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Taxonomic History (provided by Barry Bolton, 2022)

// Distribution

Distribution:

  Geographic regions (According to curated Geolocale/Taxon lists):
    Americas: Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru
  Biogeographic regions (According to curated Bioregion/Taxon lists):
    Neotropical

Distribution Notes:

Southern Mexico to Brazil and Ecuador.

 

Biology:

J. Longino Costa Rica notes:

Acromyrmex coronatus is a montane species found in cloud forest habitats and not in the lowlands. It is tolerant of cold, wet conditions and colonies can be found in small clearings and gaps in dense cloud forest. On the transect on the north side of Volcan Barva it has been found at 1100m elevation but not at 500m or 2000m. On the Central Valley side it has been collected at 1600m elevation at Zurqui. In the Monteverde area it occurs in the community area, up to the highest ridges at 1700m, and down to 800m in the Penas Blancas Valley.

In Monteverde, it is the main pest in gardens and will come into houses at night to cut bread, cabbage, or fruit that has been left out. The nests are often in or under a piece of dead wood, and often with a superstructure of loose dead leaf fragments. They do not excavate soil very extensively if at all. They may be arboreal at times, nesting in a low branch junctions of epiphyte-laden trees.

Lisa Ellis, an undergraduate student with the University of California Education Abroad Program in the late 1980's, carried out a study of A. coronatus foraging during the transition from dry to wet season in Monteverde. She found that foraging was continuous at night, but diurnal foraging only occurred when there had been recent rain. Following a heavy rain, diurnal foraging would commmence followed by a gradual cessation over a period of a day or two. Periodic rains during the dry season would initiate a short bout of diurnal foraging, but when the rains became more continuous diurnal foraging became continuous. Thus the lack of diurnal foraging during the dry season was a short-term response to immediate environmental conditions and not a long-term change in colony foraging behavior.

Nuptial flights are common in Monteverde and the distinctively-patterned dealate queens are often seen on the roads. On 9 July 1984 I observed a swarm of males in the canopy of an emergent oak on the ridge crest above Monteverde. Hundreds of males were swarming just above the highest branches of the tree. Later in the day I saw many dealate queens on the roads.

I have observed aggregations of founding queens under epiphyte mats in recent treefalls. Several times I have seen dealate queens out cutting leaves, suggesting that queens need to forage to establish a colony.

 

Taxonomic Treatment (provided by Plazi)

Specimen Habitat Summary

Found most commonly in these habitats: 33 times found in montane wet forest, 34 times found in cloud forest, 16 times found in oak cloud forest, 12 times found in ridgetop cloud forest, 8 times found in wet forest, 7 times found in mesophil forest, 3 times found in montane rainforest, 3 times found in disturbed pine-oak forest, 2 times found in cloud forest, primary, along steep ridge near peak, 2 times found in cloud forest edge, ...

Found most commonly in these microhabitats: 44 times at bait, 18 times ex sifted leaf litter, 17 times beating vegetation, 10 times Sobre Vegetacion, 1 times nido en gambas de arbol, 3 times foraging column, 5 times beating veg., 4 times nocturnal foragers, 2 times on road, 3 times ex sifted litter, 1 times strays, ...

Collected most commonly using these methods: 38 times search, 42 times Baiting, 22 times Beating, 13 times Malaise, 10 times MiniWinkler, 10 times Sweeping, 7 times Winkler, 5 times flight intercept trap, 5 times MaxiWinkler, 4 times Pan Trap, 2 times Pitfall, ...

Elevations: collected from 170 - 2190 meters, 1369 meters average

Collect Date Range: collected between 1897-02-24 00:00:00.0 and 2021-12-27 00:00:00.0

Type specimens: Syntype importunus: jtl055816; syntype of Atta moelleri: casent0909403, casent0909404; syntype of Atta moelleri meinerti: casent0909402; syntype of Atta moelleri modesta: casent0909405; Syntype rectispina: jtl055817; Syntypes angustatus: jtl055818, jtl055819; Type of unavailable quadrinomial: Acromyrmex coronatus andicola flavescens: casent0912442; Type of unavailable quadrinomial: Acromyrmex coronatus andicola medianus: casent0912443; Type of unavailable quadrinomial: Acromyrmex coronatus moelleri obscurior: casent0912444; Type of unavailable quadrinomial: Acromyrmex moelleri panamensis ochraceolus: casent0909406

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