Fossil microvertebrates associated to ant mounds of 𝑃𝑜𝑔𝑜𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑦𝑟𝑚𝑒𝑥 𝑏𝑎𝑟𝑏𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑠 (Smith, 1858) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Jalisco, Mexico

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.32870/dugesiana.v30i2.7287

Keywords:

Harvester ant, Paleontology, Jalisco, nest suface, structure

Abstract

Harvester ants of the genus 𝑃𝑜𝑔𝑜𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑦𝑟𝑚𝑒𝑥 have shown great variation in the formations and materials that surround the entranceof their nests. In Zacoalco de Torres, Jalisco, Western Mexico, the ant species 𝑃𝑜𝑔𝑜𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑦𝑟𝑚𝑒𝑥 𝑏𝑎𝑟𝑏𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑠, Smith, 1858 produces nestswith mounds composed of pebbles and fossil microvertebrates. Fossils from the Neogene-Quaternary tectonic period are located in the Chapala-Zacoalco lagoon complex. In this study, estimates of the nest density, circumference, surface area, height and volume of the mounds, as well as the number and size of entrances to the nest were obtained from 11 anthills. Fifty three samples were collected to determine mound composition, weight, percentage of fossils, and the relationship between the total weight of the samples and the percentage of fossils they contain. The nest density of 𝑃. 𝑏𝑎𝑟𝑏𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑠  was 3.17/Ha, similar to that reported in intense grazing areas forother ant species of the genus 𝑃𝑜𝑔𝑜𝑛𝑜𝑚𝑦𝑟𝑚𝑒𝑥. The variation in mound volume is attributed to the relocation of gravel, fossils and othersediments caused by the activity of digger ants. The presence of fossils in the anthills favors the recognition of areas with fossiliferous potential. The mounds of those ants facilitates the fossil microvertebrates sampling, although there is the drawback that the samples from different strata are mixed due to the effect of the repositioning of materials carried out by the ants. There is a weak positive relationship between the weight of the samples and the percentage of fossils they contain, this suggests a great variation in the abundance of fossiliferous material obtained from the mounds by minimally invasive collections.

Author Biography

Yoalith Guadalupe Casillas Ramírez, Departamento de Ecología, Universidad de Guadalajara

Licenciada en Biología por la Universidad de Guadalajara. Egresada del Doctorado en Ciencias en Ecofisiología y Recursos Genéticos, UdG

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Published

2023-07-01

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Vol. 30 No. 2 (2023): Dugesiana

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