Eurhopalothrix ortizae Longino

Longino, John T., 2013, A review of the Central American and Caribbean species of the ant genus Eurhopalothrix Brown and Kempf, 1961 (Hymenoptera, Formicidae), with a key to New World species, Zootaxa 3693 (2), pp. 101-151 : 130-133

Eurhopalothrix ortizae Longino , sp. nov.

( Figs 2 C, 14B, 25, 26, 36)

Type material. Holotype worker: Costa Rica, Puntarenas: Monteverde, 10.29905 -84.78292, ± 200 m, 1570 m, 30 Apr 1989, cloud forest, ex sifted leaf litter (J. Longino#2486-s) [INBC, INBIOCRI001281342]. Paratype workers, queen: same data as holotype [CAS, INBIOCRI001281341 (dealate queen), INBIOCRI001281343]; same data but 10.29701 -84.79972, ± 200 m, 1560 m, 18 Jul 1984 (J. Longino) [MCZC, LACM ENT 143279]; same data but 13 Mar 2003 (L. A. Schonberg LAS-MV 03-2-11) [MZSP, JTLC000003778]; same data but (L. A. Schonberg LAS- MV 03-2-18) [USNM, JTLC000003995]; same data but (L. A. Schonberg LAS-MV 03-2-07) [UCDC, JTLC000004020]; same data but 10.3 -84.8, ± 2 km, 1400 m, Apr–May 1987 (S. Little) [FMNH, LACM ENT 143286; JTLC, LACM ENT 143287, LACM ENT 143288].

Geographic range. Costa Rica.

Diagnosis. Mandible with single tooth row; anterior projection of labrum unilobed, without anterior notch; face with 18 specialized spatulate setae; ground pilosity of face spatulate, decumbent, in discrete patches on posterolateral face, leaving median strip bare, anterior border of ground pilosity gradual, extending a short distance beyond anterior row of specialized projecting setae; posteromedian vertex with shallow depression; pronotum with 2 pairs clavate setae; first gastral tergite with full complement 4 pairs erect setae in two longitudinal rows, posterior row with additional flanking pair (4 setae on posterior border); dorsal gastral setae long and weakly clavate, nearly linear. Similar to E. circumcapillum , E. machaquila , E. megalops , E. oscillum , E. schmidti , E. semicapillum .

Description. Worker. HW 0.65–0.75, HL 0.62–0.69, SL 0.36–0.42, SLL 0.01–0.03, CI 100–108, SLI 3–8 (n=6). Labrum as in Fig. 2 C, anterolateral gibbosities of basal portion developed as sharply right-angled, ventrallydirected teeth, apical portion elongate, flexed dorsally, relatively narrow, rounded at apex and lacking notch; apex with a fringe of short, non-capitate translucent setae; mandible triangular, dorsal surface convex, smooth and shining apically, grading to punctate basally, rounding into ventral surface; interior surface concave, smooth and shining; masticatory margin a single row of 11 flattened acute triangular teeth; scape with weakly developed basal lobe; scrobe deep, sharply delimited dorsally and ventrally, abutting deep antennal socket; surface of scrobe foveolate; eye small, about 5 ommatidia across greatest diameter; clypeus approximately planar, uniformly punctate, dull; sides of head above eyes moderately angulate; surface of face with shallow longitudinal median impression; median impression covered with dense confluent puncta, grading to punctatorugose sculpture laterally and anteriorly; occipital carina indistinct; undersurface of head punctatorugose; postgenal suture a well-developed longitudinal trough.

Promesonotal profile convex, somewhat flat-topped, meeting flat dorsal face of propodeum at obtuse angle; metanotal groove a small U-shaped groove; dorsal and posterior faces of propodeum distinct, meeting at obtuse angle, dorsal face shorter than posterior face; propodeal spine laminar, translucent, triangular, acute, ventral margin rounding into very narrow infradental lamella that extends down posterior face to propodeal lobe; propodeal spiracle small, directed posteriorly in small concavity between base of propodeal spine and dorsum of metapleural gland bulla; all of mesosoma except posterior face of propodeum uniformly punctate with smooth interspaces; posterior face of propodeum very faintly sculptured; no transverse carinae between bases of propodeal spines; puncta on promesonotum larger than those on katepisternum and side of propodeum; interspaces sublucid on promesonotum, more matte on katepisternum and side of propodeum.

Petiolar peduncle joins anterior face of petiolar node at rounded obtuse angle; anterior face of node meets sloping flat dorsal face at rounded right angle; posterior face of node very short; ventral margin of petiole with short, acute, anteroventral tooth; postpetiole low and broad, with a broad longitudinal sulcus dorsally; first gastral sternite lacking anterior sagittal keel; petiole and postpetiole densely punctate; first gastral tergite and sternite uniformly punctate; puncta of tergite very small, leaving smooth, shiny interspaces that are wider than puncta width, giving entire tergite shiny appearance; puncta of sternite similar but puncta and interspaces larger.

