View source for Myrmelachista

{{Italic title}}
{{Taxobox
|name = ''Myrmelachista''
|image = Myrmelachista arthuri casent0173484 head 1.jpg
|image_caption = ''[[Myrmelachista arthuri]]''
|image_width = {{width}}
|regnum = [[Animal]]ia
|phylum = [[Arthropod]]a
|classis = [[Insect]]a
|ordo = [[Hymenoptera]]
|familia = [[Formicidae]]
|subfamilia = [[Formicinae]]
|tribus = [[Myrmelachistini]]
|genus = '''''Myrmelachista'''''
|genus_authority = Roger, 1863
|type_species =''[[Myrmelachista kraatzii]]''
|diversity_link = :category:List of species
|diversity = {{Species Diversity}}
<hr> 
[[File:Myrmelachista arthuri casent0173484 profile 1.jpg|{{width}}]]

''[[Myrmelachista arthuri]]''

[[File:Myrmelachista arthuri casent0173484 dorsal 1.jpg|{{width}}]]

[[:File:Myrmelachista arthuri casent0173484 label 1.jpg|Specimen Label]]
|synonyms =
*''[[Decamera]]'' Roger, 1863
*''[[Hincksidris]]'' Donisthorpe, 1944
*''[[Neaphomus]]'' Menozzi, 1935
}}
{{Myrmelachistini Relationships}}
''Myrmelachista'' is an exclusively Neotropical ant genus. The ants from this genus nest and forage in live or dead trees, but data on its life cycle are relatively scarce. The taxonomy of this genus is considerably complex. (Nakano et al., 2015.)

{{Photo Gallery
|name1=Myrmelachista, Chocó, Ecuador, Phil Hoenle.jpg
|comment1=''Myrmelachista'' workers might be small, but the colonies can grow huge and dominate the canopy of an entire tree. Photo by Phil Hoenle.
|size1=550px
}}
==Identification==
Species in this genus can be difficult to identify. Workers within species are often quite variable and there are not good characters to clearly delimit many species from others by morphological traits. Nakano et al (2015) found that a multivariate analysis of worker morphological characters could not reliably distinguish species found in the Atlantic forests of Brazil. Queens are often deemed more reliable for separating species, so much so that many species are described from a queen holotype.  

Nakano et al (2015) - Characterized by a visible antennal club with one or two segments, a character that is absent in the remaining Neotropical Formicinae (Fernández, 2003). ''Myrmelachista'' species have antennae with nine or ten segments; most species have nine-segmented antennae and are found mainly in Central America (only two have been described in South America), whereas ten-segmented species are mainly found in South America (only three species have been described in Central America and Mexico) (Longino, 2006).

{{AntWebImagesForTaxon}}
{{Genus identification keys}}

==Distribution==
{{World Distribution}}
===[[Diversity by Country|Species by Region]]===
Number of species within biogeographic regions, along with the total number of species for each region.
{| class='wikitable'
!
![[Afrotropical Region Species List|Afrotropical Region]]
![[Australasian Region Species List|Australasian Region]]
![[Indo-Australian Region Species List|Indo-Australian Region]]
![[Malagasy Region Species List|Malagasy Region]]
![[Nearctic Region Species List|Nearctic Region]]
![[Neotropical Region Species List|Neotropical Region]]
![[Oriental Region Species List|Oriental Region]]
![[Palaearctic Region Species List|Palaearctic Region]]
|-
|'''Species'''
|0
|0
|0
|0
|0
|70
|0
|0
|-
|'''Total Species'''
|2839
|1735
|3036
|932
|834
|4378
|1708
|2836
|-
|}<!--EndSpeciesForRegionTable-->

