Zatania darlingtoni ( Wheeler, 1936 ) Wheeler, 1936

Williams, Jason L., 2016, Taxonomic revision and phylogeny of the ant genus Prenolepis (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), Zootaxa 4200 (2), pp. 201-258 : 252

Zatania darlingtoni ( Wheeler, 1936) , comb. nov.

( Figs 136–138 )

Nylanderia darlingtoni Wheeler, 1936: 210 (w.). Lectotype worker (designated here), HAITI: between La Visite and Kenschoff, 5000–7000ft (P.J. Darlington) ( MCZC: MCZENT00021675) [examined]. 6 paralectotype workers (designated here), same locality as lectotype ( MCZC) [examined]. Combination in Paratrechina: Brandão, 1991: 366 ; in Nylanderia: LaPolla et al., 2010a: 127 .

Morphology. Worker. Measurements (n=3): HL: 0.49–0.59; HW: 0.48–0.54; SL: 0.66–0.74; TL: 1.77–2.30; WL: 0.80–0.90; BLI: 167; CI: 91–94; SI: 136–147.

Head in full-face view ovate, distinctly longer than broad; posterolateral corners rounded; posterior margin straight; scapes surpassing posterior margin of head by about the length of first 3–4 funicular segments combined; ocelli not apparent; in full frontal view, eyes not breaking the lateral margins of head. In profile anterior face of pronotum forming an angle of approximately 45°; pronotum and mesonotum forming a continuous dorsal outline; mesonotal area not distinctly impressed; propodeum low, in lateral at about same level as mesonotum, with a gently rounded dorsal face descending uninterruptedly into declivitous face. Body smooth and shiny, yellow to brown; with lighter yellow to brownish-yellow antennae, mandibles and legs; scapes with short decumbent pubescence; cephalic pubescence densest above eyes; mesosoma with pubescence dorsally on pronotum, mesonotum and anterior portion of propodeum; first and second gastral segments with dense pubescence dorsally.

Notes. There are several aspects of worker morphology that suggest that this species really belongs in Zatania and not Nylanderia . Among those are: long scapes with no erect setae but with decumbent pubescence; elongate legs with no erect macrosetae but with dense pubescence; an elongate, slender mesosoma and relatively high placement of the eyes above the midline of the head. Wheeler (1936) noted the unusual morphology of the worker of this species and this is why he placed in Nylanderia and not Paratrechina . There is some observed variability in color among the type series, with some specimens more yellow and others much darker brown. Otherwise all other aspects of their morphology are similar so they are here considered conspecific. The genus Zatania now has five extant species known to occur in the Greater Antilles and one species in Central America. Zatania darlingtoni is the second species reported from Haiti, the other being Z. gibberosa ( LaPolla et al. 2012) . Zatania darlingtoni appears to be most similar to Z. cisipa based on overall worker morphology. The two differ in several ways, but the most obvious is that Z. cisipa has darker (contrasting with its lighter cuticular color) and more abundant macrosetae on the head than Z. darlingtoni , and the eyes of Z. cisipa are much more convex than the relatively flat eyes of Z. darlingtoni .

Figures

FIGURES 136 – 138. Zatania darlingtoni lectotype worker MCZENT 00021675. Lateral, full-face, and dorsal view of the body.