Hylomyrma

A little known denizen of tropical leaf litter communities. There has only been one collection of a colony of this genus.

Species richness
Species richness by country based on regional taxon lists (countries with darker colours are more species-rich). View Data



Biology
Pierce et al. (2017) - Little is known about the biology and natural history of Hylomyrma. The genus is restricted to wet forests, mostly lowland rainforest, where it is a member of the cryptic leaf litter ant community. It is known almost exclusively from Winkler and Berlese samples (J.T. Longino, unpubl.), and observations of nesting or foraging habits are extremely limited. A colony was discovered by E.O. Wilson in Veracruz, Mexico, and kept in an artificial nest for observation. He observed that "In captivity workers of this species captured Drosophila spp., Isotoma viridis Bourlet [Collembola], and a few other small insects offered them in the food chamber, and fed them directly to the larvae" (quoted in Wheeler & Wheeler 1960: p. 4). As far as we know, this is still the only published reference to a colony of Hylomyrma. At the time of the 1973 revision, Kempf had perhaps fewer than 100 specimens to examine. Since that time, mass collecting techniques and large faunal surveys, mainly in Central America, have yielded thousands of specimens from many localities.

Nomenclature

 *  HYLOMYRMA [Myrmicinae: Myrmicini]
 * Hylomyrma Forel, 1912g: 16 [as subgenus of Pogonomyrmex]. Type-species: Pogonomyrmex (Hylomyrma) columbicus, by original designation.
 * Hylomyrma raised to genus: Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 660 (in key).
 * Hylomyrma senior synonym of Lundella: Brown, 1953h: 3.
 * LUNDELLA [junior synonym of Hylomyrma]
 * Lundella Emery, 1915i: 191. Type-species: Tetramorium reitteri, by original designation.
 * Lundella junior synonym of Hylomyrma: Brown, 1953h: 3.

Pierce et al. (2017) - Hylomyrma is an exclusively Neotropical ant genus that occurs from southern Mexico to Argentina. Originally described as a subgenus within Pogonomyrmex it was elevated to generic status by Wheeler (1922). Hylomyrma has always been considered a close relative of Pogonomyrmex, and this was convincingly demonstrated in recent molecular studies (Brady & al. 2006, Ward & al. 2015, Branstetter & al. 2017). The only thorough species-level revision was by Kempf (1973), in which twelve species were recognized. The genus has received little attention since Kempf's revision, with only one additional species being described (Kutter 1977). Despite there being few studies, there is little doubt of the monophyly of Hylomyrma.