Cephalotes cristatus

Specimens have been collected in a variety of forest habitats. Little else is known about the biology of .

Identification
A member of the depressus clade characterised, in the worker, by the pronotum with a pair of short lamellae and by the vertex with denticles, in the soldier, by the pronotal lamellae truncate, in the soldier and in the gyne, by the pronotal crest strongly crenulate, and, in the gyne, by the mesopleurae densely covered with thick hairs. C. cristatus is the only species of the depressus clade reaching Mexico to the North and represented only by two Colombian records in South America. This Central American species shares by synapomorphy with Cephalotes pavonii the pronotal crest strongly raised and crenulate in the soldier and in the gyne. (de Andrade and Baroni Urbani 1999)

Key to Cephalotes Workers

Distribution
Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, Colombia.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Neotropical Region: Belize, Colombia, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico.

Nomenclature

 *  cristatus. Cryptocerus cristatus Emery, 1890b: 72, pl. 9, fig. 2 (s.w.q.) COSTA RICA. [Also described as new by Emery, 1894k: 60.] De Andrade & Baroni Urbani, 1999: 335 (m.). Combination in Paracryptocerus: Kempf, 1951: 216; in Zacryptocerus: Hespenheide, 1986: 395; in Cephalotes: Baroni Urbani, 1998: 325.

Worker
Kempf (1951) - Length about 5 mm. Black; the following ferruginous: frontal carinae and usually the crest on the anterolateral border of the first gastral tergite. Head slightly broader than long, the sides little diverging caudad. Frontal carinae very indistinctly crenulate, the minute projecting setulae limited to less than the anterior third. Vertex with a pair of more or less vestigial minute denticules. Occipital lobes bidentate. Thorax moderately and more or less continuously longitudinally convex. Pronotal lamellae narrower than postpetiole, longer than wide, rectangular. Behind the lamellae another short, triangular, plate-like lateral tooth, in front of the mesonotum, subequal to the lateral tooth of the mesonotum. Second epinotal spine slender, much longer than in depressus. Petiole with a long, recurved lateral spine arising from the anterior corner; the anterior border, including the spines, not continuously arcuate. Lateral spines of petiole curved forward at base, recurved and denticulate behind at apex. Gaster narrowly crested antero-Iaterad, longer than wide, its length subequal to the interocular width.

de Andrade and Baroni Urbani (1999) - Measurements (in mm) and indices: TL 4.60-6.04; HL 1.08-1.40; HW 1.46-1.88; EL 0.40-0.45; PW 1.44-1.76; PeW 0.96-1.16; PpW 0.80-0.94; HBaL 0.48-0.56; HBaW 0.15-0.20; CI 134.3-138.2; PI 101.4-109.3; PPeI 150.0-153.5; PPpI 1.80.0-187.2; HBaI 31.2-35.7.

Soldier
de Andrade and Baroni Urbani (1999) - Head subquadrate, with complete disc; head dorsum almost flat, slightly convex on the frons and weakly concave laterally. Frontal carinae with subcrenulate border, converging posteriorly. Disc, posteriorly, with a pair of developed median teeth connected each other by a median carina continuing laterally into the frontal carinae. Vertexal corners with two pairs of short, broad, obtuse teeth. Mandibles broad, their sides with an impressed, round, carinate protuberance. Eyes gently convex.

Mesosoma broad anteriorly, narrowing posteriorly. Pronotum with the anterior border convex; its sides with a developed, rectangular, humeral angles converging posteriorly. Pronotal carina well marked, raised, strongly crenulate or denticulate and interrupted medially by an impression. Promesonotal suture impressed. Mesonotum with a broad, short, obtuse tooth. Propodeal suture deeply impressed. Propodeum with poorly differentiated basal and declivous faces. Basal face broadening posteriorly and ending in a pair of broad, strongly developed, rectangular lamellae; its dorsum convex in the middle and on the same plane as the declivous face. Declivous face flat in the middle; its sides converging posteriorly.

Petiole almost flat and sloping anteriorly; its anterior border anteriorly concave. Petiolar sides converging posteriorly, with a well developed spine directed backwards in their first half. Postpetiole, in lateral view, slightly convex, the middle of its dorsum gently concave; postpetiolar spines thick, arising from the anterior face of the postpetiole and curved backwards.

Gaster oval and with a broad anterolateral lobe. Anterolateral border of the first gastral sternite with a thin margin not reaching the stigma.

Hind femora medially angulate. Hind basitarsi flat and with broad base.

Sculpture. Head disc superficially reticulate and covered by small foveae almost as broad as their interspaces and diminishing in size anteriorly. Vertex, ventral face of the head and pronotum with foveae denser, deeper and larger than those on the posterior part of the head disc; the foveae are sparser in the middle of the ventral part of the head and on the propleurae. Mesonotum with the same type of sculpture as on the pronotum, but the foveae smaller and denser. Basal face of the propodeum, lower meso- and metapleurae and petiolar and postpetiolar dorsum deeply reticulate and with dense, oval foveae; the same type of sculpture but more superficial on the distal part of the extensor face of the femora and of the tibiae. Declivous face of the propodeum, upper metapleurae, legs and gaster simply reticulate. Sparse to rare foveae on the upper mesopleurae. Anterior fourth of the first gastral tergite with dense piligerous punctures, this same type of sculpture but sparser on the remaining tergite and on the anterior and posterior faces of the legs.

Pilosity. Each fovea with an appressed canaliculate hair. Legs with rare, thin, appressed hairs. Crenulations of the frontal and pronotal carinae with an erect, slightly canaliculate hair, the same type of hairs, but rarer on the sides of the thorax and of the pedicel, sparse and longer on the legs and on the gaster. Apex of the gastral sternites with sparse, long, slightly pointed hairs.

