Zasphinctus wilsoni Hita Garcia, 2017

Hita Garcia, Francisco, Gómez, Kiko, Keller, Roberto A., Schurian, Bernhard & Economo, Evan P., 2025, A never-ending story: updated 3 D cyber-taxonomic revision of the ant genus Zasphinctus Wheeler (Hymenoptera, Formicidae, Dorylinae) for the Afrotropical region, ZooKeys 1223, pp. 1-55 : 1-55

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.3897/zookeys.1223.131238
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:974E3C3D-A08E-42CB-B75E-D7A329B1B715
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14606283
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/F252AF06-EC07-5B3E-804F-DAF1FB296058
treatment provided by	ZooKeys by Pensoft
scientific name	Zasphinctus wilsoni Hita Garcia, 2017
status

Treatment

Zasphinctus wilsoni Hita Garcia, 2017 View in CoL

Figs 3 H View Figure 3 , 4 H View Figure 4 , 5 H View Figure 5 , 6 H View Figure 6 , 7 H View Figure 7 , 8 H View Figure 8 , 10 H View Figure 10 , 11 H View Figure 11 , 12 H View Figure 12 , 13 H View Figure 13 , 14 H View Figure 14 , 15 H View Figure 15 , 16 H View Figure 16 , 17 H View Figure 17 , 18 H View Figure 18 , 19 H View Figure 19 , 20 H View Figure 20 , 21 H View Figure 21 , 24 View Figure 24

Type material examined.

Holotype • Pinned worker, Mozambique, Sofala, Gorongosa National Park , 2 km S Chitengo, - 18.99472, 34.35769, 40 m, secondary forest, leaf litter, collection code ANTC 37418, 30. V. 2012 (G. D. Alpert) ( MCZC: MCZ-ENT 00512764 ). GoogleMaps

Cybertype • Dataset was published in Hita Garcia et al. (2017 a) and consists of the volumetric raw data (in DICOM format), as well as 3 D PDFs and 3 D rotation videos of scans of the head, mesosoma, metasoma, and the full body of the physical holotype ( MCZC: MCZ-ENT 00512764) in addition to montage photos illustrating head in full-face view, profile, and dorsal views of the body. The data was deposited at Dryad and can be freely accessed as virtual representation of the holotype ( Hita Garcia et al. 2017 c, http://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.4s3v1). In addition to the cybertype data at Dryad, we also provided a freely accessible 3 D surface model of the holotype at Sketchfab (https://skfb.ly/6sPwN).

Non-type material examined.

• Five workers from: Mozambique: Cabo Delgado, Parque Nacional Quirimbas, Mareja Reserve , miombo woodland, ex soil, - 12.84778, 40.16542, 180 m, collection code BLF 38248, 25. II. 2016 (B. L. Fisher; Arthropod Team) ( CASC: CASENT 0779283 , CASENT 0779285 ) GoogleMaps • Zambezia, Mount Mabu , rainforest, ex soil, - 16.34888, 36.4081, 375 m, collection code BLF 38954, 12. III. 2016 (B. L. Fisher; Arthropod Team) ( CASC: CASENT 0779844 ) GoogleMaps • Zambezia, Mount Mabu , rainforest, ex soil, - 16.34888, 36.4081, 375 m, collection code BLF 39161, 24. III. 2016 (B. L. Fisher; Arthropod Team) ( CASC: CASENT 0781222 ) GoogleMaps • Zambezia, Mount Mabu , rainforest, ex soil, - 16.34888, 36.4081, 375 m, collection code BLF 39209, 25. III. 2016 (B. L. Fisher; Arthropod Team) ( CASC: CASENT 0781285 ) GoogleMaps .

Differential worker diagnosis.

With characters of the Z. obamai group plus the following: body size significantly much smaller (HL 0.61; WL 0.87); lateral arms of hypostomal carina strongly diverging anteriorly, relatively thick, and strongly angulate at widest points (Fig. 8 H View Figure 8 ); postgenal sulcus weakly impressed and running halfway to occipital margin (Fig. 8 F View Figure 8 ); postoccipital margin in ventral view with anterior outline moderately or weakly and irregularly defined; anterolateral projections angulate (Fig. 8 H View Figure 8 ); pleural endophragmal pit very weakly developed and inconspicuous (Fig. 10 H View Figure 10 ); subpetiolar process of petiole ( AS II) in profile with thickened anterior and ventral margins and weak concavity without differentiated fenestra (Fig. 13 H View Figure 13 ); posterior end of abdominal segment III in ventral view with transverse groove weak to absent, instead with irregular groves and rugosity (Fig. 16 H View Figure 16 ); prora in anteroventral view very weakly developed with almost absent lateroventral margins (Fig. 16 H View Figure 16 ); surface sculpture on genae mostly smooth and shiny, on cephalic dorsum mostly reticulate-rugose (Figs 4 H View Figure 4 , 5 H View Figure 5 , 19 H View Figure 19 , 20 H View Figure 20 ); general surface sculpture on mesosoma and metasoma mostly smooth and shiny with abundant piliferous foveae, mesosoma and petiole laterally mostly reticulate-punctate, hypopygidium reticulate-rugose (Figs 20 H View Figure 20 , 21 H View Figure 21 ).

Measurements and indices.

Morphometric data is based on the singleton holotype from Mozambique and can be seen in Table 2 View Table 2 , Suppl. material 3.

Distribution and biology.

Fortunately, our knowledge of the distribution of Z. wilsoni has increased since its original description. Whereas in Hita Garcia et al. (2017 a) it was only known from its type locality, the Gorongosa National Park, now it also known from two additional localities considerably further northeast, namely Quirimbas in Cabo Delgado and Mount Mabu in Zambezia. The species was collected in litter in Gorongosa and in soil in the other two localities. To our surprise it seems that Z. wilsoni is relatively flexible in its habitat requirements since it was collected in secondary dry forest, miombo woodland and rainforest.