Taxonomic History (provided by Barry Bolton, 2017)
Distribution:
(based on species list records)
Neotropical Region: Alajuela,
Americas,
Central America,
Comayagua,
Costa Rica,
Heredia,
Honduras,
Jinotega,
Matagalpa,
Nicaragua,
San José
Distribution Notes:
Honduras to Costa Rica.
Biology:
This species inhabits mature wet forest from mid-elevation slopes to lower cloud forest. It is known from 300–1500 m elevation, but is most abundant from 500–1000 m. All specimens are from Winkler samples of sifted litter and rotten wood from the forest floor. On Cerro Saslaya in Nicaragua, sampling along an elevational transect from 300–1600 m yielded the species in samples from 760–1180 m. It occurred in 11% of miniWinkler samples at a 1000 m site that was intensively sampled but did not occur at a similarly sampled 300 m site. Similarly, on Cerro Musún, a transect from 700–1400 m yielded the species in the 1000–1100 m interval. In the Peñas Blancas Valley in the Cordillera de Tilarán, Costa Rica, it is moderately frequent in Winkler samples at 800 m elevation, but does not occur above 1000 m. On the Barva Transect in the Cordillera Volcánica Central, it occurred in 1% of miniWinkler samples at 300 m elevation and 5% of miniWinkler samples at 500 m elevation. It was not encountered at similarly sampled sites at 1100 m, 1500 m, and 2000 m.
Identification:
Mandible with single tooth row; face with 18 specialized spatulate setae; ground pilosity of face spatulate, decumbent, weakly differentiated from specialized projecting setae, extending across entire face, including median area and frontal lobes; pronotum with 1 pair spatulate setae, lacking on mesonotum; first gastral tergite with at most 3 pairs spatulate setae in two longitudinal rows. Similar to
E. circumcapillum,
E. megalops,
E. ortizae,
E. schmidti,
E. semicapillum.
Comments:
A specimen from the Barva Transect in Costa Rica (INB0003212548), from 1100 m elevation, is similar to
E. oscillum but differs in multiple characters: the compound eye is larger, 6–7 ommatidia across longest axis; the anterior and dorsal faces of the petiolar node meet at an obtuse angle; puncta on the anterolateral first gastral tergite and sternite are separated by smooth interspaces equal in width to the width of the puncta; ground pilosity on the face does not extend onto the frontal lobes, the promesonotum has 3 pairs of erect clavate setae; the first gastral tergite has 4 pairs of erect clavate setae in two longitudinal rows, and the posterior pair is flanked by another pair laterally (i.e., 4 setae evenly spaced along the posterior border). The specimen is from a Winkler sample of sifted leaf litter from mature wet forest.
The name is Latin for mask, in reference to the mask-like faces of Eurhopalothrix.
Specimen Habitat Summary
Found most commonly in these habitats: 9 times found in wet forest, 21 times found in montane wet forest, 5 times found in mature wet forest, 5 times found in ridgetop cloud forest, 3 times found in mature rainforest, edge of forest near pasture and agricultural land, steep rocky terrain, 1 times found in wet montane forest, 3 times found in montane rainforest, 1 times found in Primary wet forest, 2 times found in cloud forest.
Found most commonly in these microhabitats: 43 times ex sifted leaf litter, 1 times ex sifted leaf litter on ground, 4 times Hojarasca, 1 times sifted leaf litter.
Collected most commonly using these methods: 9 times Winkler, 16 times maxiWinkler, 20 times miniWinkler, 4 times Mini Winkler, 1 times sifted leaf litter.
Elevations: collected from 300 - 1500 meters, 878 meters average
Type specimens: holotype Eurhopalothrix oscillum Longino 2013: inbiocri001281403; Paratype: fmnhins0000105085; paratype Eurhopalothrix oscillum Longino 2013: casent0639387, casent0639388, casent0639389, casent0639390, casent0639391, casent0639392, casent0639393, casent0639394, casent0639395, casent0639396, casent0639397
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