Tapinoma heyeri Forel 1902: 296
Tapinoma heyeri var. risii Forel 1912: 58
Forelius breviscapus var. pusilla Santschi 1922: 374
Forelius pusillus Santschi. Status
Forelius tucumanus ( Kusnezov 1953 )
Cuezzo 2000: 263
F . heyeri
Forelius heyeri risii (Forel)
Forelius
F . heyeri
Neoforelius tucumanus Kusnezov 1953: 330
Forelius pusillus Santschi
Cuezzo 2000: 263
Forelius tucumanus (Kusnezov)
Forelius : Shattuck 1992: 95
F . heyeri
Transfer of two South American ant species from Tapinoma Foerster 1850 to Forelius Emery 1888 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Dolichoderinae)
Guerrero, Roberto J.
Zootaxa
2021
2021-01-29
4920
3
428
438
(Forel 1902)
Guerrero
2021
Santos-Sousa
1902
[151,495,978,1005]
Insecta
Formicidae
Forelius
Animalia
Hymenoptera
5
433
Arthropoda
species
heyeri
comb. nov.
( Figs 5–10)
Tapinoma heyeri Forel 1902: 296. Syntype workers [two workers], S„o Leopoldo, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil(Heyer) [ MHNG, examined]. One syntypeworker (CASENT0909771) here designated lectotype. Tapinoma heyeri var. risii Forel 1912: 58. Holotypeworker (by monotypy), Montevideo, Uruguay( D. Ris) [MHNG, examined] (CASENT0909772). Forelius breviscapus var. pusillaSantschi 1922: 374. Syntypeworker(s), Cordoba, Argentina(Biraben) [NHMB, AntWeb image of syntypeexamined, CASENT0911547]. Forelius pusillusSantschi. Statusas species, senior synonym of Forelius tucumanus( Kusnezov 1953): Cuezzo 2000: 263. Junior synonym of F. heyeri( syn. nov.): present study. Forelius heyeri risii(Forel). Combination in Forelius( comb. nov.) and junior synonym of F. heyeri( syn. nov.): present study. Neoforelius tucumanus Kusnezov 1953: 330, figs. 1–12. Holotypemale, nontype workers, queens: Argentina, Tucumán, 14 Dec 1949(Kusnezov) [not examined]. Junior synonym of Forelius pusillusSantschi: Cuezzo 2000: 263. Forelius tucumanus(Kusnezov). Combination in Forelius: Shattuck 1992: 95. Junior synonym of F. heyeri: present study ( syn. nov.).
Additional Material examined. Uruguay: Lavalleja; 34º17’02.6”S 55º15’27.7”W; 4 m; manual collection; 07.Jun.2016; foraging on coarse sand dune; RJ GuerreroRJGF-0185 (3w) ( CBUMAG). Additional specimen images examined, provided by www.antweb.org. Paraguay: Canindeyú, Tendal, 24°12’20.112”S 55°33’57.167”W; 212m; 20.Nov.2002. A.L. WildAWL1710 (1w) ( ALWC). CASENT0173739.
Worker measurements. Lectotype: HL 0.57, HW 0.51, SL 0.47, WL 0.69, CI 90, SI 92.
Other material(n= 7): HL 0.45–0.53, HW 0.39–0.51, SL 0.32–0.43, WL 0.48–0.68, CI 83–96, SI 80–91.
Diagnosis. Posterior cephalic margin completely straight. Mandible with five teeth and one denticle. Scape much shorter (± 0.43 mm) than that of F. antarcticus(SL Ż 0.69 mm), below or barely reaching the posterior cephalic margin by a length less than the width of the pedicel. Pronotum with two thick dark erect setae that contrast with the light integument, each seta arising from a distinct fovea.
Description.Head slightly longer than broad to subquadrate, with subparallel sides, slightly straight above the middle of the eyes to almost the most posterior region of the head where the margin curves inward; posterolateral corners blunt but differentiated; dorsal and ventral faces flattened, surface finely punctate and covered with abundant, very short, decumbent setae; four long erect setae arising from between the frontal carinae; eyes flattened, relatively large (~ 0.16 mm), and located within the head capsule some distance from the lateral margin in frontal view; maxillary palps long and digitiform, reaching the middle of the occipital foramen, 2nd to 6th segment almost the same length. Mandibles relatively wide, with well differentiated semiparallel external and basal margins; masticatory margin reddish and armed with a very long, pointed and falcate apical tooth, followed by a subapical tooth ¼ of the length of the apical, a third tooth of equal size to the subapical, a fourth tooth followed by robust denticle, a diastema crenulate, and usually a small basal tooth; mandibular surface smooth and opaque, with widely spaced setae and coarse foveae. Clypeus with the anterior margin entire and convex; with setae of relatively equal length directed downwards, a very long median clypeal seta ( 0.14 mmin the Lectotype), curved downwards just beyond the closed mandibles and flanked by two shorter frontally directed setae. Antennae with scapes slightly widening distally; pedicel elongated, almost twice the length of the second flagellomere, 2nd to 7th flagellomeres semirectangular and equal in length, the remaining four increasing in length and width, with the last flagellomere very enlarged and almost twice the length of the preceding one; abundant short, decumbent and separate setae. In lateral view, promesonotum continuous, slightly elevated in the region where these sclerites join, mesonotum flat, in lateral view metanotal groove marked but not deeply impressed, mesonotum and propodeum almost continuous with a slight sinuosity where meet them (in dorsal view fully fused); dorsal face of the propodeum almost the same length as the propodeal declivity, without an angle that differentiates the two faces; spiracle large and circular, aligned with upper margin of propodeal declivity; dorsum of head with long, thin appressed hairs, integument with very short, spaced hairs; mesopleuron and part of the metapleuron smooth and shiny, the latter with a few long yellow hairs separated from each other, extending over the surface of the metapleural bulla. Petiolar scale very small, projecting forward, generally concealed by the front of the first gastral segment; gaster surface finely punctate, pilosity like that of the head; first and second gastral terga with no erect setae, third and fourth gastral tergites with four and six thick erect setae, respectively; gastral sternites 1–4 with 3 to 4 erect setae on each plate, the last sternum with two central setae. Dull yellow to light yellowish brown throughout the body.
