Pseudomyrmex elongatulus (Dalle Torre)

Ward, Philip S. & Branstetter, Michael G., 2022, Species Paraphyly and Social Parasitism: Phylogenomics, Morphology, and Geography Clarify the Evolution of the Pseudomyrmex elongatulus Group (Hymenoptera:, Insect Systematics and Diversity (AIFB) 6 (1), pp. 1-31 : 22-23

Pseudomyrmex elongatulus (Dalle Torre)

Figs. 10, 11 and 23

Pseudomyrma elongata F. Smith 1877: 67 . Syntype worker, Mexico (BMNH) [examined]. Junior primary homonym of Pseudomyrma elongata Mayr 1870: 413 .

Pseudomyrma elongatula Dalle Torre, 1892: 89 . Replacement name.

Pseudomyrma decipiens Forel 1899: 95 . Syntype workers, queens, Teapa, Mexico (H. H. Smith) (BMNH, MHNG) [examined]. Synonymy by Kempf 1967: 6.

Pseudomyrmex decipiens (Forel) ; Creighton 1953: 132. Combination in Pseudomyrmex .

Pseudomyrmex elongatulus (Dalle Torre) ; Kempf 1967: 6. Combination in Pseudomyrmex .

Pseudomyrmex elongatulus (Dalle Torre) ; Ward and Downie 2005: 314, 316. Placement in morphological and molecular phylogenies.

Pseudomyrmex elongatulus (Dalle Torre) ; Chomicki et al. 2015: 4. Placement in molecular phylogeny.

Other material examined ( AMNH, BMNH, CASC, CEET, CHAH, CSCA, CUIC, CZUG, FSCA, IEXA, JTLC, LACM, MCZC, MNHN, MZSP, PSWC, SEMC, SMPC, UCDC, UCRC, USNM, UTEP, UWEM).

Belize: Cayo: Belmopan (Krauss, N. L. H.); Chiabul Forest, 5 km SE Millionario (Beard, J.); Chiabul Forest, San Pastor (Beard, J.); El Cayo (Krauss, N. L. H.); Las Cuevas, 5 km SE Millionario (Beard, J.); Las Cuevas, 5 km SE Millionario (Lyal, C.; Hollis, D.);

Orange Walk: Rio Bravo Conserv. Area , La Milpa Res. Stn. (Davis, L. R.) ; Guatemala: Escuintla: 6.6 mi NE Escuintla (Janzen, D. H.) ;

