Odontomachus laticeps Roger 1861

This species occurs in wet or dry forest habitats, from lowlands to the lower edge of cloud forest. Foragers are usually on the forest floor, and may be diurnal or nocturnal. I often find workers as prey of Eciton.

Mexico, Central America, Bolivia (Brown 1976, 1978). Costa Rica: throughout, in wet and dry forest below 700m.

Face to near margin of vertex striate; head length often above 2.8mm; petiolar node as seen from the side gradually tapered dorsad, with basal half to 2/3 of anterior outline concave or straight; first gastral tergite either smooth and shining or finely striate; pubescence on first gastral tergum suberect and relatively uniform, not wooley; color variable, either with light red brown head and mesosoma, or more uniformly dark brown to nearly black. Occasional small specimens can be confused with O. ruginodis or O. brunneus, but there is nearly always at least a faint trace of longitudinal striation near the posterior border of the first gastral tergite. The first gastral tergite of O. ruginodis and O. brunneus is always completely smooth and shining.

Odontomachus haematodus var. laticeps Roger, 1861a PDF: 25 (w.) MEXICO. Neotropic. AntCat AntWiki HOL

Taxonomic history

Subspecies of Odontomachus haematodus: Emery, 1890c PDF: 44; Emery, 1911e PDF: 115.Raised to species: Dalla Torre, 1893 PDF: 51; Kempf, 1972b PDF: 172.Senior synonym of Odontomachus striativentris: Brown, 1976a: 104.