Colour. Opaque black. Frontal carinae dark ferruginous, tip of the last funicular joint and tarsomeres lighter. Head superficially shining.

Measurements (in mm) and indices: TL 7.20-7.64; HL 1.72-1.88; HW 2.24-2.40; EL 0.48-0.53; PW 2.28-2.40; PeW 1.24-1.32; PpW 1.12; HBaL 0.60-0.62; HBaW 0.22-0.24; CI 127.6-130.2; PI 98.2-100.0; PPeI 172.7-193.5; PPpI 203.6-214.3; HBaI 35.5-40.0.

Queen
Kempf (1951) - Length 10 mm. Black. Head as in soldier, frontal carinae s lightly less expanded, more distinctly crenulate. Vertex with a median bidentate transverse crest, the lateral carina more or less vestigial. Sides of pronotum with an acute scapular spine, pointing obliquely forward. Dorsum of pronotum with a serrated transverse crest, the median portion touching the anterior margin of the pronotum. Basal face of epinotum with a small lateral and a somewhat longer posterior tooth. Lower mesopleura with a strong tooth. Petiole less than twice as long as broad, the sides forming an obtuse stout tooth or angle, when seen from above. Postpetiole with a short conical, stout spine on each side, curving forward and recurving apically. Gaster elongate, slightly emarginate anteromesad, distinctly marginate, not crested antero-laterad. Wings infumated, veins dark brunneous. Fore wing with a transverse cubital vein. Marginal cell closed and appendiculate.

de Andrade and Baroni Urbani (1999) - Measurements (in mm) and indices: TL 10.40-10.56; HL 2.00-2.12; HW 2.30-2.36; EL 0.56; PW 2.28-2.36; PeW 0.92-1.04; PpW 1.24-1.28; HBaL 0.76; HBaW 0.28; CI 111.3-115.0; PI 100.0-100.9; PPeI 226.9-247.8; PPpI 183.9-184.4; HBaI 36.8.

Male
de Andrade and Baroni Urbani (1999) - tentative attribution; We are rather confident on the attribution to this species of the previously undescribed male in the USNM unaccompanied by workers. Its label is very similar (though not identical) to the label of cristatus workers in and this is the sole known Mesoamerican species of the clade.

Head (eyes included, mandibles excluded) about 1/3 broader than long. Vertexal margin straight, carinate and ending in two broad, obtuse angles. Vertexal angles diverging towards the posterior border of the eyes. Ocelli protuberant from the weakly convex vertex. Eyes broadly convex. Frontal carinae diverging backwards and not reaching the posterior border of the eyes. Frons flat. Clypeus weakly convex and declivous anteriorly; its anterior border straight. Mandibles slender and laterally carinate. Scapes twice as long as the first funicular joint; remaining funicular joints thickening from the base to the apex.

Mesosoma. Pronotum broadening backwards in dorsal view. Scapular angles distinct from the pronotal sides. Humeral angles with a pair of denticles. Pronotal sides superficially carinate. Mesonotum convex; median Mayrian carina and parapsidal furrows impressed; scutellum convex. Propodeum with slightly differentiate basal and declivous faces; basal and declivous faces converging posteriorly; basal face posteriorly declivous and unarmed.

Petiole narrower than the postpetiole and with a deeply concave anterior border; petiolar dorsum declivous anteriorly; anterior third of the petiolar sides diverging, remaining two posterior thirds strongly converging backwards. Postpetiole weakly convex dorsally; postpetiolar sides with a pair of triangular teeth, and converging posteriorly.

Gaster almost as broad as the mesosoma.

Wings. As in the gyne.

Sculpture. Body deeply reticulate-punctate. Head with irregular, sparse and variably marked rugosities, thicker on the posterior third and on the ventral part of the head, more regular on the periocular area, very thin on the frons; frons with additional minute foveae. Pronotum, mesonotum and scutellum with irregular foveae, absent on the centre of the pronotum. Basal face of the propodeum with longitudinal rugosities reaching the anterior half of the declivous face. Pleurae with rugosities, longitudinal on the lower pro- and metapleurae, irregular on the mesopleurae and upper metapleurae, absent on the upper propleurae. Mesopleurae with additional, irregular foveae. Pedicel, gaster and legs superficially reticulate-punctate, the punctures more impressed on the tibiae.

Pilosity. Head and mesosoma covered by dense, long, suberect hairs, sparser and subdecumbent on the pedicel, on the sternites and on the legs, rare on the tergites. Funiculi densely covered by thin, short, decumbent hairs; similar but thinner, sparser and slightly longer hairs on the legs and on the gaster.

Colour. Dark brown to black. Scapes, gaster and legs light brown.

Measurements (in mm) and indices: TL 5.42; HL 0.92; HW 1.28; EL 0.44; PW 1.12; PeW 0.51; PpW 0.63; HBaL 0.73; HBaW 0.14; CI 139.1; PI 114.3; PPeI 219.3; PPpI 203.2; HBaI 19.2.

Type Material
de Andrade and Baroni Urbani (1999) - Worker, soldier and gyne. Type locality: Alajuela and Jimenez, Costa Rica. Type material: 2 workers, 1 gyne labeled "Alajuela, Alfaro", 3 workers and 1 gyne labelled "Costa Rica, Jimenez, Alfaro" MCSN, 2 workers, 2 soldiers, 2 gynes labelled "Costa Rica, Alfaro" MCSN, , examined.