Guatemala: ex Guatemala City (in quarantine San Francisco, USA) (c.u.) ; Peten: Tikal Mayan ruins, 183 m (Ross, E. S.) ; Petén: Tikal (Hubbell, T. H.) ; unknown: ex ‘ Guatemala’ (in quarantine San Francisco, CA, USA) (c.u.) ; Mexico: Chiapas: 8 km SE Salto de Agua , 100 m ( LLAMA) ; 8 km SE Salto de Agua , 60 m ( LLAMA) ; 8 km SE Salto de Agua , 70 m ( LLAMA) ; Lago Metzabok , 560 m ( LLAMA) ; Lago Metzabok , 570 m ( LLAMA) ; Lago Metzabok , 575 m ( LLAMA) ; Laguna Bélgica (Girón, M.) ; Nahá , 860 m ( LLAMA) ; Nahá , 950 m ( LLAMA) ; Palenque ruins, 170 m (Cox, D. J.) ; Simojovel to Santo Domingo (Chemsak, J. A.) ; Tonalá [as ‘Tonola’] (Petrunkewitch) ; Yevalchen, Mpio. Tumbala , 1,335 m (Philpott, S. M.) ; Morelos: Huautla (Quiroz, L.) ; Oaxaca: 11–17 mi W Tehuantepec (Janzen, D. H.) ; 22 mi S Jesus Carranza (Graber, J. W.) ; 5 mi E Temascal (Janzen, D. H.) ; Café Carlota , 950 m (Gray, K. W.) ; Temascal (Janzen, D. H.) ; Uluapan , 4 km NE Ayautla, 410 m (Longino, J.) ; Uluapan , 4 km NE San Bartolomé Ayautla, 420 m ( ADMAC) ; Uluapan , 4 km NE San Bartolomé Ayautla, 470 m ( ADMAC) ; Uluapan , 4 km NE San Bartolomé Ayautla, 500 m ( ADMAC) ; Uluapan , 4 km NE San Bartolomé Ayautla, 510 m ( ADMAC) ; Uluapan , 4 km NE San Bartolomé Ayautla, 620 m ( ADMAC) ; Puebla: Villa Juarez (intercepted at Brownsville, Texas) (Heinrich; Jackson) ; San Luis Potosí: 13 km N Tamazunchale , 290 m (MacKay, W.) ; 84 km W Cd. Valle , 645 m (MacKay, W.) ; Ciudad Valles, Carr. al Naranjo , Salto Micos, 168 m (Vásquez, M.) ; El Salto , 520 m (Carney, L.) ; Tamasopo, Cascadas El Paraiso, 400 m (Vásquez, M.) ; Tamazunchale , 120 m (Creighton, W. S.) ; Tamazunchale , 245 m (Creighton, W. S.) ; Tamazunchale (Ross, W. S.) ; Tamazunchale (intercepted at Brownsville , Texas) (Heinrich) ; Tamazunchale (intercepted at Laredo , Texas) (c.u.) ; Tamazunchale ( POE: Brownsville , Texas) (Arsego) ; Xilitla, Arroyo La Conchita , 431 m (Vásquez, M.) ; Tabasco: 13 km W border Chis., Rt. 186 (MacKay, W.) ; 3 mi W Cardenas (Janzen, D. H.) ; Cardenas (Janzen, D. H.) ; Teapa (Shenefelt, R. D.) ; Teapa (Smith, H. H.) ; Tamaulipas: 10 km W El Encino , 510 m (Ward, P. S.) ; Gomez Farias (MacKay, W.) ; Tampico (Locke) ; Veracruz: 10 mi E Conejos (Janzen, D. H.) ; 10 mi W Veracruz (Bohart, G. E.) ; 11 km NNE Sontecomapan , 175 m (Ward, P. S.) ; 15 km SW Paso del Toro , 50 m (Ward, P. S.) ; 29.5 mi NW Tuxpam (Janzen, D. H.) ; 3 km NW La Tinaja , 50 m (MacKay, W.) ; 6 km NW Tecolapán , 55 m (Kautz, S.; Eilmus, S.) ; 8 km NNE Soteapan , 1,010 m (Ward, P. S.) ; 8 km NNE Soteapan , 970 m (Ward, P. S.) ; 9 km NE San Andrés Tuxtla , 965 m (Ward, P. S.) ; 9 km NNW Sontecomapan , 20 m (Ward, P. S.) ; Apazapan , 347 m (Quiroz, L.) ; Apazapan (Sivinski, J.) ; Camaron (Skwarra, E.) ; Catemaco Hills , 8 mi S Angel (Janzen, D. H.) ; Cordoba (Bohart, G. E.) ; Córdoba , Cuauhtémoc (Navarrete, J. L.) ; Cotaxtla Exp. Stn. , Cotaxtla (Janzen, D. H.) ; Est. Biol. ‘ Los Tuxtlas’, nr. San Andres Tuxtla (Ibarra M., G.) ; Est. Biol. de Los Tuxtlas (Hespenheide, H. A.) ; Est. Biol. La Mancha , 20 m ( ADMAC) ; Est. Biol. Los Tuxtlas , 110 m ( ADMAC) ; Est. Biol. Los Tuxtlas , 140 m ( ADMAC) ; Est. Biol. Los Tuxtlas , 160 m ( ADMAC) ; Est. Biol. Los Tuxtlas , 170 m ( ADMAC) ; Est. Biol. Los Tuxtlas , 180 m ( ADMAC) ; Est. Biol. Los Tuxtlas , 450 m ( ADMAC) ; Estación de Biología Los Tuxtlas , 115 m (Ward, P. S.) ; Estación de Biología Los Tuxtlas , 150 m (Ward, P. S.) ; Estación de Biología Los Tuxtlas , 170 m (Ward, P. S.) ; Estación de Biología Los Tuxtlas , 450 m (Ward, P. S.) ; Fortin , 950 m (Ward, P. S.) ; Fortín de las Flores (Edwards, G. B.) ; Fortín de las Flores - Sumidero , Planta de la Cerveceria, 840 m (Weems, Jr., H. V.) ; La Mancha (c.u.) ; Las Hamacas , 17 km N Santiago Tuxtla (Wilson, E. O.) ; Los Tuxtlas , 140 m (Kautz, S.; Heil, M.) ; Los Tuxtlas (Jeanne, R. L.) ; Los Tuxtlas , 10 km NNW Sontecomapan, 200 m (Ward, P. S.) ; Los Tuxtlas , 10 km NNW Sontecomapan, 500 m (Ward, P. S.) ; Mirador (Skwarra) ; Pueblo Nuevo, nr. Tetzonapa (Cornell Univ. Mexico Field Party) ; Pueblo Nuevo, nr. Tetzonapa (Wilson, E. O.) ; Rio Tonto (Janzen, D. H.) ; Ruiz Cortínez , 12 km NE San Andrés Tuxtla, 1,050 m ( ADMAC) ; Sa. Teoviscocla, nr. Cuichapa (Cornell Univ. Mexico Field Party) ; San Andrés Tuxtla (Janzen, D. H.) ; St. Lucrecia (Knab, F.) ; St. Lucrecia (Mann, W. M.) ; Tuxpango-Orizaba (Gillogly, A. R.) ; Vera Cruz (Townsend) ; Veracruz (Krauss, N. L. H.); unknown: ‘ Mexico’ (c.u.) ; ‘ Mexique’ (Smith, H. H.) ; United States: Florida: Palm Beach Co. : MacArthur Beach SP (Deyrup, M.) .

