Cephalotes maculatus

A common Cephalotes species that is widely distributed and occurs in many habitat types.

Identification
A member of the pinelii clade differing from all the other species of the clade in the worker by the maximum diameter of the eyes greater than 1/3 of the head length, in the soldier, by the flat vertex, in the soldier and in the gyne by the concolour head and pronotum. The workers and soldiers from Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica (in part) are larger and with denser foveae on the head than the southern representatives of the species. This geographic trend does not appear in Costa Rican specimens from Alajuela, Orotina, Turrialba and Hamburg Farm. (de Andrade and Baroni Urbani 1999)

Key to Cephalotes Workers

Distribution
Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Trinidad, Guyana, French Guiana, Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina and Paraguay.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Neotropical Region: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, Venezuela.

Biology
Longino found a colony in a one day old treefall in Corcovado National Park: A nest was in the center of a live stem, stem dia. 14mm, at the very top of the tree. A single round hole extended perpendicularly from the surface to a central cavity which extended in both directions. The cavity was 5.5cm long and 3mm wide. The nest contained only a major, one mature worker, one callow worker, and 7 individual brood, ranging from a very small larva to a pupa.

Nomenclature

 *  maculatus. Cryptocerus maculatus Smith, F. 1876d: 607, pl. 11, fig. 6 (q.) BRAZIL. Emery, 1894c: 208 (s.w.); Forel, 1905b: 158 (m.); Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1954b: 156 (l.). Combination in Paracryptocerus (Harnedia): Kempf, 1952: 18; in Zacryptocerus: Hespenheide, 1986: 395; in Cephalotes: De Andrade & Baroni Urbani, 1999: 375. Senior synonym of nanus and material of the nomen nudum cearensis referred here: Kempf, 1952: 19; of magdalenensis: De Andrade & Baroni Urbani, 1999: 375. See also: Forel, 1911e: 258; Menozzi, 1927d: 336.
 * magdalenensis. Cryptocerus grandinosus r. magdalenensis Forel, 1899b: 303 (w.) COLOMBIA. [Also described as new by Forel, 1899d: 275.] Junior synonym of grandinosus: Kempf, 1952: 11; of maculatus: De Andrade & Baroni Urbani, 1999: 337.
 * nanus. Cryptocerus maculatus r. nanus Forel, 1912e: 202 (w.) TRINIDAD. Junior synonym of maculatus: Kempf, 1952: 19.

Worker
Kempf (1952) - Length 2.6-3.0 mm. Fuscous reddish-brown to black. Outer face of tibiae pale brown. Rest of legs ferruginous. Frontal carinae and membranaceous borders of thorax, peduncle and gaster whitish.

Head subquadrate, longer than wide, the median head length as long as, or longer than, the interocular width. Edge of lateral border smooth. Sides of head slightly convex and upturned above eyes. Occipital corner little or not membranaceous, sharply angulate to subdentate. Occipital border straight. Greatest diameter of eyes almost one third of maximum head length.

Thorax longer than wide. Membranaceous border of pronotum and epinotum broad, not forming a reentrant angle at the mesonotum. Shoulders subacutely angulate. Sides of mesonotum with a small projecting tooth, the tip of which is often membranaceous. Mesoepinotal suture distinct. Declivous face of epinotum differentiated from the basal face. Dorsum of hind femora longitudinally marginate, not crested, on the apical half; no crest on the lower face.

Peduncular segments subequal in width to the width of the cpinotum, with conspicuous lateral membranaceous appendages. Anterior face of petiole usually notched mesally.

Gaster longer than wide, proportionally shorter than in pinclii and grandinosus. Anterolateral membranaceous border rounded.

