{"key":"0123241d-e036-4917-932a-9742e8802979","installationKey":"d371dfc3-ef14-48b5-97f8-1de9d3f9f874","publishingOrganizationKey":"1f27e074-e2c0-4cf2-9b78-731e9f789f00","doi":"10.15468/gcykms","external":false,"numConstituents":0,"type":"OCCURRENCE","subtype":"OBSERVATION","shortName":"Liometopum_apiculatum_Mexico","title":"New geographic distribution records of Liometopum apiculatum Mayr, 1870 (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in Central Northern Mexico","description":"\n            This dataset provides new geographic distribution records of Liometopum apiculatum Mayr, 1870 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from several localities in Mexico. The records were collected during field surveys conducted between 2023 and 2024. Each occurrence includes geographic coordinates and collection details. These data expand the known distribution range of L. apiculatum and contribute to understanding its ecological preferences in arid and semi-arid ecosystems of north-central Mexico. All records were verified based on morphological identification following specialized taxonomic keys.\n        ","language":"eng","citation":{"text":"Rosas Valdez R, Berumen Jiménez M (2025). New geographic distribution records of Liometopum apiculatum Mayr, 1870 (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in Central Northern Mexico. Pensoft Publishers. Occurrence dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/gcykms accessed via GBIF.org on 2026-10-14.","citationProvidedBySource":false},"contactsCitation":[{"key":6405148,"abbreviatedName":"Rosas Valdez R","firstName":"Rogelio","lastName":"Rosas Valdez","roles":["ORIGINATOR","METADATA_AUTHOR"],"userId":[]},{"key":6405149,"abbreviatedName":"Berumen Jiménez M","firstName":"Mauricio","lastName":"Berumen Jiménez","roles":["ORIGINATOR"],"userId":[]}],"lockedForAutoUpdate":false,"createdBy":"1f27e074-e2c0-4cf2-9b78-731e9f789f00","modifiedBy":"crawler.gbif.org","created":"2025-11-21T07:30:07.428+00:00","modified":"2025-11-21T07:31:10.214+00:00","contacts":[{"key":6405148,"type":"ORIGINATOR","primary":true,"userId":[],"salutation":"Dr.","firstName":"Rogelio","lastName":"Rosas Valdez","position":[],"email":[],"phone":[],"homepage":[],"organization":"Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas","address":[],"city":"Zacatecas","province":"Zacatecas","country":"MX","postalCode":"98066","createdBy":"crawler.gbif.org","modifiedBy":"crawler.gbif.org","created":"2025-11-21T07:31:10.186+00:00","modified":"2025-11-21T07:31:10.186+00:00"},{"key":6405149,"type":"ORIGINATOR","primary":false,"userId":[],"salutation":"M.Sc.","firstName":"Mauricio","lastName":"Berumen Jiménez","position":[],"email":[],"phone":[],"homepage":[],"organization":"Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas","address":[],"city":"Zacatecas","province":"Zacatecas","country":"MX","postalCode":"98066","createdBy":"crawler.gbif.org","modifiedBy":"crawler.gbif.org","created":"2025-11-21T07:31:10.189+00:00","modified":"2025-11-21T07:31:10.189+00:00"},{"key":6405150,"type":"METADATA_AUTHOR","primary":true,"userId":[],"salutation":"Dr.","firstName":"Rogelio","lastName":"Rosas Valdez","position":[],"email":["rogrosas.uaz@gmail.com"],"phone":[],"homepage":[],"organization":"Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas","address":[],"city":"Zacatecas","province":"Zacatecas","country":"MX","postalCode":"98066","createdBy":"crawler.gbif.org","modifiedBy":"crawler.gbif.org","created":"2025-11-21T07:31:10.190+00:00","modified":"2025-11-21T07:31:10.190+00:00"},{"key":6405151,"type":"REVIEWER","primary":false,"userId":[],"salutation":"Dr.","firstName":"Elizabeth A.","lastName":"Martínez Salazar","position":[],"email":[],"phone":[],"homepage":[],"organization":"Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas","address":[],"city":"Zacatecas","province":"Zacatecas","country":"MX","postalCode":"98066","createdBy":"crawler.gbif.org","modifiedBy":"crawler.gbif.org","created":"2025-11-21T07:31:10.192+00:00","modified":"2025-11-21T07:31:10.192+00:00"},{"key":6405152,"type":"REVIEWER","primary":false,"userId":[],"salutation":"Dr.","firstName":"Luis