Trinidad and Tobago are continental shelf islands, connected with South America when ocean levels were lower during glacial maxima. Trinidad became isolated from South America only ∼1.5 kya and Tobago became isolated ∼12 kya. Because of this former connection, these islands have many South American species not found on islands of the Lesser Antilles that were never connected to South America. I collected nine species of acrobat ants (Crematogaster) in Trinidad and Tobago: Crematogaster brasiliensis, Crematogaster carinata, Crematogaster crinosa, Crematogaster crucis, Crematogaster curvispinosa, Crematogaster limata, Crematogaster nigropilosa, Crematogaster rochai, and Crematogaster tenuicula. All these species have broad ranges in South and Central America. Only two, C. crinosa and C. curvispinosa, are also known from multiple islands of the Lesser Antilles north of Trinidad and Tobago.
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16 November 2017
Crematogaster (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Trinidad and Tobago, West Indies
James K Wetterer
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Transactions of the American Entomological Society
Vol. 143 • No. 4
December 2017
Vol. 143 • No. 4
December 2017
arboreal ants
biodiversity
geographic range
Native species