Strumigenys schmalzi

A poorly sampled species, Strumigenys schmalzi has been collected from a forest "with Solenopsis geminata" (without being reported if this was within a nest of this other species).

Identification
Bolton (2000) - A member of the Strumigenys silvestrii-group. S. schmalzi is very closely related to Strumigenys carinithorax. The two share the same characteristic gastral pilosity and may eventually prove to be inseparable. Unfortunately there is very little material available of either species and much of what exists is not in good condition. Both schmalzi and carinithorax show some variation but its significance cannot be properly assessed because of the shortage of material. The identity problem cannot be tackled with any degree of success until more material, in good condition, has been amassed. For the present I am treating those specimens with a well developed lateral spongiform lobe on the petiole as schmalzi, and those with a tiny or vestigial lobe as carinithorax.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Neotropical Region: Brazil, Paraguay, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago.

Nomenclature

 *  schmalzi. Strumigenys schmalzi Emery, 1906c: 169 (footnote), fig. 28 (w.) BRAZIL. See also: Brown, 1959f: 28; Bolton, 2000: 558.

Worker
Bolton (2000) - TL 1.8, HL 0.46, HW 0.36, CI 78, ML 0.26, MI 57, SL 0.27, SI 75, PW 0.24, AL 0.46 (dimensions of holotype). Preapical tooth separated from apicodorsal tooth by about the length of the preapical tooth; outer margins of mandibles shallowly convex. Ground-pilosity of head and promesonotum short, broadly spatulate and conspicuous. Cephalic dorsum near occipital margin with a pair of short standing hairs that are narrower, straighter and more elevated than the ground-pilosity. Apicoscrobal hair and pronotal humeral hair flagellate. A pair of fine standing hairs present on mesonotum. First gastral tergite with short and extremely slender soft simple hairs that are shallowly evenly curved medially or posteromedially. Scattered on the sclerite are also a few equally fine but longer and more erect soft filiform to weakly flagellate hairs. Bullae of femoral glands conspicuous near apices on middle and hind legs. Mesonotum with median longitudinal carina variable; fairly distinct in some but inconspicuous in others. Petiole node in dorsal view much broader than long; in profile without spongiform tissue ventrally but with a large spongiform lateral lobe. Lateral and ventral spongiform lobes of postpetiole large. Pleurae and side of propodeum smooth. Disc of postpetiole weakly sculptured, never reticulate-punctate but apparently never glassy smooth. Basigastral costulae sharply defined, in dorsal view slightly to distinctly longer than maximum length of propodeal disc.

Type Material
Bolton (2000) - Holotype worker, BRAZIL: Santa Catarina, Joinville, “with Solenopsis geminata” (J. P. Schmalz) [examined].

