Cephalotes alveolatus

One of a number of Cephalotes fossil species that are known from Dominican amber.

Identification
A member of the coffeae clade characterised, in the worker, by the body with abundant, erect, clubbed hairs. Shares with Cephalotes ventriosus, Cephalotes sucinus and Cephalotes obscurus the vertex with a pair of denticles and differs from these three species for having the hind femora not angulate. C. alveolatus is the sole species of the clade with abundant clavate hairs. (de Andrade and Baroni Urbani 1999)

Key to Cephalotes Workers

Distribution
This taxon was described from Dominican Amber (Miocene).

Nomenclature

 * † alveolatus. †Zacryptocerus alveolatus Vierbergen & Scheven, 1995: 166, fig. 9 (w.) DOMINICAN AMBER (Miocene). Combination in Cephalotes: De Andrade & Baroni Urbani, 1999: 537.

Worker
de Andrade and Baroni Urbani (1999) - Head subquadrate. Frontal carinae crenulate and not upturned above the eyes. Vertexal angles broad, truncate and with superficially crenulate margin. Vertexal margin concave. Vertex with a pair of denticles. Mandibles laterally angulate.

Mesosoma. Scapular angles absent or not visible in dorsal view. Anterior pronotal border straight, protruding anteriorly and passing into the sides with a long, weak concavity. Pronotal sides with a pair of broad, long, anteriorly truncate and posteriorly converging lamellae with semi-transparent border. Promesonotal suture weakly marked. Sides of the mesonotum armed with a pair of round or obtuse teeth. Propodeal suture impressed. Propodeum with differentiate basal and declivous faces; sides of the basal face delimited anteriorly and posteriorly by an angle or by small denticles; declivous face of the propodeum converging posteriorly.

Petiole. Anterior face truncate; posterior face convex. Petiolar sides, medially, with a pair of obtuse denticles. Postpetiole convex and with a laterally carinate median sulcus; anterior half of the postpetiolar sides with a pair of round teeth arising from the anterior border of the postpetiole and directed slightly forward.

Gaster suboval, with a pair of anterolateral, lamellae not surpassing the stigma posteriorly.

Fore coxae gently angulate. Mid and hind femora not angulate. Mid and hind basitarsi flat and broad at the base.

Sculpture. Head minutely punctate and densely covered with foveae on the posterior third; the foveae sparser, smaller and more superficial on the two anterior thirds. Ventral face of the head with the same type of sculpture as the anterior part of the head dorsum and superimposed by irregular, thin, longitudinal rugosities. Mesosoma and peduncular segments minutely reticulate-punctate and with dense foveae. Pleurae reticulate and with longitudinal, rugosities. First gastral tergite densely covered with broad reticulation-foveolation. Legs and first gastral sternite strongly reticulate; the same sculpture but less impressed on the remaining tergites and sternites.

Pilosity. Body with the following types of hairs: (1) appressed hairs originating from the foveae; similar hairs but not originating from foveae on the first gastral tergite and sternite; (2) short, clubbed hairs on the crenulation of the frontal carinae, on the border of the vertexal angles, on the sides of the mesosoma, and, denser, on the peduncular segments, on the gaster and on the legs; (3) hairs similar to type (2) but thinner and longer sparse on the gastral sternites; (4) rare, long, pointed hairs on the gastral sternites.

Colour. Based on the specimen DO-1980 (altered by burning in the holotype): frontal carinae, vertexal angles and border of the pronotal lamellae black; anterolateral lamellae of the gaster ferruginous and semi-transparent. The gastral lamellae appear slightly dark ferruginous in the holotype.

Measurements (in mm) and indices: TL 5.56-6.32; HL 1.32-1.46; HW 1.64-1.88; EL 0.34-0.36; PW 1.52-1.72; PeW 0.54-0.56; PpW 0.56-0.64; HBaL 0.56-0.60; HBaW 0.24; CI 124.2-128.8; PI 107.9-109.3; PPeI 281.5-307.1 PPpI 268.7-271.4; HBaI 40.0-42.8.

Type Material
Worker. Dominican amber. Type material: Holotype (unique) in the JSHC, examined.