Dorsal surface of scape with moderately abundant, short, decumbent, flattened but linear setae; leading edge of scape with projecting, long, weakly clavate setae; ground pilosity on clypeus sparse, narrow, fully appressed; ground pilosity on clypeus obsolete; conspicuous ground pilosity of face composed of large setae, similar in shape and shape to those on scape, decumbent, distributed in two patches, gradually fading in front of anterior row of projecting specialized setae (about 2 rows of decumbent ground setae in front of projecting setae), patch delimited medially to leave bare median furrow, patch extending laterally to posterolateral margins of head; projecting specialized setae clavate, those along posterior vertex margin about 3x as long as wide, erect and welldifferentiated from ground pilosity, others smaller and less differentiated from ground pilosity; full complement 18, with curved anterior row of 8, transverse median row of 4, and posterior row of 6 on vertex margin, these 6 of similar size; Barva transect population with additional pair of small clavate setae at outermost angles of sides of head (approaching condition of E. schmidti ); ground pilosity obsolete on dorsal mesosoma and metasoma; 1 pair of projecting clavate setae on pronotum, 1 pair on anterior mesonotum; legs with ground pilosity similar to that on face, dense on apices of femora, dorsal and anterior faces of mid and hind tibia, posterior face of mid tibia, dorsal and posterior face of foretibia, sparser to absent elsewhere; apex of foretibia with 1 larger spatulate seta, apices of mid and hind tibia with 2; basitarsus with 3–5 pairs suberect clavate setae, remaining tarsomeres each with pair of suberect clavate setae, tarsal setae smaller on foretarsus than on mid and hind tarsus; two large clavate setae on hind margin of dorsal face of petiolar node; row of 4 clavate setae on hind margin of postpetiole, median pair smaller than lateral pair; larger specialized setae long and weakly clavate, often nearly linear, full complement 4 pairs in two longitudinal rows, additional pair flanking posterior pair (4 setae along posterior border of tergite).

Color dark brown to nearly black.

Queen. HW 0.71–0.72, HL 0.70–0.71, SL 0.40–0.41, SLL 0.01–0.04, CI 102, SLI 3–10 (n=3). Similar to worker in most respects; ocelli present; compound eye much larger than worker eye; anepisternum separated from katepisternum by U-shaped groove; metapleuron separated from propodeum by broad U-shaped groove; puncta fading on anterodorsal katepisternum, leaving small smooth patch; pronotum with 1 pair clavate setae; mesoscutum with 6 straight, erect, narrowly clavate setae; axilla with clavate seta; scutellum with 1 pair clavate setae; first gastral tergite with number and arrangement of erect setae similar to worker.

Biology. This species inhabits mature cloud forest. It is known from 1400–1700 m elevation. All specimens are from Winkler samples of sifted litter and rotten wood from the forest floor. In the Monteverde cloud forest in the Cordillera de Tilarán, it is restricted to the narrow belt of dense cloud forest on the ridge crest, above 1400 m, with abrupt transitions to other species in lower forests on Pacific and Atlantic slopes. On the Barva transect in the Cordillera Volcánica Central, it is rare and only in a narrow elevational belt at 1500 m. It occurred in 1% of miniWinkler samples at 1500 m, and was not found at flanking sites at 1100 m and 2000 m.

Comments. In the Monteverde cloud forest, specimens from ecotonal areas on the Pacific slope appear to intergrade with E. schmidti ( Fig. 26 ). Intermediate specimens occur at the transition zones between the heavily moss-laden cloud forest and the less-mossy moist forest of the Monteverde community area. Intermediate specimens have the head and mesosoma the same as E. ortizae , but the first gastral tergite has the erect setae shorter and more broadened apically (more strongly clavate) and the puncta are larger and more closely spaced, giving the surface a more dull appearance, more like E. schmidti .

Etymology. The name is in honor of Patricia Ortiz, a brilliant naturalist whose untimely death saddened the Monteverde community. It is a genitive noun and thus invariant.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Eurhopalothrix labra. A. E. bolaui (Nicaragua, CASENT 0619922). B. E. semicapillum (Costa Rica, CASENT 0639342). C. E. ortizae (Costa Rica, LACM ENT 143281). D. E. gravis (Costa Rica, INB 0003212299). E. E. sepultura (Mexico, CASENT 0639334). F. E. mabuya (Cuba, CASENT 0630193). G. E. xibalba (Costa Rica, INB 0003698926). H. E. floridana (USA, LACM ENT 143276). I. E. cimu (Cuba, CASENT 0639337). A – H are dissected labra imaged in fluid. I is dry-mounted specimen, basal portion is not visible, and maxilla are visible in background. With the exception of E. cimu, specimen codes are for dry-mounted specimens from the same series, not the dissected specimen. Images are not to scale.

FIGURE 26. Detail distribution map of E. ortizae, E. schmidti, and intermediate specimens in the Monteverde area, Costa Rica. Dots are occurrences in separate Winkler samples.