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Bezdeckova K., P. Bedecka, and I. Machar. 2015. A checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Peru. Zootaxa 4020 (1): 101–133.
 * Bolton, B. 2000. The Ant Tribe Dacetini. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute 65
 * Brown W. L., Jr. 1959.  The neotropical species of the ant genus Strumigenys Fr. Smith: group of silvestrii Emery. Studia Entomologica. (n.s.)2: 25-30.
 * Fernández, F. and S. Sendoya. 2004. Lista de las hormigas neotropicales. Biota Colombiana Volume 5, Number 1.
 * Kempf W. W. 1958. The ants of the tribe Dacetini in the State of Sao Paulo, Brazil, with the description of a new species of Strumigenys. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Studia Entomologica (n.s.)1: 553-560.
 * Kempf W. W. 1978. A preliminary zoogeographical analysis of a regional ant fauna in Latin America. 114. Studia Entomologica 20: 43-62.
 * Kempf, W.W. 1972. Catalago abreviado das formigas da regiao Neotropical (Hym. Formicidae) Studia Entomologica 15(1-4).
 * Mentone T. O., E. A. Diniz, C. B. Munhae, O. C. Bueno, and M. S. C. Morini. 2011. Composition of ant fauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) at litter in areas of semi-deciduous forest and Eucalyptus spp., in Southeastern Brazil. Biota Neotrop. 11(2): http://www.biotaneotropica.org.br/v11n2/en/abstract?inventory+bn00511022011.
 * Oliveira Mentone T. de, E. A. Diniz, C. de Bortoli Munhae, O. Correa Bueno and M. S. de Castro Morini. 2012. Composition of ant fauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) at litter in areas of semi-deciduous forest and Eucalyptus spp., in Southeastern Brazil. Biota Neotrop 11(2): 237-246.
 * Pacheco, R., R.R. Silva, M.S. de C. Morini, C.R.F. Brandao. 2009. A Comparison of the Leaf-Litter Ant Fauna in a Secondary Atlantic Forest with an Adjacent Pine Plantation in Southeastern Brazil. Neotropical Entomology 38(1):055-065
 * Pires de Prado L., R. M. Feitosa, S. Pinzon Triana, J. A. Munoz Gutierrez, G. X. Rousseau, R. Alves Silva, G. M. Siqueira, C. L. Caldas dos Santos, F. Veras Silva, T. Sanches Ranzani da Silva, A. Casadei-Ferreira, R. Rosa da Silva, and J. Andrade-Silva. 2019. An overview of the ant fauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the state of Maranhao, Brazil. Pap. Avulsos Zool. 59: e20195938.
 * Rosa da Silva R. 1999. Formigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) do oeste de Santa Catarina: historico das coletas e lista atualizada das especies do Estado de Santa Catarina. Biotemas 12(2): 75-100.
 * Rosa da Silva R., and B. Cortes Lopes. 1997. Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Atlantic rainforest at Santa Catarina Island, Brazil: two years of sampling. Rev. Biol. Trop. 45(4): 1641-1648.
 * Salinas P. J. 2010. Catalogue of the ants of the Táchira State, Venezuela, with notes on their biodiversity, biogeography and ecology (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Amblyioponinae, Ponerinae, Proceratiinae, Myrmicinae, Ecitoninae, Formicinae, Pseudomyrmecinae, Dolichoderinae). Boletín de la SEA 47: 315-328.
 * Silva R.R., and C. R. F. Brandao. 2014. Ecosystem-Wide Morphological Structure of Leaf-Litter Ant Communities along a Tropical Latitudinal Gradient. PLoSONE 9(3): e93049. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0093049
 * Silva T. S. R., and R. M. Feitosa. 2019. Using controlled vocabularies in anatomical terminology: A case study with Strumigenys (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Arthropod Structure and Development 52: 1-26.
 * Siqueira de Castro F., A. B. Gontijo, P. de Tarso Amorim Castro, and S. Pontes Ribeiro. 2012. Annual and Seasonal Changes in the Structure of Litter-Dwelling Ant Assemblages (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Atlantic Semideciduous Forests. Psyche doi:10.1155/2012/959715
 * Siqueira de Castro F., A. B. Gontijo, W. Duarte da Rocha, and S. Pontes Ribeiro. 2011. As comunidades de formigas de serapilheira nas florestas semidecíduas do Parque Estadual do Rio Doce, Minas Gerais. MG.BIOTA, Belo Horizonte 3(5): 5-24.
 * Suguituru S. S., D. R. de Souza, C. de Bortoli Munhae, R. Pacheco, and M. S. de Castro Morini. 2011. Diversidade e riqueza de formigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) em remanescentes de Mata Atlântica na Bacia Hidrográfica do Alto Tietê, SP. Biota Neotrop. 13(2): 141-152.
 * Suguituru S. S., M. Santina de Castro Morini, R. M. Feitosa, and R. Rosa da Silva. 2015. Formigas do Alto Tiete. Canal 6 Editora 458 pages
 * Suguituru S. S., R. Rosa Silva, D. R. de Souza, C. de Bortoli Munhae, and M. Santina de Castro Morini. Ant community richness and composition across a gradient from Eucalyptus plantations to secondary Atlantic Forest. Biota Neotrop. 11(1): 369-376.
 * Wild, A. L. "A catalogue of the ants of Paraguay (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)." Zootaxa 1622 (2007): 1-55.
 * de Souza D. R., S. G. dos Santos, C. de B. Munhae, and M. S. de C. Morini. 2012. Diversity of Epigeal Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Urban Areas of Alto Tietê. Sociobiology 59(3): 703-117.