A.","lastName":"Tarango Arámbula","position":[],"email":[],"phone":[],"homepage":[],"organization":"Colegio de Postgraduados","address":[],"city":"Salinas","province":"San Luis Potosí","country":"MX","postalCode":"78620","createdBy":"crawler.gbif.org","modifiedBy":"crawler.gbif.org","created":"2025-11-21T07:31:10.193+00:00","modified":"2025-11-21T07:31:10.193+00:00"},{"key":6405153,"type":"ADMINISTRATIVE_POINT_OF_CONTACT","primary":true,"userId":[],"salutation":"Dr.","firstName":"Rogelio","lastName":"Rosas Valdez","position":[],"email":[],"phone":[],"homepage":[],"organization":"Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas","address":[],"city":"Zacatecas","province":"Zacatecas","country":"MX","postalCode":"98066","createdBy":"crawler.gbif.org","modifiedBy":"crawler.gbif.org","created":"2025-11-21T07:31:10.194+00:00","modified":"2025-11-21T07:31:10.194+00:00"}],"endpoints":[{"key":1170598,"type":"DWC_ARCHIVE","url":"https://ipt.pensoft.net/archive.do?r=liometopum_apiculatum_mexico","createdBy":"1f27e074-e2c0-4cf2-9b78-731e9f789f00","modifiedBy":"1f27e074-e2c0-4cf2-9b78-731e9f789f00","created":"2025-11-21T07:30:07.623+00:00","modified":"2025-11-21T07:30:07.623+00:00","machineTags":[]},{"key":1170597,"type":"EML","url":"https://ipt.pensoft.net/eml.do?r=liometopum_apiculatum_mexico","createdBy":"1f27e074-e2c0-4cf2-9b78-731e9f789f00","modifiedBy":"1f27e074-e2c0-4cf2-9b78-731e9f789f00","created":"2025-11-21T07:30:07.594+00:00","modified":"2025-11-21T07:30:07.594+00:00","machineTags":[]}],"machineTags":[{"key":33143406,"namespace":"crawler.gbif.org","name":"crawl_attempt","value":"42","createdBy":"crawler.gbif.org","created":"2026-10-12T02:43:19.766+00:00"}],"tags":[],"identifiers":[{"key":459430,"type":"URL","identifier":"https://ipt.pensoft.net/resource?r=liometopum_apiculatum_mexico","createdBy":"crawler.gbif.org","created":"2025-11-21T07:31:10.196+00:00","primary":false}],"comments":[],"bibliographicCitations":[],"curatorialUnits":[],"taxonomicCoverages":[{"description":"The dataset focuses exclusively on Liometopum apiculatum Mayr, 1870 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), a widespread ant species native to North America. All specimens were identified based on morphological characters following specialized taxonomic keys.","coverages":[{"scientificName":"Hymenoptera","rank":{"verbatim":"order","interpreted":"ORDER"}},{"scientificName":"Arthropoda","rank":{"verbatim":"phylum","interpreted":"PHYLUM"}},{"scientificName":"Insecta","rank":{"verbatim":"class","interpreted":"CLASS"}},{"scientificName":"Formicidae","rank":{"verbatim":"family","interpreted":"FAMILY"}},{"scientificName":"Animalia","rank":{"verbatim":"kingdom","interpreted":"KINGDOM"}}]}],"geographicCoverages":[{"description":"The dataset includes new distribution records of Liometopum apiculatum Mayr, 1870 from nine localities across north-central Mexico, covering the states of Coahuila, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, and Zacatecas.\n\nIn Coahuila, specimens were collected in Saltillo.\nIn Nuevo León, records were obtained from Galeana and Iturbide along the Matehuala–Linares highway.\nIn San Luis Potosí, samples were collected in Mexquitic de Carmona (Milpillas).\nIn Zacatecas, records were obtained from Cerro de la Bufa, Cerro de la Virgen, Panzacola, Ecoparque Centenario “Toma de Zacatecas,” Sombrerete, and Valparaíso (La Campana).