Cephalotes nilpiei, De Andrade, 1999

Oliveira, Aline Machado, Powell, Scott & Feitosa, Rodrigo Machado, 2021, A taxonomic study of the Brazilian turtle ants (Formicidae: Myrmicinae: Cephalotes), Revista Brasileira de Entomologia 65 (3), No. e 20210028, pp. 1-52 : 40-42

Cephalotes nilpiei

Figs. 46 a-c, 47a-c, 48

Holotype: BRAZIL, Rio de Janeiro, Parque Nacional de ltatiaia , 15.xii.1966, 950- 1000m, H. Reichardt [ MZSP] [examined].

Additional material examined: Brazil, MG, Santana do Riacho, Capão, 1253m, -19.206740 -43.495630, S. Powell, 31.vii.2018 /C18- 208 (3 gynes, 3 males) [ DZUP].

Gyne measurements ( N =3): HL 1.73-1.75; HW 1.55; EL 0.35; PW 1.43-1.48; WL 2.15-2.20; PTL 0.63-0.68; PTW 0.28-0.35; PPL 0.78-0.80; PPW 0.30-0.38; GL 2.60-2.70; HBL 0.54-0.58; HBW 0.18-0.20; TL 7.48- 8.02; CI 88.6-89.8; OI 22.6; PI 84.4-84.6; HBI 33.3-37.0.

Worker and soldier descriptions can be found in De Andrade and Baroni Urbani, 1999, page 381.

Gyne (first description): Body black to brownish; frontal lobes, lateral margins of pronotum and propodeum, and legs brownish to ferruginous. First gastral tergite with an anterior and a posterior pair of yellowish spots, each one occupying more than one third of the first tergite length ( Fig. 46 ).

Mandibles and dorsum of head foveate; anterolateral portion of cephalic disc rugose with sparse foveae ( Fig. 46a ); ventral face of head longitudinally rugose-microalveolate.Declivous face of propodeum, legs and gaster microalveolate. Dorsum of mesosoma, petiole and postpetiole microalveolate with shallow foveae ( Fig. 46c ); lateral of mesosoma microalveolate. Propleura and lower surface of metapleura weakly rugose. Anepisternum and katepisternum weakly foveate ( Fig. 46b ). Dorsum of gaster anteriorly finely rugose ( Fig. 46c ).

Body with appressed canaliculate hairs. Mandibles, mesosoma, petiole and postpetiole with short erect simple hairs; mandibles and anterior margin of clypeus with short erect clavate hairs ( Fig. 46a ). Gaster with appressed simplehairs and someshort erecthairs ( Fig. 46b ).

Head longer thanwide ( CI 88.6-89.8). Mandibleswith a longitudinal lateral angle. Clypeus without pair of denticles ( Fig. 46a ). Dorsum of head discshaped, slightly concave anteriorly. Frontal carinaecrenulate anteriorly. Antennae with a three-segmented club. Roof of antennal scrobes with lateral carinae without projections.Lateroventral margins of head without carinae. Vertexal corners forming a pair of broad projections ( Fig. 46c ).

Indorsalview, anteriormarginofpronotumslightlyrounded, anterolateral margins with blunt projection, pronotal carina weakly developed, crenulate, mediallyinterrupted ( Fig. 46c ). Dorsally, mesoscutumsubtriangular, anteriormargin convex; notauli absent; parapsidial lines visible and parallel; transscutal line reaching lateral margins of mesosoma; scutoscutellar groove impressed, arched, and scrobiculate; scutellum well delimited and broader anteriorly; axillae acute posteriorly ( Fig. 46c ). Laterally, mesopleural groove dividing anepisternum and katepisternum; metapleura divided in upper metapleura and lower metapleura by groove; metapleuropropodeal groove not impressed ( Fig. 46b ). In dorsal view, posterior margin of propodeum concave with a pair of short, blunt denticles ( Fig. 46c ). Wings unknown.

In dorsal view, petiole subrectangular, anterior margin concave and lateral margins with a tiny denticle ( Fig. 46c ), subpetiolar process narrowwithan acuteprojection anteriorly ( Fig.46b ). Postpetiole longer and wider than petiole, without dorsal elevations, with lateral blunt projections ( Fig. 46c ), subpostpetiolar process short and compressed anteroposteriorly ( Fig. 46b ).

Gaster elongatewith anarrow anteriorlamellar expansion ( Fig.46c ).

Malemeasurements ( N =3): HL 0.58-0.64; HW 0.93-1.00; EL 0.38; PW 1.03-1.10; WL 1.48-1.60; PTL 0.40-0.45; PTW 0.30-0.32; PPL 0.40-0.45; PPW 0.28-0.30; GL 0.93-0.98; HBL 0.54-0.56; HBW 0.8; TL 3.82-4.07; CI 153-166; OI 37.5-40.5; PI 125-140; HBI 14.3-14.8.

Male (first description): Body predominantly black; apices of femora, tibiae andtarsi, and edges of each sternite and tergite brownish to yellowish ( Fig. 47b ).

Mandibles, head, pronotum and metanotum microalveolate with sparseshallow foveae ( Fig.47 ). Anepisternum, katepisternum and lower mesopleuron rugose; upper mesopleuron and propodeum scabrous ( Fig. 47b ). Legs, petiole, postpetiole and gaster weakly microalveolate ( Fig. 47c ).

Body with long and flexuous hairs, more abundant on mandibles, dorsum of head anddorsum of mesosoma. Legswith long hairs only in the internal face of coxae and femur. Hairs shorter on gaster ( Fig. 47b ).

Head widerthan longer ( CI 153-166), broader posteriorly. Mandibles with one to three apical teeth, lateral angle absent ( Fig. 47a ). Clypeus with a median elevation, posteriormargin rounded. Frontal carinae not extending posteriorly. The central portion ofhead slightly elevated. Eyes occupying more than half of head length ( Fig. 47a ). Ocelli positioned at a central elevation. Antenna as the genus description.

Indorsalview,anteriormarginofpronotumslightlyrounded, laterally angular ( Fig.47c ). Mesoscutum subtriangular; notauli deeply impressed; parapsidial linesvisible andparallel; transscutal linereaching the lateral margins of mesosoma; scutoscutellar groove deeply impressed, arched, and scrobiculate; scutellum well delimited and broader anteriorly; axillae with posterior denticles ( Fig.47c ). Laterally, mesopleuralgroove dividinganepisternumand katepisternum; metapleuradivided inupper metapleura and lower metapleura by a groove; metapleuropropodeal groove inconspicuous ( Fig. 47b ). Dorsal face of propodeum straight and with a rounded angle ( Fig. 47b ). Wings as in the genus description.

In dorsal view, petiole and postpetiole wider than longer, laterally rounded, without lateral or dorsal projections, subpetiolar and subpostpetiolar process weakly developed ( Fig. 47c ).

Gaster as long as mesosoma. The first tergite narrower than mesosoma and occupying half or less than the total length of gaster ( Fig. 47b ), without anterior projection. ( Fig. 47c ).

Figures

Figure 46 Gyne of Cephalotes nilpiei. A: frontal view. B: lateral view. C: dorsal view. Brazil: MG, Santana do Riacho.

Figure 47 Male of Cephalotes nilpiei. A: frontal view. B: lateral view. C: dorsal view. Brazil: MG, Santana do Riacho.