''Lenomyrmex'' is a

Neotropical The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In biogeogra ...

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

ant Ants are Eusociality, eusocial insects of the Family (biology), family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the Taxonomy (biology), order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from Vespoidea, vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cre ...

in the

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ...

Myrmicinae Myrmicinae is a subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily ...

Species

* ''

Lenomyrmex colwelli ''Lenomyrmex'' is a Neotropical genus of ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae. Species * ''Lenomyrmex colwelli'' Longino, 2006 * ''Lenomyrmex costatus'' Fernández & Palacio, 1999 * ''Lenomyrmex foveolatus'' Fernández & Palacio, 1999 * ''Lenomyrmex ...

'' Longino, 2006 * '' Lenomyrmex costatus'' Fernández & Palacio, 1999 * '' Lenomyrmex foveolatus'' Fernández & Palacio, 1999 * '' Lenomyrmex hoelldobleri'' * '' Lenomyrmex inusitatus'' (Fernández, 2001) * '' Lenomyrmex mandibularis'' Fernández & Palacio, 1999 * '' Lenomyrmex wardi'' Fernández & Palacio, 1999

Distribution

''Lenomyrmex'' includes six rarely collected species from

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

. Species have been collected from elevations close to sea level to 1800 m but seem to be mainly restricted to mid-elevations, that is, 1100–1500 m.

Description

The genus is characterized by elongate

mandibles In jawed vertebrates, the mandible (from the Latin ''mandibula'', 'for chewing'), lower jaw, or jawbone is a bone that makes up the lowerand typically more mobilecomponent of the mouth (the upper jaw being known as the maxilla). The jawbone i ...

bearing a series of minute peg-like denticles that arise behind the masticatory margin, by frontal lobes that are poorly expanded laterally, by large and deep antennal fossae, and by pedunculate

petiole Petiole may refer to: *Petiole (botany), the stalk of a leaf, attaching the blade to the stem *Petiole (insect anatomy) In entomology, petiole is the technical term for the narrow waist of some hymenopteran insects, especially ants, bees, and ...

, with a poorly defined node. Among ''Lenomyrmex'' species, the queen caste has been described only for ''L. mandibularis'', ''L. wardi'' and '' L. inusitatus''.

Taxonomy

The fact that ''Lenomyrmex'' possesses both primitive (e.g., promesonotal suture well developed) and derived (e.g., specialized

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines *Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts *Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...

of the mandibles) characters makes ascertaining its correct

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organisms based on empirical dat ...

position challenging. The genus was tentatively placed in its own tribe, Lenomyrmecini, but its position within the Myrmicinae remained to be determined. Preliminary results of a phylogenetic analysis indicated that ''Lenomyrmex'' fell within a

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

of predominantly

New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

ants that includes the tribes Attini,

Cephalotini Fungus-growing ants (tribe Attini) comprise all the known fungus-growing ant species participating in ant–fungus mutualism. They are known for cutting grasses and leaves, carrying them to their colonies' nests, and using them to grow fungus on ...

Dacetini Fungus-growing ants (tribe Attini) comprise all the known fungus-growing ant species participating in ant–fungus mutualism. They are known for cutting grasses and leaves, carrying them to their colonies' nests, and using them to grow fungus on ...

, and the genus ''

Pheidole ''Pheidole'' () is a genus of ants that belongs to the ant subfamily Myrmicinae. The genus is widespread and ecologically dominant. Many species in the genus first evolved in the Americas, while some, such as ''Pheidole indica'' and '' Pheidole m ...

''. The genus was finally placed in Attini, when Ward ''et al.'' (2014) synonymized Lenomyrmecini under Attini.

Biology

The unusual morphology of the mandibles suggests that ''Lenomyrmex'' is a specialist predator on an unknown prey. This habit is possibly linked to its apparent rarity and restricted elevational distribution. The degree of queen-worker dimorphism is weak, suggesting small colony sizes and absence of claustral independent colony foundation. In a study, a thorough inspection of the dead wood lying on the ground and of soil samples failed to uncover any nest of ''L. inusitatus''. This and the fact that both workers and

dealate Alate (Latin ''ālātus'', from ''āla'' (“wing”)) is an adjective and noun used in entomology and botany to refer to something that has wings or winglike structures. In entomology In entomology, "alate" usually refers to the winged form of ...

queens have been extracted from the

leaf litter Plant litter (also leaf litter, tree litter, soil litter, litterfall, or duff) is dead plant material (such as leaves, bark, needles, twigs, and cladodes) that has fallen to the ground. This detritus or dead organic material and its constituen ...

(

Winkler method The Winkler test is used to determine the concentration of dissolved oxygen in water samples. Dissolved oxygen (D.O.) is widely used in water quality studies and routine operation of water reclamation facilities to analyze its level of oxygen satur ...

) may indicate that this species nests and forages in the leaf litter.

References

* *

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q4042767 Myrmicinae Ant genera Hymenoptera of South America Hymenoptera of North America