Odontomachus chelifer (Latreille 1802)

Natural History:

This strikingly large species I have only seen as foragers in wet forest, on the forest floor, and often nocturnal. I have never seen a nest.

Southern Mexico to Northern Argentina (Brown 1976). Costa Rica: wet to moist forest of both slopes to mid-elevations; more abundant at mid-elevations than in the lowlands.

Formica chelifera Latreille, 1802a PDF: 188, pl. 8, fig. 51 (w.) SOUTH AMERICA (no locality given). Neotropic. AntCat AntWiki HOL

Taxonomic history

Forel, 1909a PDF: 252 (q.m.); Wheeler & Wheeler, 1952c PDF: 651 (l.).Combination in Odontomachus: Latreille, 1809 PDF: 128.Senior synonym of Odontomachus chelifer emacerata: Brown, 1976a: 103.Senior synonym of Odontomachus chelifer leptocephalus: Emery, 1911e PDF: 114.Senior synonym of Odontomachus haematodus theresiae: Forel, 1899b PDF: 19; Brown, 1976a: 103.

Amambay, Caaguazú , Canindeyú , Central, Concepción , Cordillera, Itapúa , Misiones, Paraguari, “Paraguay” (s. loc.) (ALWC, INBP, LACM, MCSN, MHNG, MZSP). Literature records: Cordillera (Forel 1909).

- Caracas.