The first Leptanilloides species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Leptanilloidinae) from eastern South America

Author(s)

Silva, R. R. ; Feitosa, R. M. ; Brandao, C. R. F. ; Freitas, A. V. L.

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Journal of Natural History; v. 47, n. 31-32, p. 9-pg., 2013-08-01.

Abstract

We describe a species of the exclusively Neotropical dorylomorph ant genus Leptanilloides (Leptanilloidinae), Leptanilloides atlantica sp. nov., based on workers collected in the Atlantic Forest, SAo Paulo, south-eastern Brazil. The 11 species of Leptanilloides described are known from relatively high altitudes in western America (from the Andes foothills in Bolivia to Sierra Morena in Mexico). The discovery of a Leptanilloides species in south-eastern Brazil represents a significant range extension for the genus; this new species shares characters with Leptanilloides biconstricta (Bolivia), Leptanilloides femoralis (Venezuela) and Leptanilloides gracilis (Mexico) and may be distinguished based on a combination of traits. The hypogaeic habits of Leptanilloidinae combined with inefficient collecting techniques may explain the paucity of information and of specimens of this group in most museum collections as well as its present apparent disjunct distribution. We compare Leptanilloides distribution to that of other organisms that show similar disjunct patterns in the Andes and montane sites in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 10/20570-8 - Functional diversity and phylogenetic structure of ant assemblages in tropical and temperate forests
• Grantee: Rogério Rosa da Silva
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Young Researchers
• FAPESP's process: 11/24160-1 - Phylogeny, molecular dating and biogeography of Heteroponerinae ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)
• Grantee: Rodrigo dos Santos Machado Feitosa
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• FAPESP's process: 11/50225-3 - Natural history, phylogeny and conservation of Neotropical Lepidoptera
• Grantee: André Victor Lucci Freitas
• Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 98/05083-0 - Richness and diversity of Hymenoptera and Isoptera along a latitudinal gradient in the Mata Atlântica - the eastern Brazilian rain forest
• Grantee: Carlos Roberto Ferreira Brandão
• Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Thematic Grants