Temnothorax subditivus (Wheeler, 1903)

Prebus, Matthew M., 2021, Taxonomic revision of the Temnothorax salvini clade (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), with a key to the clades of New World Temnothorax, PeerJ (e 11514) 9, pp. 1-462 : 421

subditivus group

This group is composed of two species, Temnothorax politus and T. subditivus , which together have a vast range spanning all elevations, from the southern United States to northern South America ( Fig. 165 ). Typically found nesting in dead vegetation, under bark, or in the leaf litter, the finer details of the biology of this group remain unknown. All nest collections so far have been monogynous. The morphology of T. subditivus is extremely variable across its range and may prove to be a species complex with additional sampling and further investigation. As a species group, T. politus is easy to distinguish from other Nearctic Temnothorax , but the morphological characteristics and range of T. subditivus overlap broadly with the pulchellus group, the pastinifer group, and members of the sallei clade with characters of the Macromischa syndrome. The keys above and the ‘similar species’ sections below should be used to distinguish it from lookalikes.

Figures

Figure 165 Geographical and elevational distribution of the subditivus group. (A) Temnothorax politus (B) T. subditivus. Colored scale to the left of each map represents elevation in meters. Points in black represent the species named in each subfigure, while points in red represent other members of the species group. Type localities are represented by triangles; if present, types of synonyms are named; non-type localities are represented by circles. Bounding box in inset map shows location of main map. Full-size DOI: 10.7717/peerj.11514/fig-165