\n\nThe surveyed sites are located between approximately 22.25° and 25.16° N latitude, and 99.95° and 103.79° W longitude, at elevations ranging from 1173 to 2690 m a.s.l. The environments encompass arid and semi-arid regions characterized by xerophytic scrub, grasslands, and oak-pine forest transitions typical of the Chihuahuan Desert and adjacent mountain systems","boundingBox":{"minLatitude":22.25444,"maxLatitude":25.1553,"minLongitude":-103.7925,"maxLongitude":-99.955,"globalCoverage":false}}],"temporalCoverages":[{"@type":"range","start":"2023-02-01T00:00:00.000+00:00","end":"2024-11-24T00:00:00.000+00:00"}],"keywordCollections":[{"thesaurus":"GBIF Dataset Type Vocabulary: http://rs.gbif.org/vocabulary/gbif/dataset_type_2015-07-10.xml","keywords":["escamolera ant","Tapinomini","Dolichoderinae","geographic range update","Nearctic region","edible insect","taxonomy","Occurrence"]},{"thesaurus":"GBIF Dataset Subtype Vocabulary: http://rs.gbif.org/vocabulary/gbif/dataset_subtype.xml","keywords":["escamolera ant","Tapinomini","Dolichoderinae","Observation","geographic range update","Nearctic region","edible insect","taxonomy","Occurrence"]}],"project":{"title":"New geographic distribution records of Liometopum apiculatum Mayr, 1870 (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in Central Northern Mexico","identifier":"Liometopum_apiculatum_Mex_2025","contacts":[{"type":"AUTHOR","primary":false,"userId":["https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7682-4984"],"salutation":"Dr.","firstName":"Rogelio","lastName":"Rosas Valdez","position":[],"email":[],"phone":[],"homepage":[],"address":[]},{"type":"AUTHOR","primary":false,"userId":["https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6858-6525"],"salutation":"M.Sc.","firstName":"Mauricio","lastName":"Berumen Jiménez","position":[],"email":[],"phone":[],"homepage":[],"address":[]}],"funding":"This project was supported by the Secretaría de Ciencia, Humanidades, Tecnología e Innovación (SECITHI), through a postgraduate scholarship granted to M. Berumen-Jiménez.","awards":[{"funderName":"Secretaría de Ciencia, Humanidades, Tecnología e Innovación (SECITHI)","funderIdentifiers":[],"awardNumber":"775133","title":"Postgraduate scholarship for scientific research in biological sciences","awardUrl":"https://miic.conacyt.mx/becas/index.html"}],"studyAreaDescription":"The study area comprises arid and semi-arid environments of central and northern Mexico, including portions of the Mexican Plateau and the Sierra Madre Oriental and Occidental. Sampling localities include municipalities within the states of Zacatecas (Guadalupe, Sombrerete, Valparaíso, Zacatecas), San Luis Potosí (Mexquitic de Carmona), Nuevo León (Galeana, Iturbide), and Coahuila (Saltillo). Altitudes ranged from 1170 to 2690 m a.s.l., encompassing pine, oak, and xerophilous scrub vegetation types.","designDescription":"The project combined field surveys, taxonomic identification, and georeferenced data integration. Each locality was surveyed using a single transect of 300 m to 1 km in areas without previous records. Ten worker specimens per site were collected manually and preserved in 80% ethanol. Identification was based on taxonomic keys and comparison with type images in AntWeb. Verified specimens were deposited in the Entomological Collection of CIIDIR-IPN Durango (catalog code CECD-HYM). Additional data were compiled from published literature and global biodiversity databases to update the species’ known range.","relatedProjects":[],"abstract":"This project aimed to document and update the geographic distribution of Liometopum apiculatum Mayr, 1870 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in central and northern Mexico. Field surveys were conducted during 2022 and 2023 across arid and semi-arid environments of the Mexican Plateau, Sierra Madre Oriental, and Sierra Madre Occidental. New occurrence records were obtained for the states of Coahuila, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, and Zacatecas, representing first municipal records in several areas.\nThe study also reviewed historical records from literature and biodiversity databases (GBIF, AntWeb, and GABI) to generate an updated distribution map of the species.