Crematogaster nitidiceps Emery 1895

Wild, Alexander L., 2007, A catalogue of the ants of Paraguay (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), Zootaxa 1622, pp. 1-55 : 51

Crematogaster nitidiceps Emery 1895 a. NEW STATUS.

Crematogaster victima var. nitidiceps Emery 1895a: 288 .

Crematogaster victima subsp. nitidiceps var. pergens Forel 1911b: 274 . Unavailable name. [examined, MHNG; Cordillera, Paraguay (Fiebrig)].

Crematogaster (Orthocrema) victima subsp. nitidiceps Emery. Emery 1924a: 136 .

Crematogaster (Orthocrema) victima nitidiceps Emery. Kempf 1972: 90 .

Crematogaster nitidiceps and Crematogaster victima occur in local sympatry across eastern Paraguay. There is no reason to consider the two forms conspecific, and indeed the two forms are likely not even close relatives. I have not examined type material of either form, but Jack Longino has confirmed the identification of both species in my Paraguayan material and concurs with a change in status for C. nitidiceps (Longino, pers. comm.). In Paraguay, the two species differ in a number of characters, including: antennal scapes in repose fail to meet posterior cephalic margin in C. nitidiceps but surpass posterior margin in C. victima ; head in full-face view longer than broad in C. niticeps but broader than long in C. victima ; sculpture of lateral face of pronotum smooth and shining in C. nitidiceps but punctate in C. victima ; dorsum of head bearing only one or two pairs of standing setae in C. niticeps but bearing> 20 standing clavate setae in C. victima . The two forms show additional differences in eye size, petiolar structure, and mesosomal structure.