==Biology==
'''Longino  (2006)''' - Among these stem-nesting ants is the formicine genus ''Myrmelachista''. This group of ants is confined to the Neotropics and is exclusively arboreal. They are inconspicuous and have been little studied, but there are hints from the literature that they are far richer and with more complex plant associations than previously suspected. Early literature contained scattered reports of South American ''Myrmelachista'' inhabiting ant-plants (reviewed in Bequaert 1922, Wheeler 1942). ''[[Myrmelachista nigella]]'' and ''[[Myrmelachista schumanni]]'' were reported in internodes of ''Duroia hirsuta'' (Rubiaceae) (Ule 1907–1908, Schumann 1889). More recent reports have described “devil’s gardens” in South America, in which large polygynous colonies of ''Myrmelachista'' occupy monospecific patches of understory ''Duroia'' and ''Tococa'' (Melastomataceae) (Morawetz et al. 1992, Svoma & Morawetz 1992, Renner & Ricklefs 1998, Frederickson et al. 2005). These patches stand out in the typically dense and diverse understory vegetation as peculiar zones of a single plant species with bare earth beneath them and a ring of bare soil around the perimeter. These patches are created and maintained by the ants, which attack and kill foreign vegetation by spraying it with formic acid, which acts as an herbicide (Morawetz et al. 1992, Renner & Ricklefs 1998, Frederickson et al. 2005).

The first indication of something interesting in Central American ''Myrmelachista'' was Stout’s (1979) observation of a tight association between an unidentified ''Myrmelachista'' and an understory tree species in the genus ''Ocotea'' (Lauraceae). She examined 50 plants of ''Ocotea “pedalifolia”'' (probably a mix of ''O. atirrensis'' and ''O. dendrodaphne'' [Hammel 1986]) at the La Selva Biological Station, and found the stems of 49 of them inhabited by ''Myrmelachista''. Since then little has been written about the association, although floristic works on the Lauraceae recognize that various species are routinely occupied by ants (Hammel 1986, Burger & van der Werff 1990). Ibarra-Manríquez and Dirzo (1990) reported the same phenomenon at the Los Tuxtlas Biological Station in Veracruz, Mexico. My studies of ''Myrmelachista'' in Costa Rica reveal that these observations are just the beginning and that there is a largely overlooked community of Central American ''Myrmelachista'' and their associated plants.

Throughout Costa Rica the understory of mature wet forests have high densities of plants that are associated with multiple species of ''Myrmelachista''. Cloud forests likewise have high densities of ''Myrmelachista'' living in live stems, but they are more abundant in the canopy than in the understory. Many of these species nest entirely inside of live stems and rarely venture out onto the surface, and the plants they inhabit show no external signs of specialization for ant occupation. There are no preformed domatia, no food bodies, and no extrafloral nectaries. The result is a lineage of ants that in spite of being species-rich and very abundant is almost never collected. Many of the species reported here (Longino 2006) had never been collected prior to my work in Costa Rica, much less receiving any formal taxonomic treatment.

'''Nakano et al (2015)''' - Workers have been observed in association with 20 families and 53 species of angiosperms (see review by Nakano et al., 2013) and in leaf litter (Suguituru et al., 2011, 2013). Nests are located in the trunks of live trees (Longino, 2006). Colonies with immature and reproductive ants also occupy twigs dispersed on the leaf litter (Nakano et al., 2012, 2013). The genus ''Myrmelachista'' is characterized by forming mutualistic associations with some [[myrmecophytes]] (Renner & Ricklefs, 1998; Edwards et al., 2009), where workers use formic acid to protect the host plant (Frederickson, 2005), as well as with Coccidae and Pseudococcidae (Kusnezov, 1951; Stout, 1979; Ketterl et al., 2003; Longino, 2006). Although some studies on this genus have been published recently (Longino, 2006; Nakano et al., 2012, 2013), information on the biology of ''Myrmelachista'' species is still scarce. Ants from this genus feed on extrafloral nectaries (Frederickson, 2005; McNett et al., 2010), but workers may take plant, fungal and animal fragments (eggs, feces and larvae) into the nests (Torres, 1984).

