Mackay, W.P. & Mackay, E.E.

A new species of the ant genus Pachycondyla F. Smith, 1858 from Ecuador (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Pachycondyla schoedli sp.n. from Ecuador is described, based on workers. The worker is most similar to P. carbonaria (F. Smith, 1858), but differs in that it lacks the strong, bluish and greenish reflections, and is less sculptured than P. carbonaria. The anepisternum lacks the obliquely horizontal striae that are present on the worker of P. carbonaria. It could be confused with P. aenescens Mayr, 1870, but can be separated, as the mesopleuron is mostly smooth and glossy, not sculptured and dull as in P. aenescens. It lacks the dense, golden pubescence that covers all surfaces of P. eleonorae (Forel, 1921), and has a straight anterior petiolar face, which is convex in P. eleonorae. This new species is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Stefan Schödl, friend and fellow myrmecologist.

Open access, licensed under CC BY 4.0. © 2006 The Author(s).

Pachycondyla schoedli, P. carbonaria, P. aenescens, P. eleonorae, Neotropics, Ecuador, South America, new species.