Subopaque, finely shagreened. Dorsum of head, thorax and peduncle with small squamiferous foveolae. Dorsum of thorax, especially on the region of the mesoepinotal suture usually with distinct longitudinal rugosities. Sides of thorax, except the laterotergite of the pronotum, and the declivous face longitudinally striated. Scale-like hair small, shiny, appressed. No erect setae on the first gastral tergite."

de Andrade and Baroni Urbani (1999) - Measurements (in mm) and indices: TL 2.81-3.93; HL 0.70-0.92; HW 0.78-1.00; EL 0.25-0.31; PW 0.72-0.96; PeW 0.50-0.59; PpW 0.48-0.56; HBaL 0.18-0.26; HBaW 0.06-0.09; CI 108.7-111.4; PI 104.2-108.3; PPeI 144.0-162.7; PPpI 150.0-171.4; HBaI 33.3-34.6.

Soldier
Kempf (1952) - Length 3.9-4.2 mm. Color as in worker. Head disc uniformly fuscous reddish-brown to black, the portion overlying the antennal scrobe not membranaceous nor differently colored. First gastral tergite, especially in larger specimens, with lighter yellowish-brown spots, one toward each corner, the anterior pair often fusing mesally into a transverse band, the posterior pair usually small, somewhat removed from the posterior border.

Head slightly longer than wide; disc not well rounded, subrectangular, excavate, flat to scarcely convex mesally. Supramandibular excision subsemicircular. Border of disc not glassy nor membranaceous. Occipital border of cephalic disc usually straight and without a pair of small, projecting denticules. Sides of head continuous with the truncate occiput, not separated by a margination or ridge.

Thorax as long as wide across the pronotum. Anterior border of pronotum broadly excised laterad, the shoulders acute and spine-like. Transverse pronotal carina slightly interrupted mesally. Mesonotum much narrower than pronotum, with a projecting, usually angulate lobe on each side. Basal face of epinotum with a small rounded lobe laterally and an upturned tubercular tooth on each posterior corner. Sides of declivous face narrowly crested. Hind femora without a dorsal and ventral crest on the apical half.

Peduncular segments as in worker; the lateral membranaceous appendages less prominent.

Gaster elliptical. The anterolateral lobes rounded, the crests lacking in large soldiers.

Integument opaque, finely shagreened. Head disc coarsely and densely foveolate. The foveolae are much smaller on the dorsum of the thorax and the peduncular segments. Gaster and sides of thorax without any conspicuous foveolae. Scales as in worker, absent on the declivous face.

de Andrade and Baroni Urbani (1999) - Measurements (in mm) and indices: TL 3.76-4.86; HL 0.96-1.20; HW 1.04-1.28; EL 0.28-0.30; PW 1.04-1.32; PeW 0.51-0.64; PpW 0.51-0.68; HBaL 0.24-0.28; HBaW 0.08-0.10; CI 106.7-108.3; PI 97.0-100.0; PPeI 203.9-206.2; PPpI 194.1-203.9; HBaI 33.3-35.7.

Queen
Kempf (1952) - Length 5.6-6.4 mm. Color as in soldier. The four maculae of the first gastral tergite better delimited and usually more prominent than in soldier, yellowish to ferruginous-yellow.

Head elongate, one and one fourth times as long as wide. Supramandibular excision narrow, subsemicircular. Cephalic disc elongate, subrectangular, moderately convex, slightly excavated, but not membranaceous, above the antennal scrobe; the sides subparallel, scarcely curved, often somewhat converging caudad; the edges of the disc scarcely crenulate, very little upturned, forming only a slightly prominent ridge postero-laterally above the occipital lobes.

Thorax elongate. Anterior border of pronotum somewhat excised laterally, not quite as prominent as in soldier. Shoulders acute. Transverse pronotal carina ininterrupted. Lower plate of mesopleura anteriorly with a tooth. Basal face of epinotum with a rounded lateral lobe and a rather sharp tooth on the posterior corner. Hind femora neither crested nor angulate above near the middle.

