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The Genus Platythyrea Roger, 1863 in Dominican Amber (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Ponerinae)

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The Genus Platythyrea Roger, 1863 in Dominican Amber (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Ponerinae) Entomotropica ISSN 1317-5262 Vol. 18(2): 107-111. Agosto 2003 The genus Platythyrea Roger, 1863 in Dominican Amber (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Ponerinae) John E. Lattke Museo del Instituto de Zoología Agrícola Francisco Fernández Yépez, Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Apdo. 4579, Maracay 2101-A, estado Aragua, Venezuela. Abstract LATTKE JE. 2003. The genus Platythyrea Roger, 1863 in Dominican Amber (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Ponerinae). Entomotropica 18(2):107-111. Three species of the genus Platythyrea are described from Dominican Amber: P. dentata sp. n., P. procera sp. n., and P. scalprum sp.n. The present data corroborates the decline in species numbers observed for other ant genera when comparing the fossil fauna with the extant fauna of Hispaniola. Additional key words: Caribbean, extinction, fossil ants, taxonomy. Resumen LATTKE JE. 2003. El género Platythyrea Roger, 1863 en ámbar Dominicano (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Ponerinae). Entomotropica 18(2):107-111. Se describen tres especies del género Platythyrea de piezas de ámbar de la República Dominicana: P. dentata sp. n., P. procera sp. n., y P. scalprum sp. n. Los datos presentados corroboran la disminución observada en el número de especies para otros géneros de hormigas al comparar la fauna fosilizada con la fauna actual de La Española. Palabras clave adicionales: Caribe, extinción, hormigas fósiles, taxonomía. Introduction Materials and Methods The ant genus Platythyrea has a pantropical distribution Measurements: and includes 37 known species, of which eight are The distortions frequent in amber specimens, fractures found in the neotropics (Bolton 1995). The group was of the matrix, differences in the refraction indices of last revised by Brown (1975) and since then only a air versus amber, and less than ideally positioned body single species has been described from the American parts make for rough measurements. tropics (Kugler 1977). Their fossil record is limited to one species in Baltic Amber (Wheeler 1915), and HL Head length: maximum length of the although the genus has been cited as present in cephalic capsule measured from the Dominican Amber (Baroni Urbani 1995; Wilson anterior margin of the clypeus to the 1985, 1988), no fossil species have been described from midpoint of a line drawn across the this material. Three well-preserved and distinctive posterior cephalic margin. species from the Dominican Amber collection of the HW Head width: maximum width of head, American Museum of Natural History (New York, excluding the eyes. U.S.A.) are described in this paper. The descriptions ML Mandible length: straight-line length of a omit characters typical for the genus, which can be mandible, measured from the base at the consulted either in Brown (1975) or in the generic insertion into the head capsule, to the apex. diagnosis in Lattke (2003). SL Scape length: length of the first antennal segment, excluding the neck and basal condyle. ED Eye diameter: diameter of the compound eye, measured along its long axis. © 2003, Sociedad Venezolana de Entomología Entomotropica 18(2): 107-111. Agosto/August/2003 WL Weber's length of the mesosoma (alitrunk): longer than wide, anterior margin slightly concave, diagonal length, measured in lateral view, dorsal margin evenly convex, lower anteriorly than from the anterior margin of the pronotum posteriorly in lateral view. Dorsal petiolar surface (excluding the collar) to the posterior separated from posterior face by sharp, almost extremity of the metapleural lobe. perpendicular margin, posterior margin with brief Indices: The following indices are derived from the dorsal lobe; subpetiolar process translucent, preceding measurements: subquadrate with rounded anterior corner in lateral view. Anterior postpetiolar face concave, without CI Cephalic index: HW/HL ventral process. Profemur modestly swollen (W/L MI Mandibular index: ML/HW 0.33); metacoxa with triangular dorsal tooth; SI Scape index: SL/HW penultimate metatarsal segment without lateral lobes OI Ocular index: ED/HW in dorsal view. Worker, male: Unknown. Results Etymology: The species name is derived from dentatus, the Latin term for “with teeth” and alludes to the Platythyrea dentata sp. n. dentate mandibles. (Figures 2, 5) Comments: The only other New World species known to have dentate mandibles is the extant Central Holotype: A wingless queen embedded in a clear American Kugler, 1977. This species was rounded piece of amber. Deposited in the American P. prizo described from the worker caste and is larger (HL > Museum of Natural History as specimen DR-14-461. 