We’ve pointed and laughed at iStockphoto enough already. Let’s pick on Getty instead:
This ant is misidentified. The horror!
To collect all ten points for tonight’s mystery, be the first to provide the correct genus-level identification. Breaking with tradition, you’ll also need to explain which character(s) support your answer. No exply, no pointsy.
The cumulative points winner for the month of July will win their choice of 1) an 8×10-sized print from my photo galleries, or 2) a guest post here on Myrmecos.
Of the ‘intermediate’ and ‘higher’ attines Trachymyrmex, Acromyrmex, and Atta, I say this is Acromyrmex. I don’t know how to use specific, proper terms for this, but Trachymyrmex doesn’t have the many sharp spines on the alitrunk/thorax. Atta does have spines, but not as many. Plus, Atta just seems to me to have an overall more ‘shiny’ look to it than Acromyrmex. Hehe, hope that’s enough.
This ant looks very much like the one in this post this post, which I recalled because I had asked a question about the spines indicating a lack of stings or chemical defenses. The ants in that post (Acromyrmex echinatior) remind me very much of this one, so I’m going with Acromyrmex).
Well I was beaten to it, but I’ll give the explanation a go. Atta has 2 pairs of erect spines on the alitrunk, while Acromyrmex has 3 or more. Also, Acromyrmex has a tuberculate gaster while Atta’s is smooth. So, it can’t be Atta. Trachymyrmex lack erect spines and has a long frontal carinae extended to or close to margin of vertex forming a (usually) well defined antennal scrobe, and scapes are longer in Acromyrmex, which appears to be the case in the picture, so that the scape would not fit in an antennal scrobe. So, I second Acromyrmex.
Alitrunk – how passe’! Mesosoma, or in this case, one could just say thorax, and still be right.
I…
am…
too…
slow…
today…
dang!
I’d go for Acromyrmex as well. The back of Atta’s head is shaped very different from what we see here..
[…] so many of you guessed, the Getty Taxonomy Fail was not an Atta but an […]