Morphology is the most direct approach biologists have to recognize uniqueness of insect species as compared to close relatives. Ants of the genus Procryptocerus possess important morphologic characters yet have not been explored for use in a taxonomic revision. The genus is characterized by the protrusion of the clypeus forming a broad nasus and antennal scrobes over the eyes. The toruli are located right posterior to the flanks of the nasus opposite to each other. The vertex is deflexed posteriorly in most species. An in-group comparison of the external morphology is presented focusing on the workers. A general morphology for gynes and males is also presented. Previously mentioned characters as well as new ones are presented, and their character states in different species are clarified. For the metasoma a new system of ant metasomal somite nomenclature is presented that is applicable to Aculeata in general. Finally, a Glossary of morphological terms is offered for the genus (available online). Most of the terminology can be used in other members of the Formicidae and Aculeata.

In order to decipher biodiversity, we need to maintain and improve the descriptive scope by pursuing the fundamental ontology and conceptual foundations. Descriptive morphology is currently the clearest avenue to conceiving, understanding and conceptually conveying species as units of evolution and ecology (Serna and Mackay 2010; Wheeler 2008 and references therein). Morphological descriptions ought to be independent of homology as explanatory mechanisms (Vogt 2008). Although essential to providing conceptual criteria for choosing and delimiting morphological units, homology does not require morphological terms to be defined in reference to it (Vogt et al. 2010). Ant morphology and its associated terminology demands intensive studies in order to unify criteria for the basic descriptive and comparative work (Serna and Mackay 2010).

Colombia es un país con alta diversidad de hormigas, sin embargo, nuevos taxones se siguen registrando para el país. Cuarenta y siete nuevos registros se relacionan aquí, todos dentro de la subfamilia Myrmicinae: Uno para los géneros Adelomyrmex, Allomerus, Kempfidris, Megalomyrmex, Octostruma y Tranopelta; dos para Rogeria; cinco para Myrmicocrypta; seis para Procryptocerus; siete para Cephalotes; diez para Pheidole y once para Strumigenys. Tres de esos nuevos registros corresponden a especies invasoras, Pheidole indica, Strumigenys emmae y Strumigenys membranifera. Tres especies se citan por primera vez para América del Sur: Pheidole sicaria, Procryptocerus tortuguero y Strumigenys manis. El género Kempfidris se registra por primera vez para Colombia. Se ofrecen comentarios para todas las especies. La diversidad de hormigas en Colombia comprende 104 géneros y casi 1.100 especies.

Ants, an ecologically successful and numerically dominant group of animals, play key ecological roles as soil engineers, predators, nutrient recyclers, and regulators of plant growth and reproduction in most terrestrial ecosystems. Further, ants are widely used as bioindicators of the ecological impact of land use. We gathered information of ant species in the Atlantic Forest of South America. The ATLANTIC ANTS data set, which is part of the ATLANTIC SERIES data papers, is a compilation of ant records from collections (18,713 records), unpublished data (29,651 records), and published sources (106,910 records; 1,059 references), including papers, theses, dissertations, and book chapters published from 1886 to 2020. In total, the data set contains 153,818 ant records from 7,636 study locations in the Atlantic Forest, representing 10 subfamilies, 99 genera, 1,114 ant species identified with updated taxonomic certainty, and 2,235 morphospecies codes. Our data set reflects the heterogeneity in ant records, which include ants sampled at the beginning of the taxonomic history of myrmecology (the 19th and 20th centuries) and more recent ant surveys designed to address specific questions in ecology and biology. The data set can be used by researchers to develop strategies to deal with different macroecological and region‐wide questions, focusing on assemblages, species occurrences, and distribution patterns. Furthermore, the data can be used to assess the consequences of changes in land use in the Atlantic Forest on different ecological processes. No copyright restrictions apply to the use of this data set, but we request that authors cite this data paper when using these data in publications or teaching events.