1.64; WL > 2.58 mm) than with mostly flat Dominican Republic, Oligo-Miocene amber. P. dentata eyes closer to the cephalic middle and a convex anterior Diagnosis: Head in dorsal view with mostly straight clypeal margin in dorsal view. Additional information posterior margin, with slight median concavity; about P. prizo, including photographs of a queen, is given mandibles dentate; metacoxal dorsum with triangular by Longino (1999). The queen of P. prizo in lateral denticle. view has a broadly concave propodeal declivity, Queen: Metrics. HL 1.09; HW 0.87; ML 0.48; SL without the overhang of P. dentata, and the metacoxal 0.68; ED 0.27; WL 1.95 mm. CI 0.80; SI 0.78; MI dorsum of P. prizo, both in the queen and worker, is 0.55; OI 0.31. Total length: 5.5 mm. Head widest just illustrated as swollen, but definitely not dentate as in P. behind eyes in dorsal view; cephalic lateral margin dentata. broadly convex, posterior margin mostly straight with slight median concavity, anterior clypeal margin mostly straight, barely convex; eye convex, situated Platythyrea procera sp. n. anteriorly. Frontal lobe slightly angular, anterior (Figure 1) margin convex and shorter than posterior margin; scape Holotype: One worker embedded in a clear oval piece flattened, surpassing posterior cephalic margin by more of amber. Deposited in the American Museum of than one apical width, most funicular segments as wide Natural History as specimen DR-14-458. Dominican as long. Frontal triangle shallow and brief, posterior Republic, Oligo-Miocene amber. clypeal border separated from lobes by v-shaped sulcus; Diagnosis: Funicular segments longer than wide; longitudinal median sulcus stretches from clypeus to propodeal declivity laterally bounded by lamella median ocellus. Mandible with translucent lamella forming convex lobe ventrally and dorsally pointing bordering internal and masticatory margins, lamella denticle dorsally; legs mostly slender and elongate. widest along internal margin, distinctly separated from Worker: Metrics. HL 0.89; HW 0.68; ML 0.43; SL rest of mandible by sharp margin, masticatory border 0.64; ED 0.30; WL 1.70 mm. CI 0.76; SI 0.94; MI dentate, with at least eight denticles; mandibular sulcus 0.63; OI 0.44. Total Length: 5.9 mm. Head elongate in shallow and brief. dorsal view, posterior margin concave, anterior clypeal Pronotal ventral margin rounded in lateral view; margin relatively straight, apparently without lamella; mesometapleural suture more distinctly impressed than frontal lobe semi-triangular, anterior margin longer mesopleural suture; propodeal dorsal margin convex than posterior margin, frontal lobes broadly separated, in lateral view, declivitous margin concave with frontal triangle not apparent; eye broadly convex, dorsolateral convex lobe, declivity with concave situated anteriorly on head. Scape apparently reaches transverse section. Petiolar node not elongate, slightly posterior cephalic margin, funicular segments longer 108 LATTKE, The genus Platythyrea Roger, 1863 in Dominican Amber (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Ponerinae) FIGURES 4-5. Dorsal view of half of the heads of Platythyrea specimens fossilized in Dominican Amber. Figure 4. P. scalprum. Figure 5. P. dentata. Scale bars equal 0.5 mm. Antenna omitted. Legs generally slender and elongate except for slightly swollen profemur (W/L 0.33-0.41); protarsus without stout setae opposite strigil; metacoxal dorsum unarmed, penultimate metatarsal segment with well- developed lateral lobes in dorsal view. Queen, male: Unknown. Etymology: The species name alludes to its elongate appearance and is derived from the Latin word for slender, procerus. FIGURES 1-3. Lateral view of Platythyrea specimens fossilized Comments: This species is another small member of in Dominican Amber. Figure 1. Mesosoma of P. procera sp. the genus, only slightly larger than P. scalprum. If one n. Figure 2. Mesosoma and petiole of P. dentata sp. n. Figure tries to identify this species using the key in Brown . Head, mesosoma and petiole of P. scalprum sp. n. Scale 3 (1975:10) it leads to couplet six, where it becomes bars equal 0.5 mm. stranded. P. procera has a flattened clypeus as opposed to the swollen clypeus of P. exigua Kempf, 1964 and it than wide; mandible edentate with faintly impressed, lacks the petiolar and metacoxal denticle which is brief basal sulcus; maxillary palp with five segments. typical for P. exigua. The head of P. procera (CI 0.76) is In lateral view pronotal dorsal margin evenly convex, slightly more elongate than in P. zodion Brown, 1975 dorsal margin of mesometanotum straight; propodeal (CI 0.90) and the other characters are comparable save dorsal margin slightly convex and higher than anterior for the more robust, subquadrate petiolar node of P. margin; mesometanotal suture well-impressed; zodion (W/L 0.86) and the smaller eyes (OI 0.29) of P. propodeal spiracle round, opening directed zodion. The eyes in P. zodion are set more towards
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