Oxyepoecus inquilinus (Kusnezov)

Albuquerque, Nicolas Lavor De & Brandão, Carlos Roberto F., 2004, A Revision Of The Neotropical Solenopsidini Ant Genus Oxyepoecus Santschi, 1926 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae). 1. The Vezenyii Species- Group, Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia 44 (4), pp. 55-80 : 66-67

Oxyepoecus inquilinus (Kusnezov)

Martia inquilina Kusnezov, 1952:720 (Ψ Argentina). Kusnezov, 1953:337 ( Argentina: Tucumán).

Oxyepoecus inquilinus: Ettershank, 1966:146 . Kempf, 1972:278. Kempf, 1974:489, Figs. 4 , 7 , 12 and 18. Bolton, 1995:309.

Oxyepoecus turgidus Kempf, 1969:278-280 . Kempf, 1974:489 (synonymy).

Worker: t.l.= 2.70 (2.50-2.90); h.l.= 0.60 (0.53-0.64); h.w.= 0.51 (0.46-0.53); s.l.= 0.41 (0.35-0.44); m.l.e.= 0.16 (0.12-0.16); m.w.pr.= 0.44 (0.38-0.44); a.l.= 0.80 (0.68-0.80); h.f.l.= 0.48 (0.43-0.51); m.w.p.= 0.27 (0.22-0.28); m.w.pp.= 0.33 (0.27-0.36); c.i. 83-91. Color dark chestnut brown; gaster darker; mandibles, antennae and legs yellowish brown. Integument smooth and shining, with the following exceptions: very conspicuous piligerous punctures on the head dorsum; frontal carinae finely and longitudinally costulate, which prolong caudad and obliquely laterad, surpassing the level of the inferior orbits of the compound eyes where they become faint to vestigial, not reaching the level of the superior orbits; genae longitudinally striate linking the inferior orbit of the compound eyes to the posterior margin of the clypeus; dorsal face of the propodeum fine and transversly costulate, with circa 10 costulae curving downwards, becoming fine to vestigial at the propodeum sides; one costula joins the two propodeal spines; posterior end of mesopleuron and inferior part of metapleuron with some curved and well marked costulae that cover the bulla of the metapleural gland region; posterior face of postpetiole with some fine and weak transverse costulae. Hairs relatively scarce, long, suberect on head, dorsum of mesosoma and on gaster; on head, besides the erect hairs there are shorter decumbent hairs, inclined mesad dorsally on head disc, forwards on the sides of the head; postpetiole with some subdecumbent well spaced hairs.

Head (f.f.v.) with the mandibles markedly elongated, and with a shallow diastema between the basal and the strong subbasal tooth. Anterior teeth of clypeus with lateral well developed denticles, better seen in oblique view. Frontal carinae short, moderately expanded laterad, ending at the level of the inferior orbit of the compound eyes; the maximum width between their outer edges at least one third of the head width. Compound eyes very big, relatively convex with about 10 facets r.g.d., total number of ommatidia close to 50. Antennal scape relatively long, but failing to reach the occipital corner when laid back over the head. Funicular segment I longer than VIII and IX taken individually, segments II-VII distinctly broader than long, VIII and IX as long as broad and almost equal.

Mesosoma very robust. Promesonotum evenly convex and weakly marginated in front but not laterally. Shoulders very rounded, not angulate nor subdentate. Metanotal groove shallowly to not at all impressed (p.v.), metanotal suture indistinct. Dorsal face of the propodeum twice as long as broad, posteriorly with two pointed and prominent teeth. Declivous face laterally marginate by an acute carina.

Petiole compressed antero-posteriorly and laterally expanded in a scalelike fashion, with the node rounded above, high; subpetiolar process acute as a keel ending anteriorly in a prominent blunt tooth; when seen from the side the ventral margin of the subpetiolar process is sinuous. The postpetiole broad, but less high than the petiolar node; subpostpetiolar process with the ventral margin of the unique plate with a minute notch, interrupting its profile.

Gyne unknown.

Male unknown.

Diagnosis, distribution and comments

Workers of O. inquilinus are distinguished by the combination of two characters: the very large compound eyes with about 50 ommatidia, and the developed spines of the propodeum. The distribution of O. inquilinus seems to be discontinuous, as shown in fig. 8, and includes localities at Central and Southern Brasil and at Tucumán, Argentina. However, it will be necessary to look for this species in Pheidole radoskowskii , Pheidole schwarzmaieri and Pheidole claviscapa samples, to verify possible identification errors in other localities.

In Kempf ’s collection accession book we found the information that the paratypes of O. turgidus were found in the “Cerrado do Seminário”, that is in a savanna close to the convent where Father Kempf was living at the time. He reported also that sample # 3852 may have come from a nest of an unidentified Pheidole (Kempf ’s acc. # 3853).

Examined material: Brasil: Goiás: Anápolis ; 18.iii.1964, Kempf # 3852, W. Kempf [col.] [16°19’S 48°57’W] (2 Ψ, paratypes of Oxyepoecus turgidus Kempf, 1969 ) ; same locality, 2.i.1966, Kempf # 4300, W. Kempf [col.] (1 Ψ paratype of Oxyepoecus turgidus Kempf, 1969 ) . São Paulo: Agudos ; 23.ix.1954, W. Kempf [col.] [22°27’S 49°00’] (Ψ holotype of Oxyepoecus turgidus Kempf, 1969 ) ; same locality, 25.i.1953, Kempf # 740, same collector (1 Ψ paratype of Oxyepoecus turgidus Kempf, 1969 ) . Argentina: Tucumán, Jard [im] del Instit [uto] M[iguel] Lillo , 6.xii.1948, N. Kusnezov # 111 [26°53’S 65°28’W] (3 Ψ paratypes of Martia inquilina ) ; same locality, 5.iv.1952, N. Kusnezov # 8006 (3 Ψ) ; same locality, 23.xi.1953, N. Kusnezov # 9133 (3 Ψ) ; same locality, 24.xi.1953, N. Kusnezov # 9146 (3 Ψ) .

Figures

FIGURE 4. Scanning electron micrograph of the workers of O. longicephalus; a) head in full-face view; b) mesosoma in profile view; c) petiole in dorsal view.

FIGURE 7. Scanning electron micrograph of the workers of O. vezenyii (Forel, 1907); a) head in full-face view; b) mesosoma in profile view; c) petiole in dorsal view.