davidfdz_b82's Favorites

Definitely not M. bouvieri as it doesn't have "J" hair and has hairs on the petiole.

M. barbarus (rules out)
Trait that fits: Rounded mesosoma, doesn't form a clear angle.
Trait that does not fit: the frontal triangle isn’t smooth, so it rules out. The angle I suppose can be seen under a special angle.

M. capitatus (rules out)
Trait that fits: The frontal triangle inconspicuously sculptured. Sometimes it seems to be like in M. barbarus – smooth (check out the soldier https://www.hormigas.org/xEspecies/Messor%20capitatus.htm)
Trait that does not fit: Median clypeal costa does not run across the frontal triangle, angled mesosoma.

M. erwini
Trait that fits: At least the well-developed median clypeal costa runs across the frontal triangle from the base to the apex
Trait that does not fit: The frontal triangle conspicuously sculptured, angled mesosoma.

Photo of M. erwini with the same morphology as mine. (https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10210989700935181&set=pcb.10210989646693825). Although there is no clear angle in my ant, the angled mesosoma can be just a question of a perspective and it is not super visible in general.
I decided to follow the “median clypeal costa” trait and additionally asked an autor of the photo about who gave him the species (still waiting).

This gorgeous ant is from Hispaniola, I was not planning on ulploading it in this platform just yet because I'm almost a 100% sure it is a new species and won't be a surprise for me if it's endemic, but I'm making the observation because I really want and need the help of someone willing to help me describe it. I already talked to an PhD specialists but he couldn't help me because of the complexity of the genus (Camponotus) due to it's size. I don't know anything about describing a species and I've never done a publication of any kind, I have written some papers as final projects for my subjects, I'm just a Biology student and I'm only halfway through the career and would love to have an ant description as my first paper even as an coauthor. If you speak or understand a little bit of spanish would be great but not a requirement, it's just that I would love the description to be in spanish.
I collected three specimens wich are deposited in the entomological collection of the Instituto de Investigaciones Botánicas y Zoológicas (UASD) wich has more specimens that somehow went unnoticed by the local specialists.