Comments. The name Tapinoma heyeriis transferred to the genus Foreliusas the typeworkers have a completely convex and entire anterior margin of the clypeus, and they have three long setae on the anterior clypeal vertex which are equal in length to the semi-closed mandibles. Furthermore, the masticatory margin of the mandible bears five conspicuous teeth and two denticles, and the basal margin is smooth and differentiated from the masticatory margin by an acute angle. Although the typespecimens of Forelius heyeriand F. heyeri risiidiffer in size, they both share two pairs of long thick setae on the dorsum of the head, the first pair on the oblique-lateral side of the posterior portion of the clypeus, and the second pair near to the upper end of the frontal carinae. In both cases the setae are directed anteriorly. Both taxa have a continuous mesosomal profile, with the posterior end of the propodeum rounding evenly into the oblique posterior face, and short and appressed setae on the surface of the body. Two erect pronotal setae are visible in F. heyeri, but in the typespecimen of F. heyeri risiithese are difficult to evaluate (CASENT0909772). Three workers collected in Lavalleja( Uruguay) are relatively similar to the type F. heyeri risiibut all bear the pair of erect pronotal setae found on the typeof F. heyeri. There are morphometric differences between the specimens associated with both names ( Fig 11). The typeof F. heyeri risiiis much smaller than the typeof F. heyeri(WL = 0.49 vs. 0.69, respectively). The head of F. heyeriis broader (CIŻ 90), with subparallel sides converging slightly anteriorly, and a straight vertex with an almost impeceptible medial depression, while the head of the worker of F. heyeri risiiis narrower (CI= 83), with convex lateral margins, continuing in a straight vertex. Both specimens also differ in the length of the scape relative to head width. In F. heyerithe scape is relatively long (SI = 81–83) surpassing the vertex by a very short distance, just 0.04 mm, while in F. heyeri risiithe apex of the scape is well below the cephalic vertex (SI = 67). The coloration is variable among the specimens studied, from dull yellow in F. heyerito light brown in F. heyeri risii. Although the typespecimens show differences, the specimens recently collected in Uruguayshow a relative continuity in the morphological and metric traits between the typesof F. heyeriand F. heyeri risii( Fig 11). Cuezzo (2000)raised F. pusillusSantschito the species level, offering a diagnosis and measurements that differentiated this Foreliusspecies from all other species in South America. The taxonomic delimitation of F. pusillusby Cuezzo (2000)together with the measurements recorded here from a typespecimen of F. pusillusand a non-type worker from Paraguay(measurements generated from images with codes CASENT0911547 and CASENT0173739, respectively) were compared with the diagnosis and description provided here for F. heyeri. Forelius pusillusand F. heyerifully agree in their morphology as follows: the workers of F. pusillusalso have two thick, erect pronotal setae, as well as a mesosomal profile similar to that found in F. heyeri; the measurements are relatively variable throughout the distribution of these two putative taxa, with a similar morphometric space between those named F. heyeri risiiand F. pusillus, but the nest-mate workers collected in Uruguayagree as much with those of F. heyerias those of F. pusillus( Fig 11). In this sense, I do not find morphological evidence to differentiate between these taxa and I propose F. pusillusas junior synonym of F. heyeri.
3033771305
MHNG
Brazil
Leopoldo
5
433
1
Rio Grande do Sul
syntype
3033771301
[326,566,1144,1169]
MHNG
D. Ris
Uruguay
Montevideo
5
433
1
Montevideo
holotype
3033771306
[367,678,1206,1230]
NHMB
Argentina
Cordoba
5
433
2
syntype
3033771302
2016-06-07
CBUMAG
RJ Guerrero
Uruguay
4
-34.284054
Lavalleja
1
-55.257694
5
433
1
Lavalleja
3033771307
2002-11-20
ALWC
A. L. Wild
Paraguay
212
-24.205587
Tendal
1
-55.56588
5
433
CASENT0173739
1
Canindeyu