We describe and illustrate threenew species from Central America and northern South America, present descriptionsfor previously unknown males and queens, and explore the internal phylogenyof Oxytrigona. Oxytrigona chocoana sp. nov., the sister speciesof O. daemoniaca, is from the Chocó biogeographic region; O.huaoranii sp. nov., and O. isthmina sp. nov., from the Eastern Andesof Ecuador and Darién (Panamá), are much smaller than their sisterspecies, O. mellicolor. Oxytrigona huaoranii exhibits unusualcharacters including a short fore femur with carinate inferior margin, and striatedbasal propodeum. The male of O. isthmina primarily differs from O.mellicolor in having genitalia with an apically enlarged and strongly bentgonostylus. We also described the males of O. daemoniaca and O. mediorufa,and the male and queen of O. mellicolor. The taxonomic status O. mediorufais revised; as here understood, this species is distributed only from Mexicoto El Salvador. We obtained a single tree for Oxytrigona in a cladisticanalysis of 18 morphological and five body coloration characters, which didnot support the monophyly of the mulfordi and tataira groups.We also found variation in the gradular and distal margin shapes of the workersixth sternum, which were useful in the taxonomic analysis. Such charactershave not yet been used in the systematics of Meliponini, and we hope to drawmore attention to and encourage future phylogenetic studies using these characters.We also present an identification key for the species.