===Regional Information===
====Caribbean Taxa====
Longino  (2006)

*''[[Myrmelachista kraatzii]]''
*''[[Myrmelachista rogeri]]''
*''[[Myrmelachista rogeri manni]]''
*''[[Myrmelachista rogeri rubriceps]]''
*''[[Myrmelachista ambigua]]''
*''[[Myrmelachista ramulorum]]''
*''[[Myrmelachista ramulorum fortior]]''
*''[[Myrmelachista gagates]]''

All of the species from the Caribbean have 9 antennal segments.

The above are all the species and subspecies known from Caribbean islands. My knowledge of the Caribbean fauna is limited, but I have examined 20 collections of ''ramulorum'' from Puerto Rico, St. Croix, USA (Florida, possibly introduced and then extirpated, see Deyrup 2003), Santo Domingo, St. Thomas, and the Dominican Republic; three collections of ''rogeri'' from Cuba; syntypes of ''rogeri manni'' from Cuba, and syntypes of ''rogeri rubriceps'' from Cuba. All appear to be similar to ''plebecula''. All are bicolored or various shades of red brown. Unlike ''plebecula'', all have long erect setae projecting from the sides of the head (workers and queens). Eight queens of ''ramulorum'' are very small with very narrow, rectangular heads. The largest of these have the narrowest heads, with HW around 0.70mm and CI around 74, a combination not found in any Costa Rican species except for the one small ''longiceps''-like queen described under ''longiceps''. Unlike ''ramulorum'', the ''longiceps''-like queen lacks erect setae on the sides of the head. The smallest ''ramulorum'' queens and the queens of ''rogeri'' are in the same size range as ''plebecula'' queens, but with relatively narrow heads. All measured queens of ''plebecula'' have CI 85 or greater. The highest CI among the ''ramulorum'' and ''rogeri'' queens is 82. ''Myrmelachista kraatzii'', ''ambigua'', ''rogeri'', and ''ramulorum'' are all older names than ''plebecula'', and if ''plebecula'' proves to be an allopatric variant of a widespread polytypic Caribbean species it will no doubt be a synonym of one of these older names.

It is not clear that ''rogeri'' and ''ramulorum'' are distinct. When two Cuban ''rogeri'' queens I have measured are compared to eight ''ramulorum'' queens from other islands, they are at the small end of a continuum of measurements.

''Myrmelachista ambigua'' was described from a single worker from St. Vincent. Given the relative uniformity of workers, the published description and even examination of the type will be of little use. Queen and male-associated collections of ''Myrmelachista'' from St. Vincent will be needed to compare with material from other parts of the Caribbean. Wheeler (1908) considered the worker of ''ramulorum'' close to ''ambigua''.

''Myrmelachista gagates'', from Haiti, was described as being close to ''rogeri'' but solid black.

It will be important to examine multiple collections of ''Myrmelachista'' from Cuba, to ascertain whether there are multiple sympatric species there. It is unknown whether ''kraatzii'' and the forms of ''rogeri'' are distinct or represent one variable species. ''Myrmelachista kraatzii'' from Cuba and ''M. nigella'' from Venezuela are the two oldest names in the genus, ''kraatzii'' being a 9-segmented form and ''nigella'' a 10-segmented form. Thus ''kraatzii'' would have priority among all the 9-segmented forms.

One collection from El Yunque, Puerto Rico, is indistinguishable from ''M. longiceps''. It is a collection of workers and alate queens, collected by Juan Torres. I am reluctant to identify it as ''longiceps'' until more Puerto Rican material is obtained, but there is a large size gap between the queen of this El Yunque collection and the various queens of ''ramulorum'' from elsewhere in Puerto Rico.

From these observations it is clear that more collections are needed from the Caribbean to better understand species boundaries in this group.

====Southern Mexico====
Longino  (2006)

The following are all species from this region that have 9 antennal segments.

