Strumigenys flavianae

Nothing is known about the biology of living colonies of S. flavianae; however, its slender body and legs suggest that it forages on the upper stratum of the litter or maybe within cavities inside rotten logs rather than amidst the deeper and denser litter and soil stratum. It has been found three times in secondary growth forest remnants, once in a pitfall trap (specific forest remnant not determined on label) and twice by winkler extractors (both in “Mata do Paraíso” forest remnant). Despite years of sampling in the region, the species is still rare. It might be the case that its populations are low in the most often sampled remnant, Mata do Paraíso (most sampling efforts throughout the years have been undertaken there).

Identification
Differing from all other Strumigenys by the combination of:
 * a slender body and long legs
 * pilosity composed of subflagellate, flagellate, or wire-like setae
 * basal lamella of mandible triangular, entirely covered by anterior clypeal margin when mandible is closed, and without diastemmic gap between it and the basal tooth of the masticatory margin
 * mandible outer margin confluent with clypeal lateral margin, not bulging
 * spongiform tissue ventrally on the petiole, notched at about its midlength
 * sides of mesosoma mostly sculptured, with only a small smooth patch in between upper mesopleuron and upper metapleuron

This species stands out among all Strumigenys species occurring in the Brazilian Atlantic Rainforest for its slenderness (long head, slender mesosoma and petiole and long legs) and wire-like pilosity. In this biome, species with short mandibles (either gripping or short trap-jaw mechanisms) are never too slender and never have the same type of pilosity. Some species of long trap-jaw mandibles in the mandibularis group are as slender as S. flavianae, but in that case, they cannot be confused with the newly discovered species because of their conspicuous linear mandibles (and also due to the lack of wire-like pilosity). A few species in the probatrix- and hyphata-groups, mostly Amazonian, are similar to S. flavianae; the ones in the probatrix-group are even more slender; however, due to other traits, they also cannot be confused with S. flavianae.

Distribution
Minas Gerais, Brazil

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Neotropical Region: Brazil.

Nomenclature

 * RedText|flavianae}}. Strumigenys flavianae Chaul, 2023: 225, figs. 1-3 (w.) BRAZIL (Minas Gerais).

Type Material

 * Holotype worker. BRAZIL, Minas Gerais, Viçosa, Mata do Paraíso, -20.803959 -42.855107, 13.ii.2017, Berlesate (Borlini, P.) (CELC, unique specimen identifier: ANTWEB1032460).
 * Paratype workers: BRAZIL, Minas Gerais, Viçosa, Fragmento Florestal, 1994 (Sperber, Lopes and Louzada) (CELC, unique specimen identifier: ANTWEB1032112); BRAZIL, Minas Gerais, Viçosa, Mata do Paraíso, -20.803146 -42.856782, 21.viii.2017, winkler sample (Moura, M. N.; Micolino, R.) (CELC, unique specimen identifier: ANTWEB1032422).