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Taxonomic History (provided by Barry Bolton, 2017)

Overview:

A cryptic inhabitant of forest floor leaf litter and rotten wood; from lowland wet and dry forest in Mexico and Central America.

Distribution:

(based on species list records)
Neotropical Region: Americas, Atlántida, Central America, Costa Caribe Sur, Costa Rica, Guanacaste, Guatemala, Heredia, Honduras, Limón, Mexico, Nicaragua, Petén, Santa Bárbara, Tamaulipas, Zacapa

Distribution Notes:

Mexico to Costa Rica.

Biology:

Octostruma planities is a lowland species that occurs in a wide variety of habitats including rainforest, seasonal moist forest, seasonal dry forest, and thorn scrub. Collections are from sea level to 600 m elevation. All collections are from Winkler or Berlese samples of sifted litter and rotten wood from the forest floor.

Identification:

Face lacking transverse arcuate carina; basal five teeth of mandible acute; apex of labrum bilobed; face typically with 2 spatulate setae on posteromedian vertex margin, lacking elsewhere on face, mesosomal dorsum, and first gastral tergite; filiform setae lacking on petiole, postpetiole, first gastral sternite; dorsal face of propodeum flat or weakly convex over entire length; metanotal groove not impressed; HW < 0.72.

Comments:

Specimens from wet forest sites on the Caribbean side of the range tend to have the surface of the clypeus matte, while specimens from dry habitats in central and western parts of the range have the clypeus shiny. Thus there is the potential of cryptic or ecotonal species.

The name refers to its restriction to lowland areas.

Specimen Habitat Summary

Found most commonly in these habitats: 4 times found in tropical moist forest, 2 times found in old cacao plantation, 1 times found in tropical thorn scrub, 1 times found in 2nd growth riparian forest, 2 times found in 2º tropical rainforest, 2 times found in montane wet forest, 1 times found in Quercus forest, 1 times found in sabal thorn forest, 1 times found in 2nd growth forest, 1 times found in dry forest, ...

Found most commonly in these microhabitats: 12 times ex sifted leaf litter, 2 times Hojarasca, 1 times sifted litter (leaf mold, rotten wood), 1 times litter, 1 times ex sifted leaf litter and rotten wood.

Collected most commonly using these methods: 5 times MaxiWinkler, 5 times MiniWinkler, 3 times Winkler, 2 times Mini Winkler, 1 times berlese.

Elevations: collected from 10 - 1300 meters, 273 meters average

Type specimens: holotype Octostruma planities Longino 2013: casent0619872; paratype Octostruma planities Longino 2013: casent0625016, casent0625029

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