*''[[Myrmelachista skwarrae]]''
*''[[Myrmelachista skwarrae picea]]''
*''[[Myrmelachista skwarrae laeta]]'' 
*''[[Myrmelachista amicta]]''

The above are a set of species described together by Wheeler from material collected by Elisabeth Skwarra in southern Mexico. They are all very similar to ''plebecula'' and ''joycei''. I cannot distinguish workers of ''amicta'', ''skwarrae'' (and its two subspecies ''picea'' and ''laeta''), and ''plebecula''. The males of ''skwarrae'' and ''plebecula'' are distinct. The male of ''skwarrae'' differs from ''plebecula'' in having a basiparamere lobe and distinct (though minute) setose pygostyles. ''Myrmelachista skwarrae'' males are more like ''joycei''. They differ from ''joycei'' in the relatively thinner and more delicate basiparamere lobe and relatively larger ocelli.

If the Mexican forms prove to be geographic variants of ''plebecula'', the latter has priority. On the other hand, ''M. joycei'' could prove to be a geographic variant of one of the previously named Mexican forms.

====South America====
Longino  (2006)

There are two species in South America with 9 antennal segments.

*''[[Myrmelachista brevicornis]]''
*''[[Myrmelachista guyanensis]]''

From the descriptions of both species and my examination of workers of ''guyanensis'', these two species are similar to and could be synonymous with ''plebecula''. But further collections of South American ''Myrmelachista'' will be necessary to further understand their status.

It is tempting to speculate that the 10-segmented forms, widespread and diverse in South America, have spawned one main radiation of 9-segmented forms in Central America and the Caribbean. In this scenario only ''plebecula'', the “weediest” of 9-segmented forms, has spread into South America, and there is no diverse community of 9-segmented forms there. But the late discovery of a trove of 9-segmented ''Myrmelachista'' species in Costa Rica shows that this group may remain hidden from the general collector, even in the face of prolonged collecting effort. Thus we remain ignorant of extent of such forms in the South American hylea.

===Association with Other Organisms===
<!--====Species Uncertain====-->
{{CargoGenusAssociateList}}

===Life History Traits===
{{LifeHistoryTraits
|queen_number=<!--monogynous; polygynous; secondarily polygynous; facultatively polygynous; oligogynous-->
|queen_number_source=
|queen_number_notes=
|queen_type=<!--winged or dealate; ergatoid; dichthadiiform; brachypterous; gamergate-->
|queen_type_source=
|queen_type_notes=
|queen_mating_frequency=<!--single; multiple-->
|queen_mating_frequency_source=
|queen_mating_frequency_notes=
|male_type=<!--winged; ergatoid; brachypterous-->
|male_type_source=
|male_type_notes=
|worker_caste=<!--present; absent-->
|worker_caste_source=
|worker_caste_notes=
|worker-produced_males=<!--present; absent-->
|worker-produced_males_source=
|worker-produced_males_notes=
|colony_type=<!--monodomous; polydomous; supercolony-->
|colony_type_source=
|colony_type_notes=
|mean_colony_size=100's - 1000's
|mean_colony_size_source=Greer et al., 2021
|mean_colony_size_notes=
|max_colony_size=
|max_colony_size_source=
|max_colony_size_notes=
|compound_colony_type=not parasitic
|compound_colony_type_source=Greer et al., 2021
|compound_colony_type_notes=
|colony_founding=<!--claustral independent; non-claustral independent; dependent; facultative dependent; social parasite-->
|colony_founding_queen_number=<!--haplometrotic; pleometrotic-->
|colony_founding_source=
|colony_founding_notes=
|nest_site=arboreal
|nest_site_source=Greer et al., 2021
|nest_site_notes=
|diet_class=omnivore
|diet_class_source=Greer et al., 2021
|diet_class_notes=
|foraging_stratum=arboreal
|foraging_stratum_source=Greer et al., 2021
|foraging_stratum_notes=
|foraging_behaviour=
|foraging_behaviour_source=Greer et al., 2021
|foraging_behaviour_notes=
|activity_time=<!--diurnal; nocturnal; crepuscular-->
|activity_time_source=
|activity_time_notes=
|diet=<!--generalist predator; generalist; seed harvester; sugar feeder; seed harvester; specialist predator; fungivore-->
|diet_source=
|diet_notes=
|invasiveness_status=<!--native; exotic; invasive-->
|invasiveness_status_source=
|invasiveness_status_notes=
}}

