Galapagos Species Database
The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.
Tapinoma melanocephalum
hormiga, Ant



Domain
Eukaryota
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Arthropoda
Class
Insecta
Order
Hymenoptera
Suborder
Apocrita
Superfamily
Vespoidea
Family
Formicidae
Section
Dolichoderini
Genus
Tapinoma
Species
melanocephalum
Taxon category: Accepted
Origin: Introduced - established
Year of first record: 1891
Mode of introduction: Accidental
Introduction Pathway: Stowaway
Subpathway: Hitchhiker on transport vehicles/cargo
Introduced status: Naturalized
Invasive status: No data
Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.
Distribution: Albany, Baltra, Champion, Española, Fernandina, Floreana, Genovesa, Isabela, Marchena, Pinta, South Plaza, Rabida, Santiago, San Cristobal, Santa Cruz, North Seymour, Santa Fe and Mariela Mediana.
- Peck, S.B. Heraty, J., Landry, B. & Sinclair, B.J. (1998) Introduced insect fauna of an oceanic archipelago: The Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. Am. Entomol. 44: 218-237.
- Wheeler, W.M. (1924) The Formicidae of the Harrison Williams Galapagos Expedition. Zoologica 5(10): 101-122.
- von Aesch, L. Cherix, D. (2005) Introduced Ant Species and Mechanisms of Competition on Floreana Island (Galápagos, Ecuador) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Sociobiology 45(2): 463-481.
- Linsley, E.G. Usinger, R.L. (1966) Insects of the Galápagos Islands. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences Fourth Series 33(7): 113-196.
- Peck, S.B. (1996) Origin and development of an insect fauna on a remote archipelago: The Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. In: Keast A., Miller S.E. (eds.): The origin and evolution of Pacific Island biotas, New Guinea to eastern Polynesia: patterns and processes. SPB Academic Publishing, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, p. 91-122.
- Lubin, Y.D. (1984) Changes in the native fauna of the Galápagos Islands following invasion by the little red fire ant, Wasmannia auropunctata. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 21(1-2): 229-242.
- McMullen, C.K. (2011) Pollination of the heterostylos Galápagos native, Cordia lutea (Boraginaceae) Plant Syst Evol (2012) 298:569-579
- Herrera, H. W., Baert, L., Dekoninck, W., Causton, C. E., Sevilla, C. R., Pozo, P., & Hendrickx, F. (2020) Distribution and habitat preferences of Galápagos ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Belgian Journal of Entomology 93: 1–60.
- Herrera, H. W., Tocora, M. C., Fiorentino, G., Causton, C. E., Dekoninck, W., & Hendrickx, F. (2024) The ants of the Galápagos Islands (Hymenoptera, Formicidae): a historical overview, checklist, and identification key. ZooKeys, 1191, 151.
- Fabricius, J. C. (1793) Entomologia systematica emendata et aucta. Secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, adjectis synonimis, locis observationibus, descriptionibus. Tome 2. Hafniae [= Copenhagen]: C. G. Proft, 519. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.125869
You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.
This page should be cited as follows:
"Galapagos Species Database, Tapinoma melanocephalum", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=6984. Accessed 28 August 2025.