The genus Proceratium comprises mostly rare and cryptic ants of leaf litter and soil, distributed throughout the world in both tropical and temperate zones (Baroni Urbani and de Andrade 2003). Some species of the genus are known to be specialized predators of spider eggs (Brown 1980).
In Costa Rica this species is known from lowland wet forest. The species is encountered as isolated workers in sifted leaf litter samples from the forest floor.
Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela. Costa Rica: Atlantic and southern Pacific lowlands.
Taxonomic history
Combination in Proceratium: Dalla Torre, 1893 PDF: 18; Forel, 1895b PDF: 111.Senior synonym of Proceratium cavernicola: Borgmeier, 1957a PDF: 118.See also: Brown, 1958g PDF: 333; Baroni Urbani & de Andrade, 2003a PDF: 172; Fernandes et al., 2019 10.13102/sociobiology.v66i4.4484 PDF: 555.Earlier (Brown 1974:82) I called attention to the doubtful status of P. convexiceps Borgmeier (1957:120-122, fig. 34). Not only do samples of this complex (including new collections from Honduras: Lancetilla, near Tela; and 14 km S. La Ceiba; both in rotten logs, W. L. Brown, Jr.) vary in the development of the median clypeal process, which may be absent, weakly projecting, or strong, but it seems clear that the "Arbeiter" of micrommatum against which Borgmeier (1957:118-120) compared convexiceps was actually an ergatoid queen of micrommatum , so that differences in head shape, eye size and petiolar thickness are apparently only allometric caste differences.
A worker specimen of P. micrommatum from Honduras was dissected and proved to have maxillary palpi of 3 segments, the second segment having the "hammer-head" form characteristic of Proceratium , i.e., it is stalked from the side, and the apical segment has 3 long apical sensilla. Labial palpi with each 2 segments: basal segment narrower, apical segment claviform, with 3 long apical sensilla.
