Myrmelachista Osa

''Myrmelachista'' is a Neotropical genus of ants in the subfamily Formicinae. The genus is found exclusively in the Neotropical realm. Little is known regarding their biology.

Habitat and distribution

The genus is restricted to the Neotropical region, and 41% of the species in this genus can be found in Brazil. The species in this genus are arboreal and engage in the specialized practice of nesting in trunk cavities and among twigs. These ant species may also form complex mutual associations with certain myrmecophytes or with Coccidae and Pseudococcidae species. Little information is available regarding the biology of ''Myrmelachista'' species; however, it is known that these species generally feed on extrafloral nectaries and on animal-derived proteins.

Description

''Myrmelachista'' species possess between nine and 10 antennal segments. Most nine-segmented ''Myrmelachista'' species are found in Central America and the Caribbean (with only two known nine-segmented ''Myrmelachista'' species in South America), whereas 10-segmented ''Myrmelachista'' species are mostly found in South America (with only three known 10-segmented ''Myrmelachista'' species found in Mexico and Central America). The larvae of ''Myrmelachista'' ants are elongate and unremarkable, excepting for a few protruding dorsal hairs which might have a biological function in hanging larvae inside their nests.

The circumscription of ''Myrmelachista'' species is a complex task because the morphological differences between individuals of a single species that originate from different colonies can be sufficient to cause these individuals to be erroneously regarded as members of different species.

Species

, 58 ''Myrmelachista'' species have been described, with a few recognized subspecies; the diversity of this genus has most likely been underestimated due to the limited taxonomic knowledge available regarding ''Myrmelachista''. In the most recent molecular databased phylogenetic proposals for ants, ''Myrmelachista'' is a sister group of ''Brachymyrmex'', and these groups constitute the most basal and closely related formicine groups.

*''Myrmelachista ambigua'' Forel, 1893
*''Myrmelachista amicta'' Wheeler, 1934
*''Myrmelachista arborea'' Forel, 1909
*'' Myrmelachista arthuri'' Forel, 1903
*'' Myrmelachista bambusarum'' Forel, 1903
*''Myrmelachista bettinae'' Forel, 1903
*''Myrmelachista brevicornis'' Wheeler, 1934
*''Myrmelachista bruchi'' Santschi, 1922
*''Myrmelachista catharinae'' Mayr, 1887
*''Myrmelachista chilensis'' Forel, 1904
*''Myrmelachista cooperi'' (Gregg, 1951)
*''Myrmelachista dalmasi'' Forel, 1912
*''Myrmelachista donisthorpei'' Wheeler, 1934
*''Myrmelachista elata'' Santschi, 1922
*''Myrmelachista elongata'' Santschi, 1925
*''Myrmelachista flavida'' Wheeler, 1934
*''Myrmelachista flavocotea'' Longino, 2006
*'' Myrmelachista flavoguarea'' Longino, 2006
*''Myrmelachista gagates'' Wheeler, 1936
*'' Myrmelachista gagatina'' Emery, 1894
*'' Myrmelachista gallicola'' Mayr, 1887
*''Myrmelachista goeldii'' Forel, 1903
*''Myrmelachista goetschi'' (Menozzi, 1935)
*''Myrmelachista guyanensis'' Wheeler, 1934
*''Myrmelachista haberi'' Longino, 2006
*''Myrmelachista hoffmanni'' Forel, 1903
*''Myrmelachista joycei'' Longino, 2006
*''Myrmelachista kloetersi'' Forel, 1903
*''Myrmelachista kraatzii'' Roger, 1863
*''Myrmelachista lauroatlantica'' Longino, 2006
*''Myrmelachista lauropacifica'' Longino, 2006
*''Myrmelachista longiceps'' Longino, 2006
*''Myrmelachista longinoda'' Forel, 1899
*''Myrmelachista mayri'' Forel, 1886
*''Myrmelachista meganaranja'' Longino, 2006
*''Myrmelachista mexicana'' Wheeler, 1934
*''Myrmelachista muelleri'' Forel, 1903
*''Myrmelachista nigella'' (Roger, 1863)
*''Myrmelachista nigrocotea'' Longino, 2006
*''Myrmelachista nodigera'' Mayr, 1887
*'' Myrmelachista osa'' Longino, 2006
*''Myrmelachista paderewskii'' Forel, 1908
*''Myrmelachista plebecula'' Menozzi, 1927
*''Myrmelachista ramulorum'' Wheeler, 1908
*'' Myrmelachista reclusi'' Forel, 1903
*''Myrmelachista reichenspergeri'' Santschi, 1922
*''Myrmelachista reticulata'' Borgmeier, 1928
*''Myrmelachista rogeri'' André, 1887
*''Myrmelachista rudolphi'' Forel, 1903
*''Myrmelachista ruszkii'' Forel, 1903
*''Myrmelachista schachovskoi'' Kusnezov, 1951
*'' Myrmelachista schumanni'' Emery, 1890
*''Myrmelachista skwarrae'' Wheeler, 1934
*''Myrmelachista ulei'' Forel, 1904
*'' Myrmelachista vicina'' Kusnezov, 1951
*''Myrmelachista zeledoni'' Emery, 1896

References

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External links

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{{Taxonbar, from=Q4044740

Formicinae
Ant genera
Hymenoptera of South America
Hymenoptera of North America
Taxa named by Julius Roger