Peduncular segments massive, with the lateral projections scarcely membranaceous. Petiole with a lateral small tooth, pointing obliquely caudad, the postpctiole with a lateral obliquely truncate lobe, similar to that of soldier.

Gaster with the anterior border deeply emarginate, the anterolateral lobes rounded to subangulate.

Sculpture and pilosity as in soldier. The scales of the gaster are glistening and minute.

Wings hyaline. The venation of the fore wing of the usual pattern: a close and appendiculate marginal cell; transverse cubital vein present.

de Andrade and Baroni Urbani (1999) - Measurements (in mm) and indices: TL 5.64-6.84; HL 1.20-1.28; HW 1.08-1.22; EL 0.29-0.32; PW 1.06-1.14; PeW 0.44-0.51; PpW 0.60-0.68; HBaL 0.33-0.35; HBaW 0.10-0.11; CI 90.0-95.3; PI 101.9-107.0; PPeI 223.5-240.9; PPpI 167.6-176.7; HBaI 30.3-31.4.

Male
de Andrade and Baroni Urbani (1999), translation of the description of Menozzi (1927) - "Black, antennae, tibiae and tarsi ferruginous. Abundant pilosity over the whole body; pubescence limited to the antennae, tibiae and tarsi. Head much wider than long, opaque, striate-punctate, except a transversal part between the eye and the frontal lamina, smooth and shining. Mandibles small, finely punctate, with the masticatory border armed with several very small teeth. Clypeus equally very small and strongly convex posteriorly. Antennae with very short scape; the first funicular joint one third of the second in length, the latter being the longest; the last joints twice as long as broad, and, beginning from the tenth, they broaden gradually up to the last, forming a club. Thorax with pronotum and mesonotum sculptured as the head but the striae constitute the dominant pattern, particularly on their sides; scutellum simply punctate or, rarely, with two or three striae; metanotum and epinotum with visible rugae more or less curved on the dorsum, markedly straight on the sides. Mesonotum with deep Mayrian furrows. Basal face of the epinotum as long as the declivous one to which it is joined by an obtuse angle.

Petiole punctate, subquadrate and slightly marginate on the sides; postpetiole nearly shining, finely reticulate, slightly larger than the petiolar node, equally marginate on the sides which bear two small tubercles anteriorly. Gaster with sculpture similar to the one of the postpetiole, with the basal segment pyriform and occupying more than half of the whole gaster. Genitalia testaceous, with stipes broad and distally hairy; volsella terminating in a long hook with the lacinia built as a short lobe, partly concealed by the volsella itself. Wings hyaline with iridescent reflexes; pterostigma and veins testaceous; one cubital and one closed, not appendiculate radial cell, at least in the six males available to me. Length 5.2-5.8 mm.

de Andrade and Baroni Urbani (1999) - Measurements (in mm) and indices: TL 3.31-4.41; HL 0.54-0.65; HW 0.67-0.82; EL 0.31-0.38; PW 0.54-0.68; PeW 0.27-0.33; PpW 0.25-0.32; HBaL 0.29-0.31; HBaW 0.05-0.06; CI 124.1-126.1; PI 120.6-124.1; PPeI 200.0-206.1; PPpI 212.5-216.0; HBaI 17.2-20.0.

Type Material


de Andrade and Baroni Urbani (1999):

Gyne. Type locality: Salvador (Bahia, Brazil). Type material: Holotype gyne labelled "Bahia" in, examined.

Cryptocerus grandinosis magdalenensis. Worker. Type locality: Colombia (San Pablo, Magdalena R., specified by Forel, 1899 c: 275). Type material: holotype worker labelled "Cr. grandinosus r. magdalenensis, For., type, San Pablo and Magdalena, Colombie”, in (examined).

Cryptocerus maculatus nanus. Worker. Type locality: Trinidad (savannah). Type material: 1 worker labelled: "Cr. maculatus Sm., R. nanus, type Forel, Savanne, Trinidad (Forel)", in, examined.