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Taxonomic History (provided by Barry Bolton, 2017)

Distribution:

(based on species list records)
Neotropical Region: Americas, Central America, Chiriquí, Costa Rica, Heredia, Panama, Puntarenas, San José

Distribution Notes:

Costa Rica (Monteverde, Meseta Central, Talamanca range).

Biology:

This species inhabits moist to wet montane forest. The types were collected as a nest series in Costa Rica's Central Valley, in the early 1900's, at a site that is now near the San José airport and long since developed. All recent collections are from Winkler samples of sifted litter and rotten wood from the forest floor. It is known from 1100–1670 m elevation. In Monteverde, in the Cordillera de Tilarán, it has a sharply parapatric distribution with E. ortizae and may hybridize there (see Comments under E. ortizae).

This species is relatively abundant in the Monteverde community area, from 1300-1500m on the Pacific slope. This is a moist forest transition zone between the dry forest habitat lower down and the perpetually wet cloud forest on the ridge crest. It also occurs at two montane sites in southern Costa Rica. At the Pittier Biological Station, a site at 1670m on the Pacific slope of the central talamancan Cordillera, it was collected in a Winkler sample from a patch of mature forest near a pasture edge. It was also collected in a Winkler sample from a forest patch on Fila Cruces, a 1200m site near Wilson Botanical Garden.

Identification:

Mandible with single tooth row; face with 20 specialized spatulate setae; ground pilosity of face short, flattened, appressed, sparse, extending across entire face, including median area and frontal lobes; face punctatorugose, evenly convex (lacking longitudinal median impression); pronotum with 1 pair spatulate setae, lacking on mesonotum; first gastral tergite with full complement 4 pairs spatulate setae in two longitudinal rows, posterior row often flanked by additional pair. Similar to E. circumcapillum, E. megalops, E. ortizae, E. oscillum, E. semicapillum.

References:

Brown, W. L., Jr., Kempf, W. W. 1960. A world revision of the ant tribe Basicerotini. Stud. Entomol. (n.s.) 3:161-250.

Hoelldobler, B., Wilson, E. O. 1986. Soil-binding pilosity and camouflage in ants of the tribes Basicerotini and Stegomyrmecini (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Zoomorphology (Berl.) 106:12-20.

Menozzi, C. 1936. Due nuovi Dacetini di Costa Rica e descrizione della larva di uno di essi (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Arb. Morphol. Taxon. Entomol. Berl.-Dahl. 3:81-85.

Wilson, E. O. 1956. Feeding behavior in the ant Rhopalothrix biroi Szabo. Psyche (Camb.) 63:21-23.

Wilson, E. O., Brown, W. L., Jr. 1985 ("1984"). Behavior of the cryptobiotic predaceous ant Eurhopalothrix heliscata, n. sp. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Basicerotini). Insectes Soc. 31:408-428.

Specimen Habitat Summary

Found most commonly in these habitats: 36 times found in cloud forest, mature but probably disturbed, some big trees, bordering road on steep slope, 35 times found in cloud forest edge, near dairy farm pasture, some big trees in rocky areas, probably disturbed primary or old second growth, on a steep slope, 25 times found in riparian forest, cloud forest along stream, near dairy farm pasture, 2nd growth or disturbed primary, 11 times found in cloud forest, 4 times found in Moist forest, 1 times found in oak forest, 1 times found in 2nd growth cloud forest, 2 times found in cloud forest at bottom of steep slope, bordering rocky river, old 2nd growth veg., 1 times found in Montane forest, 1 times found in cloud forest, oak forest, on ridgetop, ...

Found most commonly in these microhabitats: 114 times ex sifted leaf litter, 2 times wet forest litter, 2 times ex sifted leaf litter on ground, 1 times Strays; under loose bark of dead wood on ground; forest near our house., 1 times Hojarasca, 1 times ex sifted litter from forest floor, 1 times ex sifted litter, 1 times beating veg..

Collected most commonly using these methods: 94 times miniWinkler, 13 times Winkler, 11 times maxiWinkler, 2 times berlese, 1 times search, 1 times beating, 1 times Mini Winkler.

Elevations: collected from 1100 - 2200 meters, 1650 meters average

Type specimens: Syntypes schmidti: jtl056051; type of Rhopalothrix (Rhopalothrix) schmidti: focol0189

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