==Castes==

==Morphology==
===Worker Morphology===
{{ExploreCargoData|prompt=Worker Morphology|table=WorkerMorphology}}
{{Worker Morphology
|antennal_segment_count=9; 10
|antennal_segment_count_source=
|antennal_segment_count_notes=
|antennal_club=3-4
|antennal_club_source=
|antennal_club_notes=
|palp_formula=6,4
|palp_formula_source=
|palp_formula_notes=
|total_dental_count=
|total_dental_count_source=
|total_dental_count_notes=
|spur_formula=0,0
|spur_formula_source=
|spur_formula_notes=
|eyes=11-100
|eyes_source=
|eyes_notes=
|ocelli=<!--absent; present-->
|ocelli_source=
|ocelli_notes=
|scrobes=absent
|scrobes_source=
|scrobes_notes=
|pronotal_spine=absent
|pronotal_spine_source=
|pronotal_spine_notes=
|mesonotal_spine=absent
|mesonotal_spine_source=
|mesonotal_spine_notes=
|propodeal_spine=absent
|propodeal_spine_source=
|propodeal_spine_notes=
|petiolar_spine=absent
|petiolar_spine_source=
|petiolar_spine_notes=
|caste=none or weak
|caste_source=
|caste_notes=
|body_size=
|body_size_source=
|body_size_notes=
|sting=absent
|sting_source=
|sting_notes=
|metaplural_gland=present
|metaplural_gland_source=
|metaplural_gland_notes=
|cocoon=present
|cocoon_source=
|cocoon_notes=
|source=
|notes=
|inline=yes
}}

{|
|[[File:Longino 2006 F1.jpg|thumb|500px|Longino 2006. Figure 1.]]
|}
{|
|[[File:Longino 2006 F3.jpg|thumb|500px|Longino 2006. Figure 3.]]
|}

==Nomenclature==
{{Nomenclature}}
*''<span style='color:red;font-weight:bold;'>MYRMELACHISTA </span>''[Formicinae: Plagiolepidini]
**''Myrmelachista'' Roger, 1863a: 162. Type-species: ''Myrmelachista kraatzii'', by monotypy.
**''Myrmelachista'' senior synonym of ''Decamera'' Roger (junior homonym), ''Hincksidris, Neaphomus'': Snelling, R.R. & Hunt, 1976: 110. 
*''HINCKSIDRIS'' [junior synonym of ''Myrmelachista'']
**''Hincksidris'' Donisthorpe, 1944b: 59 [as subgenus of ''Myrmelachista'']. Replacement name for ''Decamera'' Roger, 1863a: 166. [Junior homonym of ''Decamera'' Mulsant, 1842: 503 (Coleoptera).] 
**''Hincksidris'' junior synonym of ''Myrmelachista'': Snelling, R.R. & Hunt, 1976: 110.
*''NEAPHOMUS ''[junior synonym of ''Myrmelachista'']
**''Neaphomus'' Menozzi, 1935c: 324 [as subgenus of ''Aphomomyrmex'']. Type-species: ''Aphomomyrmex (Neaphomus) goetschi'', by monotypy. 
**''Neaphomus'' raised to genus: Kempf, 1972a: 152; Dlussky & Fedoseeva, 1988: 77. 
**''Neaphomus'' junior synonym of ''Myrmelachista'': Snelling, R.R. & Hunt, 1976: 110; Bolton, 1994: 50.

