Sarah A. Solomon Ted Schultz, Ph.D. "What I want to be able to share with people, more than anything, is that insects are a lot more than just a bunch of bugs." |
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Sarah A. Solomon Ted Schultz, Ph.D. "What I want to be able to share with people, more than anything, is that insects are a lot more than just a bunch of bugs." |
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Discriminating between two cryptic species of fungus-growing Ants in the Genus Cyphomyrmex from Panama Nests of ants that were initially identified as Cyphomyrmex longiscapus, collected by U.G. Mueller in Panama as part of an ecological survey of lower attine fungi, belong to two different species. One species corresponds to C. longiscapus and the other is new. Based on three commonly used measurement indices for 263 individuals from 138 nests, males and workers of the new species are significantly larger than those of C. longiscapus. The two ant species differ significantly in average size measurements, although overlap in size ranges does not allow the two species to be distinguished based solely upon these differences. However, discrete morphological differences also exist between the two species that allow individual specimens to be sorted. The new species is found in association with a distinctly different fungus than C. longiscapus in over 95% of all cases examined. Distinguishing between Cyphomyrmex longiscapus and the new species is necessary for at least two current evolutionary studies: a study aimed at determining whether colonies cultivating the two different types of fungi are utilizing correspondingly different microhabitats, and a study on queen mating number and kin selection in attine ants. The ability to discriminate between these two species will also undoubtedly be useful for future studies of lower attines, especially those aimed at understanding the evolution and ecology of fungus-growing in ants. This research was supported by a grant from the Smithsonian Women's Committee |
