Syllophopsis subcoeca

Syllophopsis subcoeca was described in 1894 from St Thomas, US Virgin Islands. This remained the sole published record of S. subcoeca for more than 100 years. Wetterer & Sharaf (2021) documented a greatly expanded known geographic distribution of S. subcoeca in both the New World and the Old World. These included 59 New World sites on 12 West Indian islands (Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Nevis, St Croix, St John, St. Kitts, St Lucia, Tortola and Trinidad) and in southern Florida, as well as eight Old World sites, in Singapore and on two islands of the Northern Mariana Islands (Tinian and Saipan). Published records of Syllophopsis cf. subcoeca from Australia, Christmas Island and Sri Lanka are probably true S. subcoeca. It is likely that S. subcoeca was introduced to the West Indies and Florida through human commerce from Southeast Asia, its native range. Syllophopsis subcoeca appears to be a very recent arrival to Florida, where it is now known from nine sites in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. It remains to be seen whether S. subcoeca will become widespread in Florida, although seems unlikely that 'S. subcoeca' will become a significant ecological or agricultural pest. (Wetterer & Sharaf, 2021)

Distribution
Deyrup (2016, p. 423) reported S. subcoeca from Dominica, writing ‘specimens were found by digging in an open, dry, scrub area’. These specimens from Dominica (Cabrits National Park; 2 May 2006; M. Deyrup), however, were misidentified; they are actually Syllophopsis sechellensis (M. Deyrup, pers. comm.), the first record of S. sechellensis from Dominica. (Wetterer & Sharaf, 2021)

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Indo-Australian Region: Singapore. Neotropical Region: Barbados, Brazil, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Lesser Antilles, Mexico, Puerto Rico.

Nomenclature

 * . Monomorium subcoecum Emery, 1894c: 150 (w.q.) VIRGIN IS (St Thomas I.).
 * Type-material: syntype workers (number not stated), 1 syntype queen.
 * Type-locality: Virgin Is (“Antilles”): St Thomas I. (no collector’s name).
 * Type-depository: MSNG.
 * Combination in Syllophopsis: Ward, et al. 2015: 73.
 * Status as species: Wheeler, W.M. 1908a: 128; Emery, 1922e: 173; Kusnezov, 1949a: 425; Ettershank, 1966: 92; Kempf, 1972a: 144; Bolton, 1995b: 267; Fernández, 2007b: 138; Wetterer, et al. 2016: 20; Deyrup, 2017: 76.
 * Distribution: Barbados, Dominica, Puerto Rico, U.S.A. (Florida), Virgin Is.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Wetterer J. K., and M. R. Sharaf. 2017. Worldwide Distribution of Syllophopsis sechellensis (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Florida Entomologist 100(2): 281-285.