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Taxonomic History (provided by Barry Bolton, 2017)

Taxon Page Images:

A large Atta sexdens worker cuts through a leaf while a smaller worker guards against the overzealous photographer. Captive colony at the University of Texas.
Image © Alex Wild.

Distribution:

(based on species list records)   Genus is native to: Nearctic, Neotropical bioregions.

Nearctic Region: Arizona, Hidalgo, Illinois, Louisiana, North America, Puebla, Sonora, Texas, United States
Neotropical Region: Alajuela, Amambay, Americas, Aragua, Argentina, Atlántida, Bahia, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Boquerón, Brazil, Caribbean, Casanare, Central, Central America, Chaco, Chiapas, Coclé, Colombia, Colón, Comayagua, Cordillera, Costa Caribe Norte, Costa Caribe Sur, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cundinamarca, Demerara-Mahaica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Espírito Santo, Francisco Morazán, French Guiana, Gracias a Dios, Guanacaste, Guantánamo, Guatemala, Guerrero, Guyana, Heredia, Honduras, Islas de la Bahía, Izabal, Jalisco, Jinotega, La Habana, La Libertad, Limón, Madre de Dios, Madriz, Magdalena, Matagalpa, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul, Meta, Mexico, Minas Gerais, Morelos, Napo, Nayarit, Nicaragua, Nueva Segovia, Oaxaca, Olancho, Orellana, Panama, Panamá, Paraguay, Pará, Pernambuco, Peru, Petén, Pinar del Río, Presidente Hayes, Puntarenas, Salta, San José, San Salvador, Santa Cruz, Santa Fe, Santiago de Cuba, South America, Suchitepéquez, Suriname, São Paulo, Tamaulipas, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, Venezuela, Veracruz

Identification:

Borgmeier 1959_Revision der gattung Atta_Translated key to males
Interpreted by B.E. Boudinot (University of Utah/University of California, Davis) 7 May 2013

Key to males:

1. Telomere articulated with basimere as if on a hinge. Penisvalvar ventral keel serrated … 2
- Telomere fused with basimere. Penisvalvar ventral keel without teeth … 6
2. Apicodorsal lobes[?] of penisvalva dentate. Penisvalva with a dorsal longitudinal keel and apicodorsal lobate hook; basimere produced dorsomedially … (Atta s.str.; Central and South America) 3
- Apicodorsal lobes[?; direct translation = fascia or strips] of penisvalva edentate. Penisvalva without dorsal longitudinal keel or apicodorsal lobate hook; basimeres dorsomedially fused … (Archeatta Gonçalves; Central and North America, Caribbean) 4
3. Basimere longer than wide in dorsal view (Fig. 10). Penisvalvar apicodorsal lobate hooks long … Atta cephalotes Linn.
- Basimere length subequal to width in dorsal view (Fig. 11). Penisvalvar apicodorsal lobate hooks shorter … Atta colombica Guerin
4. Dorsomedial margins of the penisvalvar notch straight, not bulged (Figure 16) … Atta mexicana Fr Smith
- Dorsomedian margins of the penisvalvar notch concave (Fig. 13) … 5
5. Lateral face of truncated volsellar apex with an anterior- (or basally-) directed carina (Figure 29) … Atta texana Buckley
- Lateral face of truncated volsellar apex without an anterior- (or basally-) directed carina (Figure 27) … Atta insularis Guerin
6. Penisvalva with lateral margins folded dorsomedially; apex narrow, convex … (Neoatta Gonçalves) 7
- Penisvalva without dorsomedially-folded lateral margins; apex broad, convex, and with an apicolateral digitiform process … (Palaeatta Borgm.) 12
7. Penisvalva, in dorsal view separated [unfused?], with vertical sides… Atta sexdens Linn.
- Penisvalva in dorsal view more-or-less spoon-shaped, sides sloping, dorsal margins turned inward … 8
8. Longitudinal furrow of penisvalva only apically covered by folded lateral margins (Fig. 18) … 9
- Longitudinal furrow of penisvalva covered over most of its length by folded lateral margins (Fig. 22) … 10
9. The folded margins the penisvalva short and narrow. Abdominal sternum IX bulging distally … Atta robusta Borgm.
- The folded margins of the penisvalva wider and longer. Abdominal sternum IX truncate distally … Atta laevigata F. Sm
10. Penisvalvae wide in dorsal view, with the base strongly diverging; folded sides of the penisvalvar furrow entire (Fig. 21) … Atta vollenweideri Forel
- Penisvalvae narrower and longer, the base less divergent; folded sides of the penisvalvar furrow emarginate medially … 11
11. Folded penisvalvar margins short and narrow; emargination shallow (Fig. 20) … Atta opaciceps Borgm.
- Folded penisvalvar margins long; emargination strong, pointed (Figure 22) … Atta capiguara Gonçalves
12. Telomere, seen from above, very wide (subapical half as wide as long), apex diagonally truncate (Fig. 15) … Atta goiana Gonçalves
- Telomere narrow, apically pointed ... 13
13 Telomere as long as the volsella; dorsal apicolateral digitate processes of penisvalva short (Fig. 24) … Atta bisphaerica Forel
- Telomere much shorter than the volsella; apicodorsal lateral digitate processes of penisvalva wider and longer (Fig. 26) … Atta saltensis Forel

References:

Borgmeier, T. 1959b. Revision der Gattung Atta Fabricius (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Studia Entomologica (n.s.)2:321-390.

Taxonomic Treatment (provided by Plazi)

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