I have returned from a positively phenomenal trip to the University of Florida with a photograph of the following mystery animal:
To earn points in this week’s challenge, be the first to correctly give the following information:
- The genus (4 points)
- The species (4 points)
- The professional research interest of this animal’s namesake. (2 points)
This ant caused me some trouble the first time I tried to identify it, as it is not a typical member of its genus.
The cumulative points winner across all mysteries for the month of April will win their choice of 1) any 8×10-sized print from my insect photography galleries, or 2) a guest post here on Myrmecos.
Good luck!
Hello Temnothorax pergandei. (Bid to be the first!)
He was into Aphididae and collected many ants. (Weakly composed in bid to have a complete answer first!)
I could have gotten this one, but Musidris beat me to it by just a few minutes. Musidris, what’s that? A banana ant?
By the way, I am not convinced that T. floridanus is a synonym of this one. They have different ecology and nesting habitat.
Can’t wait to read more about the phenomenal trip to an old favorite stomping ground…
Awesome. It might be worthwhile to send some to Phil, as one of his students is doing a molecular phylogeny of the Temnos. (I’ve already given this afore-mentioned student all of my material, including a T. pergandei from Tennessee.)
Ok, ok. Sorry I am posting again, but this paper was forwarded to me (http://gap.entclub.org/taxonomists/Smith,%20M.R/1967b.pdf). Pergande was a crucial early North American myrmecologist
Oh, hahahaha. I wasn’t thinking about it carefully; I just wanted to get a pseudonym up when I tried to be the first. I was thinking mus as in mouse, rather than mus as in banana. (Although, I am quite amusa-d about this [Sorry for the terrible pun by the way].)
Anyway, thanks sfor the pdf. Good to remind the American myrmecological world of Pergande’s importance.
Should have mentioned, proper formation of word (with “mouse”) would be Myidris, or less desirably (because of mixing Latin+Greek roots), Muridiris.
Myidris sounds good. Maybe I’ll try that next time 😛
You could always use Russian like William Ricker so you don’t need to worry about latin, greek, or the mixing thereof !
Cardiocondyla?
Too late for an easy one. Bummer.
I shudda known this! I collected these in Raleigh, N.C. But I was busy last night.
Me too – I collected these in Kansas for my senior thesis research project I just submitted. But I forgot about the MNM last night D:
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