Worker measurements (n = 14). HW 0.93–1.09, HL 1.03–1.32, MFC 0.034 –0.045, LHT 0.80–0.97, CI 0.81–0.90, FCI 0.033 –0.046, REL 0.47–0.53, REL2 0.54–0.61, FI 0.43–0.47, PLI 0.44–0.52, PWI 0.41–0.48, MSC 2–4.

Worker Diagnosis. Medium-sized species ( HW 0.93–1.06, LHT 0.80–0.97); head only moderately elongate ( CI 0.81–0.90) and with rounded posterolateral corners in full-face view (Fig. 10); eyes relatively large (see REL and REL2 values); frontal carinae separated by less than basal scape width; metanotal groove strongly impressed, conspicuous in profile; dorsal face of propodeum flat, rounding into declivitous face, the two subequal in length; petiole slender, elongate-triangular in profile ( PLI 0.47–0.53, PL/HL 0.57–0.61, PL/ LHT 0.75–0.80); petiole with slight anterior peduncle, in profile the anterodorsal face flat to convex, ascending gradually to summit in posterior quarter of node, then rounding into steeply descending posterior face; profemur moderately robust ( FI 0.43–0.47); hind leg moderately long ( LHT /HL 0.74–0.79). Head subopaque to sublucid, densely punctulate-coriarious, the punctures becoming less dense on vertex (separated by their diameters or more). Standing pilosity sparse, absent from propodeum and mesonotum ( MSC 2–4). Typically light yellow-brown to orange-brown, with darker brown anterolateral patches on abdominal tergite 4 (first gastric tergite) and brown transverse bands on abdominal tergites 5–7 (gastric tergites 2–4); in some samples from Guatemala and Belize head and mesosoma more infuscated, and gaster tending to be more uniformly medium brown.

Comments. Distinctive features of this species are the moderately elongate head with rounded posterolateral corners, large eyes (worker REL 0.47–0.53, queen REL 0.44–0.46), conspicuous metanotal groove in the worker (Fig. 10), and slender elongatetriangular petiole (worker PLI 0.44–0.52, queen PLI 0.45–0.51). Pseudomyrmex elongatulus is typically light yellow-brown to orange-brown with darker transverse maculation on the gaster, but some specimens from Guatemala and Belize are darker brown overall. Leaving aside P. ereptor (see Pseudomyrmex ereptor sp. nov.), the closest relative of P. elongatulus is P. exoratus (Fig. 1), easily told apart by its much more elongate head (worker CI 0.67– 0.69, vs 0.81–0.90 in P. elongatulus ).

Distribution and Biology. This species is widely distributed in eastern Mexico, from Tamaulipas to Chiapas, with outlying populations in Guatemala and Belize. The record from Morelos needs to be confirmed since it lies outside the expected range of this species. It may represent a transient introduction. There are records of P. elongatulus being intercepted at U.S. ports of entry in Texas and California, from shipments originating in Puebla, San Luis Potosí, and Guatemala (see list of material examined, above), indicating that this species has a propensity to be transported by human commerce. A single worker collected recently by Mark Deyrup in a natural setting in south Florida evidently represents an accidental introduction. It is unclear if P. elongatulus is established in that state; a second visit to the site failed to locate additional workers (Deyrup, personal communication). P. elongatulus has been recorded from lowland rainforest, rainforest edge, second-growth rainforest, mixed tropical/ temperate mesic forest, shaded coffee, tropical dry forest, and roadside habitats, at elevations ranging from 20 m to 1355 m (mean 417 m; n = 53). Nests are found in dead twigs of various plants. Specific nest site records include dead stalk of grass, dead twig of liana, and dead twigs/stems of Cecropia , Heliocarpus appendiculatus , Gliricidia sepium , Mimosa , Orchidaceae , woody Asteraceae , and unidentified woody plants.