Nesomyrmex spininodis ( Mayr, 1887 )

Arredondo, Brandon S. & Guerrero, Roberto J., 2025, The ant genus Nesomyrmex Wheeler (Formicidae, Myrmicinae) from the threatened Colombian tropical dry forest: three new species, a new synonymy, and new distributional data, ZooKeys 1232, pp. 131-172 : 131-172

publication ID

https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1232.141693

publication LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:pub:0AA099A2-EA57-4E27-937A-0976B9F8A4B5

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15041638

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/9409219A-903D-5F39-BBB8-2133FBBCAC1C

treatment provided by

ZooKeys by Pensoft (2025-03-17 15:24:19, last updated 2025-03-17 19:30:00)

scientific name

Nesomyrmex spininodis ( Mayr, 1887 )
status

 

Nesomyrmex spininodis ( Mayr, 1887) View in CoL

Figs 26 View Figure 26 , 29 View Figure 29

Leptothorax spininodis Mayr, 1887: 617. Lectotype worker: Brazil, Rio de Janeiro or Chile, Valparaiso. [ NHMW]. (AntWeb image examined, CASENT 0919734). View in CoL

Combination in Leptothorax (Goniothorax) : Emery 1896: 59.

Leptothorax (Goniothorax) umbratilis Wheeler, 1921: 160. Syntype (queen, worker): Guyana, Bartica, Penal Settlement. [ MCZC, MZSP]. (Image examined, MZSP 78366). Synonymy by Kempf 1959: 427. View in CoL

Leptothorax (Goniothorax) genualia Santschi, 1922: 252. Holotype (worker): Paraguay, Asuncion. [ NHMB]. (AntWeb image examined, CASENT 0913001). Synonymy by Kempf 1959: 427. View in CoL

Combination in Leptothorax (Nesomyrmex) : Kempf 1959: 427

Combination in Nesomyrmex View in CoL : Bolton 2003: 272.

Worker measurements.

(n = 1) HL 0.68, HW 0.62, SL 0.48, ML 0.29, EL 0.15, PW 0.44, PTW 0.21, PPW 0.28, WL 0.82, PH 0.25, PTL 0.32, PTH 0.22, PPL 0.22, PPH 0.22, GL 0.79, CI 91, SI 77.

Geographic range.

Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, French Guiana, Paraguay, Suriname, Venezuela.

Examined material.

Colombia • 1 worker; Vichada, Cumaribo, Parque Nacional Natural Tuparro ; 5.350278°N, 67.876667°W; 100 m a. s. l.; 12 Apr. 1995; J. Muñoz leg.; Manual coll.; IAvH -E-251254 GoogleMaps .

Natural history.

Species collected by manual sampling on vegetation in Parque Nacional Natural Tuparro.

Comments.

This species can be recognized by 11 antennomeres, uniformly testaceous or yellowish-brown coloration, dorsal surface of head finely reticulate-punctate and longitudinally rugose, without presence of shiny areas, and basal third of first gastral tergite generally aciculate-striate in its sculpture.

Kempf (1959) synonymized all previously described species and subspecies within the echinatinodis complex under the nominal species, except for N. spininodis . A potential revision of the N. echinatinodis complex could either result in the synonymization of certain species or the division of the complex into multiple forms. It is common to find N. echinatinodis exhibiting sculpture similar to that of N. spininodis , particularly in populations from Colombia different from those living in the TDF (Unpublished data). Additionally, coloration is highly variable within the echinatinodis complex. For this reason, using coloration as the primary criterion for distinguishing between different forms is not recommended. Thus, the separation of both species should not rely solely on coloration; instead, the sculpture of the frontal area of the head and the first gastral tergum should also be compared.

Bolton B (2003) Synopsis and classification of Formicidae. Memoirs of the American Entomological Society 71: 1–370.

Emery C (1896) Studi sulle formiche della fauna neotropica. XVII-XXV. Bullettino della Società Entomologica Italiana 28: 33–107.

Kempf WW (1959) A synopsis of the New World species belonging to the Nesomyrmex - group of the ant genus Leptothorax Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Studia Entomologica 2: 391–432.

Mayr G (1887) Sudamerikanische Formiciden. Verhandlungen der Kaiserlich-Koniglichen Zoologisch-Botanischen Gesellschaft in Wien 37: 511-632.

Santschi F (1922) Description de nouvelles fourmis de l'Argentine et pays limitrophes. Anales de la Sociedad Cientifica Argentina 94: 241-262.

Wheeler WM (1921) The Tachigalia ants. Zoologica (New York) 3: 137-168. https://doi.org/10.5962/p.184627

Gallery Image

Figure 26. Nesomyrmex spininodis worker (IAvH - E- 251254) A full-face view B lateral view C dorsal view. Scale bars: 0.2 mm (A, B); 0.5 mm (C).

Gallery Image

Figure 29. Distributional map of Nesomyrmex species from the tropical dry forest in Colombia.

NHMW

Naturhistorisches Museum, Wien

MZSP

Sao Paulo, Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de Sao Paulo

NHMB

Natural History Museum Bucharest

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Hymenoptera

Family

Formicidae

SubFamily

Myrmicinae

Genus

Nesomyrmex