Strumigenys lopotyle

Identification
A member of the cygarix complex in the Strumigenys caniophanes-group.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Indo-Australian Region: New Guinea.

Nomenclature

 *  lopotyle. Strumigenys lopotyle Brown, 1969a: 27, figs. 1-3 (w.q.) NEW GUINEA. See also: Bolton, 2000: 760.

Worker
Bolton (2000) - TL 2.8-3.3, HL 0.74-0.86, HW 0.65-0.77, CI 87-90, ML 0.34-0.39, MI 44-46, SL 0.40-0.49, SI 58-64, PW 0.38-0.45, AL 0.76-0.90 (5 measured).

Mandible with a small preapical tooth. Dorsolateral margin of head in full-face view with 5 or more freely laterally projecting short stiff simple hairs, each arising from a small tubercle; anteriormost hair just in front of level of eye, the posteriormost on margin of occipital lobe. Cephalic dorsum with a pair of erect hairs at highest point of vertex and a transverse row along occipital margin. Dorsum of head finely irregularly rugulose and also with punctate sculpture. Promesonotum mid-dorsally longitudinally rugose but on each side, and on side of pronotum, with narrow but deep foveolate pits that are bordered by smooth rugulae. Propodeal dorsum transversely rugulose anteriorly, punctate posteriorly. Pleurae and side of propodeum sculptured. Pronotal humeral hair long, filiform and simple. Dorsal alitrunk with sparse erect simple hairs and fine simple ground-pilosity. Waist segments and first gastral tergite with simple standing hairs. Dorsal (outer) surfaces of middle and hind tibiae and basitarsi with long erect freely projecting hairs. Bullae of femoral glands very large; on hind femur length of bulla is about 0.50 X maximum length of femur. Propodeal teeth very small, reduced to a pair of denticles. Petiole node in dorsal and lateral view, except for its near-vertical anterior face, completely concealed by a massive and continuous overgrowth of very fine dense spongiform tissue. Postpetiole similarly covered, with only a small anteromedian part of the disc visible. Basigastral costulae minute, shorter than width of limbus.

The huge overgrowths of spongiform tissue on the petiole and postpetiole render lopotyle unmistakable. In profile the petiole node appears to be wearing a tall spongiform bonnet. The lateral surface of the node proper is invisible, as is the dorsum except for the extreme anteromedian part at the top of the ascending anterior face. The postpetiole dorsally has equally dense spongiform tissue and only a small portion of the disc remains exposed.

Type Material
Bolton (2000) - Holotype worker, paratype workers and queen, PAPUA NEW GUINEA: Lae, Didiman Creek, 27.iii.1955, nos. 690, 702, 716, lowl. rainforest (E. O. Wilson) [examined].