Current Valid Name:
Taxonomic History (provided by Barry Bolton, 2022)
Cryptocerus umbraculatus Fabricius, 1804 PDF: 420 (w.) GUYANA. Neotropic. Primary type information: Primary type material: holotype worker. Primary type locality: “America meridionali”: (no further data) (Dom. Smidt. Mus. Dom. Lund). Primary type depository: ZMUC. Type notes:
De Andrade & Baroni Urbani, 1999 PDF: 368, add that the holotype is labelled: “Essequibo Smidt Mus. J. Lund”; type-locality is therefore Guyana: Essequibo.
AntCat AntWiki HOL Taxonomic history
Status as species:
Klug, 1824 PDF: 210;
Guérin-Méneville, 1844a PDF: 426;
Smith, 1853 PDF: 219;
Smith, 1858a PDF: 192;
Smith, 1862d PDF: 411;
Mayr, 1863a PDF: 406;
Roger, 1863b PDF: 38;
Emery, 1890c PDF: 72;
Dalla Torre, 1893 PDF: 144;
Emery, 1894l PDF: 61;
Forel, 1895b PDF: 135;
Forel, 1899b PDF: 51;
Forel, 1912f PDF: 199;
Mann, 1916 PDF: 449;
Wheeler, 1922e PDF: 11;
Wheeler, 1923a PDF: 4;
Emery, 1924f PDF: 309;
Borgmeier, 1927c PDF: 119;
Borgmeier, 1937b PDF: 244;
Smith, 1949c PDF: 20;
Kempf, 1958a: 142 (redescription);
Kempf, 1959a PDF: 98;
Kempf, 1972b PDF: 181;
Brandão, 1991 PDF: 388;
Bolton, 1995b: 427;
De Andrade & Baroni Urbani, 1999 PDF: 368 (redescription);
Branstetter & Sáenz, 2012 PDF: 257;
Bezděčková et al., 2015 PDF: 116;
Sandoval-Gómez & Sánchez-Restrepo, 2019 PDF: 914;
Oliveira et al., 2021 10.1590/1806-9665-RBENT-2021-0028 PDF: 45 (in list).
Senior synonym of
Cephalotes elegans:
Emery, 1890c PDF: 72;
Dalla Torre, 1893 PDF: 144;
Emery, 1894l PDF: 61;
Forel, 1895b PDF: 135;
Forel, 1899b PDF: 51;
Emery, 1924f PDF: 309;
Borgmeier, 1927c PDF: 119;
Kempf, 1958a: 142;
Kempf, 1959a PDF: 98;
Kempf, 1972b PDF: 181;
Brandão, 1991 PDF: 389;
Bolton, 1995b: 427;
De Andrade & Baroni Urbani, 1999 PDF: 368;
Oliveira et al., 2021 10.1590/1806-9665-RBENT-2021-0028 PDF: 45 (in list).
Senior synonym of
Cephalotes flavomaculatus:
Emery, 1890c PDF: 72;
Dalla Torre, 1893 PDF: 145;
Emery, 1894l PDF: 61;
Forel, 1899b PDF: 51;
Emery, 1924f PDF: 309;
Borgmeier, 1927c PDF: 119;
Kempf, 1958a: 142;
Kempf, 1972b PDF: 181;
Brandão, 1991 PDF: 389;
Bolton, 1995b: 427;
De Andrade & Baroni Urbani, 1999 PDF: 368;
Oliveira et al., 2021 10.1590/1806-9665-RBENT-2021-0028 PDF: 45 (in list).
Senior synonym of
Cephalotes quadriguttatus:
Emery, 1890c PDF: 72;
Dalla Torre, 1893 PDF: 144;
Emery, 1894l PDF: 61;
Forel, 1895b PDF: 135;
Forel, 1899b PDF: 51;
Emery, 1924f PDF: 309;
Borgmeier, 1927c PDF: 119;
Kempf, 1958a: 142;
Kempf, 1972b PDF: 181;
Brandão, 1991 PDF: 389;
Bolton, 1995b: 427;
De Andrade & Baroni Urbani, 1999 PDF: 368;
Oliveira et al., 2021 10.1590/1806-9665-RBENT-2021-0028 PDF: 45 (in list).
// Distribution
Distribution:
Geographic regions (According to curated Geolocale/Taxon lists)
: Americas: Bolivia,
Brazil,
Costa Rica,
Ecuador,
El Salvador,
French Guiana,
Guatemala,
Guyana,
Honduras,
Mexico,
Nicaragua,
Panama,
Peru,
Suriname,
Trinidad and Tobago,
Venezuela Biogeographic regions (According to curated Bioregion/Taxon lists)
: Neotropical
Distribution Notes:
Mexico to Brazil and Bolivia. Costa Rica: common in Pacific lowlands, from the Osa Peninsula to Guanacaste Province; rare in the Atlantic lowlands.
Biology:
Natural History: This species prefers open, sunny habitats, including the high canopy of rainforest, secondgrowth vegetation, and isolated trees in pastures and around dwellings. It is a relatively common species, and conspicuous due to its color pattern. I most often encounter it on treetrunks and in treefalls. In spite of its commonness, I have only seen nests once. I was collecting in a canopy Ficus, and I found many nests in live branches. The nests were in the very tips of the branches, with inside diameters 5-8mm, outside diameters 15-20mm. The nest chambers were irregular, as though excavated by the ants and not preformed by the plant. Workers were very abundant in the crown of the tree, suggesting a large, polydomous colony with nests in many branches.
References:
Andrade, M. L. de, and C. Baroni Urbani. 1999. Diversity and adaptation in the ant genus Cephalotes, past and present (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Stuttgarter Beitrage zur Naturkunde Serie B (Geologie und Palaontologie) 271:1-889.
Fabricius, J. C. 1804. Systema Piezatorum secundum ordines, genera, species, adjectis synonymis, locis, observationibus, descriptionibus. Brunswick: C. Reichard, xiv + 15-439 + 30 pp.
Kempf, W. W. 1958. New studies of the ant tribe Cephalotini (Hym. Formicidae). Stud. Entomol. (n.s.)1:1-168.
Specimen Habitat Summary
Found most commonly in these habitats: 1 times found in wet forest, 3 times found in lowland rainforest, 3 times found in roadside vegetation, 2 times found in Rainforest, 1 times found in roadside edge, 1 times found in beach margin, 1 times found in La Selva, 1 times found in lowland primary rainforest, 1 times found in moist forest, 1 times found in premontane rainforest, ...
Found most commonly in these microhabitats: 1 times ex live stems Ficus, 3 times strays, 1 times on tree trunk, 2 times beating vegetation, 1 times On Lophopterys floribunda, 1 times Malaise trap, 1 times in fresh treefall, 1 times general collecting, 1 times fresh treefall, 1 times forest Hisbiscus flowers, 1 times foraging on tree fall, ...
Collected most commonly using these methods: 11 times search, 4 times direct collection, 2 times Beating, 1 times observation, 1 times Malaise, 1 times Manual sampling.
Elevations: collected from 5 - 1760 meters, 237 meters average
Collect Date Range: collected between 1924-06-20 00:00:00.0 and 2017-10-27 00:00:00.0
Type specimens: Holotype of Cryptocerus elegans: casent0900238; Holotype of Cryptocerus flavomaculatus: casent0919605
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