\nThis work contributes to the understanding of the species’ range limits and ecological flexibility, as L. apiculatum occupies a wide variety of habitats from pine–oak forests to xerophilous scrublands and even disturbed areas."},"samplingDescription":{"studyExtent":"Field surveys were conducted during 2022 and 2023 in arid and semi-arid environments of central and northern Mexico. The study covered localities distributed across the states of Coahuila, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, and Zacatecas, representing elevations between 1173 and 2690 m a.s.l. These areas include xerophilous scrub, oak forest, and mixed vegetation, which are known habitats for Liometopum apiculatum. The objective of the sampling was to document new verified occurrences of the species in previously unsurveyed regions.","sampling":"At each locality, a single exploratory transect (approximately 300 m to 1 km in length) was established in areas with no previous records. Sampling sessions lasted approximately four hours and were conducted between 08:00 and 12:00 h, coinciding with the peak foraging activity of L. apiculatum. Worker ants were manually collected from vegetation, mainly tree trunks and the bases of cacti, in both open and closed vegetation areas. Ten worker specimens per site were preserved in 80% ethanol. Hand collection was used because L. apiculatum lacks a sting, allowing safe and selective sampling with minimal environmental disturbance.","qualityControl":"Specimens were identified using specialized taxonomic keys and redescriptions (Mackay and Mackay 2002; Fernández 2003; Del Toro et al. 2009) and verified by comparison with photographs of type material available in AntWeb (CASENT0915550, CASENT09089). All voucher specimens were deposited in the Entomological Collection of the Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigación para el Desarrollo Integral Regional (CIIDIR), Instituto Politécnico Nacional (IPN), Unidad Durango, Mexico, under the catalog code CECD-HYM (Hymenoptera). Data verification included cross-checking locality coordinates, altitudinal range, and species identity before publication.","methodSteps":["Selection of sampling sites based on historical records and vegetation types suitable for Liometopum apiculatum nesting (oak forests, xerophilous scrub, and mixed vegetation).\n\nEstablishment of a single exploratory transect (300 m–1 km) per locality in areas without previous records.\n\nManual collection of worker ants from tree trunks, cacti bases, and ground vegetation between 08:00 and 12:00 h, following the species’ foraging activity peak.\n\nPreservation of ten worker specimens per locality in 80% ethanol.\n\nDry-mounting of specimens and measurement of morphological traits using a Luxeo 4D digital stereomicroscope and LABOMED Pixel Pro 2.8 software.\n\nVerification of species identity using specialized taxonomic keys (Mackay & Mackay 2002; Fernández 2003; Del Toro et al. 2009) and comparison with type material photographs available in AntWeb.\n\nGeographic coordinates, altitude, and vegetation data were recorded for each collection event and validated prior to data publication.\n\nVoucher specimens deposited in the Entomological Collection of CIIDIR-IPN, Unidad Durango, under the catalog code CECD-HYM (Hymenoptera)."]},"countryCoverage":[],"collections":[{"name":"Entomological Collection of the Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigación para el Desarrollo Integral Regional, Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Unidad Durango (CIIDIR-IPN Durango)","identifier":"CECD-HYM","specimenPreservationMethod":"DRIED_AND_PRESSED","curatorialUnits":[{"typeVerbatim":"Pinned worker specimens (♀)","count":0,"deviation":0,"lower":40,"upper":40}]}],"dataDescriptions":[],"dataLanguage":"eng","purpose":"The main purpose of this dataset is to provide new verified occurrence records of Liometopum apiculatum Mayr, 1870 from central and northern Mexico. The data contribute to improving the knowledge of the species distribution and its ecological preferences