==References==
*Agosti, D. 1991.  Revision of the oriental ant genus Cladomyrma, with an outline of the higher classification of the Formicinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Syst. Entomol. 16: 293-310 (page 296, Myrmelachista in Formicinae, Pseudolasius genus group)
*Ashmead, W. H. 1905c.  A skeleton of a new arrangement of the families, subfamilies, tribes and genera of the ants, or the superfamily Formicoidea. Can. Entomol. 37: 381-384 (page 384, Myrmelachista in Formicinae, Plagiolepidini)
*Bolton, B. 2003.  Synopsis and Classification of Formicidae. Mem. Am. Entomol. Inst. 71: 370pp (page 103, Myrmelachista in Formicinae, Plagiolepini)
*[[Media:Boudinot, B.E., Borowiec, M.L. et al. 2022. Phylogeny, evolution, and classification of the ant genus Lasius (10.1111@syen.12522).pdf|Boudinot, B.E., Borowiec, M.L., Prebus, M.M. 2022. Phylogeny, evolution, and classification of the ant genus ''Lasius'', the tribe Lasiini and the subfamily Formicinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Systematic Entomology 47, 113-151]] ({{doi|10.1111/syen.12522}}).
*[[Media:Cantone, S. 2018. Winged ants. The Queen.pdf|Cantone S. 2018. Winged Ants, The queen. Dichotomous key to genera of winged female ants in the World. The Wings of Ants: morphological and systematic relationships (self-published).]]
*Dalla Torre, K. W. von. 1893.  Catalogus Hymenopterorum hucusque descriptorum systematicus et synonymicus. Vol. 7. Formicidae (Heterogyna). Leipzig: W. Engelmann, 289 pp. (page 174, Myrmelachista in Camponotinae)
*Emery, C. 1895l.  Die Gattung Dorylus Fab. und die systematische Eintheilung der Formiciden. Zool. Jahrb. Abt. Syst. Geogr. Biol. Tiere 8: 685-778 (page 771, Myrmelachista in Camponotinae, Plagiolepidini)
*Emery, C. 1925d.  Hymenoptera. Fam. Formicidae. Subfam. Formicinae. Genera Insectorum 183: 1-302 (page 32, Myrmelachista in Formicinae, Myrmelachistini)
*[[Media:Fernandez, F., Guerrero, R.J. et al. 2021. Sistemática y diversidad de las hormigas neotropicales (10.25100@socolen.v47i1.11082).pdf|Fernandez, F., Guerrero, R.J., Sánchez-Restrepo, A.F. 2021. Sistemática y diversidad de las hormigas neotropicales. Revista Colombiana de Entomología 47, 1–20]] ({{doi|10.25100/socolen.v47i1.11082}}).
*Forel, A. 1878c.  Études myrmécologiques en 1878 (première partie) avec l'anatomie du gésier des fourmis. Bull. Soc. Vaudoise Sci. Nat. 15: 337-392 (page 367, Myrmelachista in Camponotinae [Camponotidae])
*Forel, A. 1886a.  Einige Ameisen aus Itajahy (Brasilien). Mitt. Schweiz. Entomol. Ges. 7: 210-217 (page 214, Myrmelachista in Camponotinae, Plagiolepidini)
*Forel, A. 1893b.  Sur la classification de la famille des Formicides, avec remarques synonymiques. Ann. Soc. Entomol. Belg. 37: 161-167 (page 165, Myrmelachista in Camponotinae, Plagiolepidini)
*Forel, A. 1895b.  A fauna das formigas do Brazil. Bol. Mus. Para. Hist. Nat. Ethnogr. 1: 89-139 (page 106, Myrmelachista in Camponotinae, Plagiolepidini)
*Forel, A. 1899h.  Formicidae. [part]. Biol. Cent.-Am. Hym. 3: 105-136 (page 124, Myrmelachista in Camponotinae, Plagiolepidini)
*Forel, A. 1912j.  Formicides néotropiques. Part VI. 5me sous-famille Camponotinae Forel. Mém. Soc. Entomol. Belg. 20: 59-92 (page 89, Myrmelachista in Camponotinae, Myrmelachistini)
