A catalogue of the ants of Paraguay (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)
Author
Wild, Alexander L.
text
Zootaxa
2007
1622
1
55
journal article
10.5281/zenodo.179222
9584df9a-a4a2-49bb-a256-cb99776f4dc8
1175-5326
179222
Myrmelachista nodigera
Mayr 1887
.
Myrmelachista nodigera
Mayr 1887: 529
. [
holotype
w examined, NHMW; Santa Catharina,
Brazil
, Hetschko].
Myrmelachista nodigera
var.
flavicornis
Emery 1896b: 638
.
NEW SYNONYMY.
[
syntype
w examined, MCSN; Concepción,
Paraguay
(Bohls)].
Myrmelachista nodigera
subsp.
pallida
Forel 1909: 263
.
NEW SYNONYMY.
[
syntype
w examined, MHNG; San Bernadino, Cordillera,
Paraguay
(Fiebrig)].
Myrmelachista
(
Decamera
)
nodigera
Mayr. Emery 1925: 33
.
Myrmelachista
(
Decamera
)
nodigera
var.
flavicornis
Emery. Emery 1925: 33
.
Myrmelachista
(
Decamera
)
nodigera
subsp.
pallida
Forel. Emery 1925: 33
.
Myrmelachista
(
Hinckisidris
)
nodigera
Mayr. Kempf 1972: 150
.
Myrmelachista
(
Hinckisidris
)
nodigera
var.
flavicornis
Emery. Kempf 1972: 150
.
Myrmelachista
(
Hinckisidris
)
nodigera pallida
Forel. Kempf 1972: 150
.
Worker head shape in
Myrmelachista nodigera
shows slight allometric variation within nest series, with larger workers having somewhat broader heads, and this variation may have misled Emery and Forel in defining their intraspecific taxa
flavicornis
and
pallida
, both from
Paraguay
. Mayr’s
M. nodigera
type
is a larger and more robust worker than the
types
of
M. flavicornis
and
M. pallida
, yet single nest series I have collected in Canindeyú and
San Pedro
span the range of variation encompassed by the
type
specimens for all three taxa. Color is also variable within a nest, presumably related to worker age, so Forel’s distinction of
M. pallida
on color is baseless. In my estimation the known Paraguayan collections related to
M. nodigera
comprise a single species.
Forel’s
type
of
Myrmelachista arborea
(MHNG, examined) from San Bernadino is a single queen unassociated with workers. Judging from the shape of the petiole,
M. arborea
may be the queen of
M. nodigera
. Further collections to obtain complete nest series will help establish the identity of this species.