in arid and semi-arid ecosystems. Each record was validated through morphological identification. These records expand the known range of Liometopum apiculatum and support future studies on its ecology, morphology, and conservation.","introduction":"Liometopum apiculatum Mayr, 1870 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) is a widely distributed ant species across arid and semi-arid regions of North America, from the southwestern United States to central Mexico. This species plays an important ecological role as a predator, scavenger, and mutualist with hemipterans and plants, and it is of economic relevance in Mexico due to the traditional consumption of its brood (escamoles).\n\nDespite its ecological and cultural importance, the distribution of L. apiculatum remains incomplete, particularly in north-central Mexico, where recent field surveys have revealed previously unreported populations. The dataset presented here compiles verified occurrence records obtained between 2023 and 2024 across several localities in the states of Coahuila, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, and Zacatecas.","gettingStarted":"During 2022 and 2023, field surveys were conducted in arid and semi-arid environments of central and northern Mexico to collect Liometopum apiculatum Mayr, 1870 specimens. Sampling focused on vegetation known as preferred nesting sites for the species, including Quercus, Agave, Pinus, Yucca, Prosopis, and Cylindropuntia.\n\nAt each locality, a single exploratory transect (300 m to 1 km in length) was surveyed in areas with no previous records. Sampling sessions lasted approximately four hours and were carried out during the morning (08:00–12:00 h), when the species exhibits its highest foraging activity. Worker ants were collected manually from vegetation, mainly from tree trunks and the bases of cacti, in both open and closed vegetation areas. Ten worker specimens per locality were preserved in 80 percent ethanol. The absence of a sting made hand collection safe, selective, and minimally invasive.\n\nSpecimen identification was performed using specialized taxonomic keys and redescriptions, and verified through comparison with type material photographs available in AntWeb. All voucher specimens were deposited in the Entomological Collection of the Centro Interdisciplinario de Investigacion para el Desarrollo Integral Regional (CIIDIR), Instituto Politecnico Nacional (IPN), Unidad Durango, Mexico, under the catalog code CECD-HYM (Hymenoptera).\n\nSpecimens were dry-mounted, photographed using a Luxeo 4D digital stereomicroscope at 1.5x–2x magnification, and measured with LABOMED Pixel Pro 2.8 software.","acknowledgements":"The authors thank Daniel Ochoa-Vázquez, Lidia Ávila-Robles, and Nancy E. Acuña-Quiñones for their valuable assistance during fieldwork. We are grateful to Elí A. Saucedo-Castillo, Director of the Department of Biodiversity of the Secretary of Water and Environment, for granting access to the Ecoparque Centenario “Toma de Zacatecas.” We also thank Miguel A. Velásquez Valle, María E. Roque Valdivia, and the Ávila-Robles family for kindly providing access to their respective properties. Special thanks to M.Sc. Daniel Ochoa García, Curator of the Entomological Collection at CIIDIR Durango, for providing catalog accession numbers. MBJ acknowledges the Secretaría de Ciencia, Humanidades, Tecnología e Innovación (SECITHI) for supporting his postgraduate studies through a scholarship.","pubDate":"2025-11-11T00:00:00.000+00:00","maintenanceUpdateFrequency":"NOT_PLANNED","maintenanceDescription":"This dataset represents a complete set of occurrence records collected between 2023 and 2024. No further updates are currently planned.","license":"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode","dwca":{"coreType":"http://rs.tdwg.org/dwc/terms/Occurrence","extensions":[],"modified":"2025-11-21T07:31:10.137+00:00"},"approximateCounts":{"occurrenceCount":10}}