Dinoponera lucida Emery, 1901

Lenhart, Paul A., Dash, Shawn T. & Mackay, William P., 2013, A revision of the giant Amazonian ants of the genus Dinoponera (Hymenoptera, Formicidae), Journal of Hymenoptera Research 31, pp. 119-164 : 144-146

Dinoponera lucida Emery Figs 1H , 13

Dinoponera grandis subsp. lucida Emery, 1901: 48. Syntype workers BRASIL: Espírito Santo, ex coll Fruhstorfer. (MCSN) [examined]. (specific locality of Vila Velha (Cidade do Espirito Santo) proposed by Kempf (1971). Raised to species: Kempf 1971: 376.

Worker diagnosis.

This species can be recognized by the following combination of character states: anterior inferior pronotal corner with tooth-like process ( Fig. 1D ), pilosity long and flagellate with white luster, integument smooth and shiny with bluish luster ( Fig. 12A ), scape length longer than head width, petiole slanting obliquely on dorsal edge ( Fig. 1H ). Total body length ranges from 27-30mm which is between the lengths of Dinoponera australis and the other larger species.

Description of the worker.

Measurements (mm) (n=5) TBL: 27.01-30.39 (28.64); MDL: 3.79-4.31 (3.97); HL: 4.92-5.64 (5.34); HW: 5.02-5.13 (5.07); SL: 5.23-5.64 (5.42); WL: 7.33-8.20 (7.84); PL: 2.25-2.51 (2.39); PH: 3.18-3.28 (3.26); PW: 1.54-1.90 (1.72); GL: 8.00-10.05 (9.10); HFL: 6.87-7.28 (7.18). A description of the external morphology of the worker is given in Kempf (1971):

" Antennal scape distinctly longer than head width. Pubescence on front and vertex of head variable, either short and inconspicuous or longer, denser and quite visible. Gular surface of head finely striate either throughout or at least on anterior half; very seldom the striae are confined to a narrow stripe along the anterior border and obsolescent yet still discernible. Sides of head smooth, not quite glossy but with a silky sheen on account of the superficial reticulate microsculputure. Antero-inferior corner of pronotum dentate. Pronotal disc smooth and shining, lacking wrinkles and dense, fine punctulae; paired swellings quite distinct. Hind tarsus I decidedly longer than head length. Petiole … smooth and polished, its anterior face not excavate, its dorsal face slanted forward; vertical sulcus on posterior face either present or absent; width-length proportion well under 0.80; anterior face lacking dense pubescence. Terga I and II of gaster smooth, highly shining, lacking dense, fine punctulae; pubescence loosely scattered on sides, entirely absent on disc. Stridulatory file on acrotergite of tergum II well developed, nearly crossing the entire tergite."

Male.

Unknown.

Distribution.

This species inhabits fragments of Atlantic rainforest in the Brazilian state of Espirito Santo, across the border into Minas Gerais, the southern portion of Bahia and São Paulo ( Fig. 13 ). It is possible that D. lucida exists in Rio de Janeiro but we are not aware of any specimens from this area. Refer to Mariano et al. (2008) for information on the biogeography of this species. With the locality data available Dinoponera lucida is the only species with no known range overlaps with other Dinoponera species.

Discussion.

Dinoponera lucida appears to be a valid species based on the unique suite of characters including a tooth-like process on the pronotum, smooth and shiny integument, long and flagellate pilosity and petiole slanting forward on the dorsal edge. However, the limited sample size (n=5) restricts the certainty with which we can assert that Dinoponera lucida is a separate species because a broad spectrum of intraspecific variation may not be represented. There may be a possibility of character integration with Dinoponera australis in the area between the states of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Dinoponera lucida is only slightly larger than Dinoponera australis but differs in its integument micro-sculpturing and pilosity type (see the diagnosis above). Dinoponera lucida can be confused with Dinoponera australis but is distinguished by its shiny integument and whitish setae, as opposed to the micro-sculptured integument and dull tan setae of Dinoponera australis .

Dinoponera lucida has been classified as endangered in Brazil by the Ministério do Meio Ambiente ( Campiolo et al. 2003) due to habitat destruction in the Atlantic forest.

Material examined.

BRAZIL, BAHIA: Itabuna, Itapebi 177 m(1 w, ii.1999, JRM Santos, CASC); ESPIRTIO SANTO: Santa Tereza (1 w, 24.xi.1954, A Ruschi, MCZC); MINAS GERAIS: Ataléia (1 w, 27.i.1994, I Cardoso, LACM).

Figures

Figure 1. Features of Dinoponera workers. A Head, frontal view B-C Occiput of head, oblique antero-lateral view D-E Pronotum, lateral view F-H Petiole, lateral view. A-B Dinoponera longipes C Dinoponera hispida D Dinoponera gigantea. E-F Dinoponera mutica G Dinoponera hispida H Dinoponera lucida.

Figure 12. Worker head, oblique antero-lateral view illustrating microsculpturing difference. A Dinoponera mutica (this smooth integument type is also found in Dinoponera lucida, Dinoponera longipes and Dinoponera hispida) B Dinoponera quadriceps (this rough integument type is also found in Dinoponera gigantea and Dinoponera australis).

Figure 13. Distribution map of Dinoponera species. Symbols in black are records added by this study; open symbols are from literature sources (Kempf 1971, 1975, Araujo et al. 1990, Peeters et al. 1999, Monnin and Peeters 1999, Fourcassie and Oliviera 2002, Monnin et al. 2003, Mariano et al. 2004, Araujo and Rodriques 2006, Marques-Silva et al. 2006).