The myrmecofauna (Hymenoptera : Formicidae) along an altitudinal gradient in the Sierra Madre Oriental of northeastern Mexico

Necrophilic traps were used to collect ants from both disturbed and undistu rbed sites within the Canon del Novillo which is located in the Sierra Madr e Oriental of northeastern Mexico. Of the 23 species of Formicidae collecte d, representing five subfamilies, one species is a new record for Mexico, a nd six species are new records for the state of Tamaulipas. Shannon-Wiener index of diversity showed that undisturbed pine and oak forest sites were m ore diverse than disturbed sites, but that the disturbed site was more dive rse than the undisturbed site in the tropical forest.