriorly, covering the dorsal surface of the pronotum, and flat dorsally. Mesoscutellum on the same plane as the mesoscutum, and evenly rounded posteriorly. Posterior margin of metanotum extending slightly past the posterior margin of the mesoscutum. Propodeal spiracle poorly developed, directed posterolaterally, and separated from the propodeal declivity by about 4 spiracle diameters. Propodeal spines stout and well developed, but short (PSI 27), about half as long as the propodeal declivity, tapering evenly from the base, directed posteriorly, very slightly downcurved, and acute. Metapleural gland bulla small, extending from the metacoxal insertion a quarter of the way to the propodeal spiracle. Propodeal declivity weakly concave, forming a ~90° angle with the base of the propodeal spines. Propodeal lobes rounded and weakly developed. Petiole moderately long (PLI 191), without tubercles anterodorsally. Subpetiolar process a small, very acute tooth, which grades evenly into the ventral margin of the petiole posteriorly. Petiolar peduncle short: petiolar node covering most of the petiolar dorsum. Petiolar node erect: transition between peduncle and node evenly rounded, resulting in a concave anterior node face; anterior face of node forming a sharp ~90° angle with the dorsal face, which even rounds into the posterior margin, which forms a rounded ~100° angle with the caudal cylinder. Postpetiole evenly rounded anterodorsally, flattened dorsally; ventral surface weakly lobed.

In dorsal view, mesoscutum covering pronotum anteriorly, but humeri visible laterally as rounded sclerites. Propodeal spines straight and directed posteriorly, not diverging, their apices separated by about one and a half times their length. Petiolar peduncle with spiracles slightly protruding past the lateral margins. Petiolar node trapezoidal and widest anteriorly, with the anterodorsal margin slightly emarginated. Petiolar node slightly narrower than the peduncle, and evenly grading into the caudal cylinder, which is roughly the same width as the node. Postpetiole very broad (PWI 269), somewhat anteroposteriorly compressed, and campaniform, articulating with most of the anterior margin of the gaster, leaving small, angulate margins on each side exposed. Anterior margin of the postpetiole flat, with corners evenly rounding into the lateral margins, which evenly diverge to the angulate posterior corners; posterior margin medially emarginate. Metafemur moderately incrassate (FI 250).

Sculpture: median clypeal carina present, extending posteriorly from the anterior clypeal margin to the antennal toruli; flanked by two equally strong carinae. Lateral clypeal lobes with additional weaker carinae; ground sculpture smooth and shining. Antennal scapes shining through very weak, indistinct areolate ground sculpture. Cephalic dorsum predominantly shining, but with weak costulate sculpture surrounding the frontal carinae, and rugose sculpture surrounding the compound eye, extending to the mandibular insertions. Pronotal neck strongly areolate. Pronotum smooth and shining with traces of weak areolate sculpture. Katepisternum smooth and shining; anepisternum mostly smooth and shining, but with dense areolate sculpture dorsally. Propodeum with dense areolate sculpture laterally, with superimposed rugae that continue onto the ventroposterior surface; otherwise propodeum smooth and shining. Mesoscutum predominantly smooth and shining, but with weak costulae posteromedially. Mesoscutellum smooth and shining. Femora smooth and shining, with traces weak areolate sculpture. Petiolar peduncle smooth and shining anteroventrally. Lateral surfaces of petiole with areolate-rugulose sculpture; dorsal surface entirely smooth and shining. Dorsal surface of postpetiole smooth and shining, with weak areolate sculpture on the posterior quarter, and on the lateral surfaces. Gaster smooth and shining, with very weak spectral iridescence. Surface of the first gastral sternite smooth and shining.

Setae: antennal scapes and funiculi with short, adpressed pilosity. Dorsum of head, pronotum, waist segments and gaster with sparse, erect, blunt-tipped setae, the longest of which are about a third of the width of the compound eye. Short, sparse pubescence present over the entire body.

Color: predominantly dark brown, but with the antennae, pronotal neck, propodeal spines, and tarsi testaceous; the mandibles and tibiae nearly white. Femora light brown distally, grading into light yellow proximally.

Type Material
Prebus (2021) - Macromischa (Antillaemyrmex) ciferrii Syntype workers: DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: Monti Cristi: Isole Los Siete Hermanos. not examined

Baroni Urbani (1978) - SANTO DOMINGO: Isole Los Siete Hermanos, 1 sintipo senza data e recante l'indicazione posteriore ed erronea di Russo come raccoglitore.

Etymology
Questa bella formica dedicata al Dr. R. Ciferri, Direttore della Stazione Nazionale Agrollomica di Moca, fu da lui raccolta aUe isole Los Sietes Hermanos.

Prebus (2021) - Patronym, in honor of the collector of the type series, R. Ciferri, Director of the Moca National Agronomic Station.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Baroni Urbani C. 1978. Materiali per una revisione dei Leptothorax neotropicali appartenenti al sottogenere Macromischa Roger, n. comb. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Entomol. Basil. 3: 395-618.
 * Brandao, C.R.F. 1991. Adendos ao catalogo abreviado das formigas da regiao neotropical (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Rev. Bras. Entomol. 35: 319-412.
 * Kempf, W.W. 1972. Catalago abreviado das formigas da regiao Neotropical (Hym. Formicidae) Studia Entomologica 15(1-4).
 * Menozzi C, Russo G. 1930. Contributo alla conoscenza della mirmecofauna della Repubblica Dominicana (Antille). Bollettino del Laboratorio di Zoologia Generale e Agraria della Reale Scuola Superiore d'Agricoltura. Portici. 24: 148-173.
 * Perez-Gelabert D. E. 2008. Arthropods of Hispaniola (Dominican Republic and Haiti): A checklist and bibliography. Zootaxa 1831:1-530.
 * Wheeler W. M. 1931. New and little-known ants of the genera Macromischa, Creosomyrmex and Antillaemyrmex. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 72: 1-34.
 * Wheeler W. M. 1937. Ants mostly from the mountains of Cuba. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology. 81: 439-465.