*Forel, A. 1917.  Cadre synoptique actuel de la faune universelle des fourmis. Bull. Soc. Vaudoise Sci. Nat. 51: 229-253 (page 249, Myrmelachista in Camponotinae, Myrmelachistini)
*[[Media:Longino 2006a.pdf|Longino, J.T. 2006. A taxonomic review of the genus ''Myrmelachista'' in Costa Rica. Zootaxa. 1141:1-54.]] 
*Mayr, G. 1865.  Formicidae. In: Reise der Österreichischen Fregatte "Novara" um die Erde in den Jahren 1857, 1858, 1859. Zoologischer Theil. Bd. II. Abt. 1.  Wien: K. Gerold's Sohn, 119 pp. (page 10, Myrmelachista in Formicinae [Formicidae])
*[[Media:Nakano, M.A., Miranda, V.F.O. et al. 2014. The genetic characterization of Myrmelachista assemblages in the Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil.pdf|Nakano, M.A., Miranda, V.F.O, Feitosa, R.M. & Morini, M.S.C. 2014. The geneic Characterizaion of Myrmelachista Roger Assemblages (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Formicinae) in the Atlanic Forest of Southeastern Brazil. Sociobiology 61, 21-27.]]
*[[Media:Nakano, M.A., et al. 2013. Occurrence and natural history of Myrmelachista Roger (Formicidae Formicinae) in the Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil.pdf|Nakano, M.A., Oliveira de Miranda, V.F., Rodrigues de Souza, D.R., Feitosa, R.M. & Morini,M.S.C. 2013. Occurrence and natural history of ''Myrmelachista'' Roger (Formicidae: Formicinae) in the Atlantic Forest of southeastern Brazil. Revista Chilena de Historia Natural 86, 169-179.]]
*[[Media:Nakano, M.A., Silva, R.R. et al. 2015. Morphological differentiation between species of Myrmelachista.pdf|Nakano, M.A., Silva, R.R., Miranda, V.F.O., Feitosa, R.M. & Morini, M.S.C. 2015. Morphological differentiation between species of ''Myrmelachista'' Roger (Formicidae: Formicinae) in Atlantic Forest areas of the Alto Tietê (São Paulo). Sociobiology 62(2): 321-327.]]
*Roger, J. 1863a.  Die neu aufgeführten Gattungen und Arten meines Formiciden-Verzeichnisses nebst Ergänzung einiger früher gegebenen Beschreibungen. Berl. Entomol. Z. 7: 131-214 (page 162, Myrmelachista as genus)
*Snelling, R. R.; Hunt, J. H. 1975.  The ants of Chile (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Rev. Chil. Entomol. 9: 63-129 (page 110, Myrmelachista senior synonym of Decamyrma Roger (junior homonym), Hincksidris and Neaphomus)
*Wheeler, W. M. 1910b.  Ants: their structure, development and behavior. New York: Columbia University Press, xxv + 663 pp. (page 143, Myrmelachista in Camponotinae, Plagiolepidini)
*Wheeler, W. M. 1922i.  Ants of the American Museum Congo expedition. A contribution to the myrmecology of Africa. VII. Keys to the genera and subgenera of ants. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 45: 631-710 (page 696, Myrmelachista in Formicinae, Myrmelachistini)
*Wheeler, W. M. 1934g.  Neotropical ants collected by Dr. Elisabeth Skwarra and others. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 77: 157-240 (page 188, Key to species (out of date))

[[category:Genus]]
[[category:Extant genus]]
[[category:Formicidae]][[category:Formicinae]][[category:Myrmelachistini]][[category:Myrmelachista]]
[[category:Formicinae genera]][[category:Myrmelachistini genera]]
[[Category:Gsr]]