Protonym: Aspididris militaris
Authorship Weber, 1950d: 3, fig. 1
Forms w.q.
Bioregion Neotropic
Locality TRINIDAD
Etymology From Latin, “militaris”, relating to soldiers or war, military service, warrior. Dr. Gustav Mayr probably named this species in reference to the clavate hairs present on the vertexal crest of this taxon, which refers to the top of helmets of some of the Roman legionnaires. An example is the Praetorian Guard (soldiers in charge of protecting the praetorium, the central part of the camp of a Roman legion where the officers were installed), whose clothing included a helmet with a crest crowned with horsehair. (Source: Probst & Brandão, 2022: 49.)
Primary type information Primary type material: holotype queen. Primary type locality: Trinidad (“British West Indies”): Nariva Swamp, 23.iv.1935 (N.A. Weber) Primary type depository: AMNH.
Secondary type information Secondary type material: paratype workers, paratype queens (numbers not stated, “several of the same species”). Secondary type locality: paratypes: 1 with same data as holotype, 1 with same data as holotype but 22.iv.1935. Secondary type depositories: AMNH, MCZC.
Type notes 1) Probst & Brandão, 2022: 43, say holotype is an intercaste, not a queen. 2) They also cite 2 intercaste paratypes in MCZC.
Taxa belonging to this protonym
Aspididris militaris Species Obsolete combination
an obsolete combination of Basiceros militaris (Weber, 1950)
Original combination
Basiceros militaris Species Valid