Cephalotes liepini

Identification
A member of the pinelii clade characterised in the worker by the membranaceous expansions of the gaster bent dorsally and in the soldier by the following combination of characters: large, deep, irregular and contiguous disc foveae bearing an erect, clubbed hair, petiole and postpetiole with round expansions, and vertex only superficially depressed. The soldier of Cephalotes liepini shares with Cephalotes kukulcan the disc foveae with an erect or suberect, clubbed hair and the humeri with narrow, membranaceous expansions and a narrow pronotal crest. The worker of liepini is unique within the pinelii clade for sharing with some species of the grandinosus clade the membranaceous expansions of the gaster bent dorsally, but liepini differs, however, from all the species of the grandinosus clade by the absence of crest on the mid and hind femora, a synapomorphic character of the latter clade.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Neotropical Region: Brazil.

Nomenclature

 *  liepini. Cephalotes liepini De Andrade & Baroni Urbani, 1999: 398, figs. 179, 180 (s.w.) BRAZIL.

Worker
Head subquadrate; frons convex. Frontal carinae covering the mandibular sides and slightly upturned above the eyes. Vertexal angles obtuse, with a thin, membranaceous margin converging and narrowing before the middle of the vertexal border. Mandibles with thick lateral carina.

Mesosoma gently convex. Scapular angles absent or not visible in dorsal view. Anterior border of the pronotum gently convex in dorsal view; pronotal sides with a membranaceous expansion anteriorly obtuse and narrowing posteriorly. Promesonotal suture impressed. Mesonotum with a small pair of triangular, membranaceous teeth. Propodeal suture impressed. Declivous face of the propodeum gently sloping backwards. Basal and declivous propodeal faces with a membranaceous lateral expansion starting from the propodeal.

Petiole with a concave anterior face bearing a pair of denticles; postpetiolar dorsum sloping anteriorly. Sides of the petiole with a wing-shaped, membranaceous expansion with pointed or round tip. Postpetiole convex dorsally; postpetiolar sides with another broad, wingshaped, membranaceous expansion with round tip.

Gaster oval. First gastral tergite anterolaterally with a broad membranaceous expansion.

Legs. Mid and hind femora dorsally angulate and with a faint carina on the distal part of their dorsum. Mid and hind basitarsi compressed at the base.

Sculpture. Head dorsum with dense foveae smaller on the anterior fourth. Ventral face of the head reticulate with superficial, dense foveae forming longitudinal rugosities on the anterior part only. Mesosoma and pedicel reticulate-punctate. Mesonotum with irregular, dense foveae, the foveae separated by longitudinal, irregular rugosities on the propodeum only. Pedicel with small, dense foveae. Gaster and legs deeply reticulate and with superficial, small foveae. Thin, longitudinal rugosities on the anterior third of the first gastral tergite. Membranaceous expansions of mesosoma, pedicel and gaster reticulate and with few, thin, longitudinal rugosities.

Pilosity. Each fovea with a decumbent, canaliculate hair; similar hairs but not originating from the foveae on the membranaceous expansions. Hairs on the gaster and on the legs appressed and thinner than those on head and mesosoma. Frontal carinae over the eyes and posterior part of the gastral segments with rare to sparse, erect, clubbed hairs. The sternites bear, in addition rare long, thin, erect, slightly pointed hairs.

Colour. Brown. Frontal carinae orange and semi-transparent. Membranaceous borders of the body yellowish and semi-transparent. Tarsi brown. First gastral tergite anterolaterally with an orange, thin strip almost reaching the end of the tergite.

Measurements (in mm) and indices: TL 3.40-4.08; HL 0.84-0.96; HW 0.92-1.08; EL 0.24-0.28; PW 0.74-0.92; PeW 0.44-0.56; PpW 0.48-0.60; HBaL 0.23-0.28; HBaW 0.09-0.11; CI 109.5-112.5; PI 117.4-124.3; PPeI 164.3-168.6; PPpI 153.3-159.2; HBal 39.1-39.3.

Soldier
Head disc subquadrate, with the border differentiated, irregularly crenulate, raised more on the sides then posteriorly. Sides of the disc not covering completely the eyes and broadening anteriorly. Floor of the disc concave laterally and gently convex in the middle. Vertexal angles obtuse, completely separate from the disc and with marked, irregularly crenulate border. Mandibles laterally carinate and laterally hidden by the frontal carinae.

Mesosoma. Anterior pronotal border gently convex. Humeral angles with a small, obtuse, lateral membranaceous expansion converging posteriorly up to the middle of the pronotum where it continues into the pronotal carina. Posterior half of the pronotal sides strongly converging posteriorly. Pronotal carina higher on the sides than medially, each half gently convex posteriorly. Pronotal suture impressed. Promesonotal suture deeply impressed. Mesonotal sides with a pair of broad, round expansion followed by a pair of minute, pointed denticles. Propodeum with differentiate basal and declivous faces; sides of the basal face with a narrow, crenulate border, the border forming anteriorly a small pair of obtuse teeth directed anteriorly, the rest converging posteriorly. Declivous face of the propodeum with the sides narrowing posteriorly and with a small, membranaceous lateral expansion.

Pedicel as in the worker but with the expansions less broad.

Legs as in the worker but with the dorsal carina less impressed.

Gaster oval, with a narrow, membranaceous expansion not reaching the stigma posteriorly.

Sculpture. Head dorsum, mesosoma and pedicel superficially punctate and covered by large, dense foveae, smaller on the border of the disc, on the clypeus and on the pedicel. Ventral face of the head reticulate and with sparse, superficial foveae and few, thin, irregular rugosities laterally. Declivous face of the propodeum superficially reticulate and with longitudinal, thin rugae. Gaster and legs strongly reticulate and with superficial small foveae.

Pilosity. Each fovea of the head dorsum with an erect hair; each fovea of the mesosoma with a subdecumbent hair; each fovea of the pedicel, of the gaster and of the legs with a decumbent or an appressed hair. Frontal carinae, vertexal angles, mesosoma, posterior border of the gastral tergites and sternites with rare to sparse clubbed hairs. The sternites bear, in addition a few long, thin, slightly pointed hairs.

Colour. As in the worker but with the frontal carinae darker. First gastral tergite with the second third dark brown.

Measurements (in mm) and indices: TL 4.80; HL 1.12; HW 1.32; EL 0.28; PW 1.32; PeW 0.56; PpW 0.60; HBaL 0.30; HBaW 0.12; CI 117.86; PI 100.0; PPeI 235.7; PPpI 220.0; HBaI 40.0.

Type Material
Holotype: worker, Brazil, Goias, Alvorada do Norte, Fazenda Mattos, 08-12.VII.1991, C. R. F. Brandao. Paratypes: 7 workers, 1 soldier, same data as the holotype MZSP.

Etymology
Liepini is an anagram of pinelii, the name of a close species.