Pheidole gaigei

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Pheidole gaigei
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Tribe: Attini
Genus: Pheidole
Species: P. gaigei
Binomial name
Pheidole gaigei
Forel, 1914

MCZ-ENT00022811 Pheidole gaigei hal.jpg

MCZ-ENT00022811 Pheidole gaigei had.jpg

Type Label

Nothing is known about the biology of gaigei.

Identification

See the description in the nomenclature section.

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Only known from the type locality.

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 5.821667° to 5.821667°.

 
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Neotropical Region: Colombia (type locality).

Distribution based on AntMaps

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Distribution based on AntWeb specimens

Check data from AntWeb

Countries Occupied

Number of countries occupied by this species based on AntWiki Regional Taxon Lists. In general, fewer countries occupied indicates a narrower range, while more countries indicates a more widespread species.
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Estimated Abundance

Relative abundance based on number of AntMaps records per species (this species within the purple bar). Fewer records (to the left) indicates a less abundant/encountered species while more records (to the right) indicates more abundant/encountered species.
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Biology

Castes

Nomenclature

The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.

  • gaigei. Pheidole gaigei Forel, 1914c: 616 (s.w.) COLOMBIA. See also: Wilson, 2003: 692.

Unless otherwise noted the text for the remainder of this section is reported from the publication that includes the original description.

Description

From Wilson (2003): DIAGNOSIS A member of the tristis group, similar to Pheidole balzani, Pheidole godmani, Pheidole grandinodus, Pheidole huilana, Pheidole obrima, and, less so, to species listed with them, distinguished as follows.

Major: postpetiole from above bell-shaped, 2X broader than petiole; postpetiole with prominent ventral, forward-projecting subangular process; anterior third of pronotal dorsum and all of mesopleuron carinulate; carinulae on dorsal surface of head reach midway between eye and occipital border.

Minor: occiput very broad, lacking nuchal collar; propodeal spines reduced to denticles; margins all around of pronotal dorsum, as well as lower half of mesopleuron, carinulate.

MEASUREMENTS (mm) Syntype major: HW 1.28, HL 1.38, SL 0.72, EL 0.08, PW 0.62. Syntype minor: HW 0.64, HL 0.72, SL 0.66, EL 0.12, PW 0.44.

COLOR Major: concolorous light reddish yellow.

Minor: concolorous brownish yellow.


Pheidole gaigei Wilson 2003.jpg

Figure. Upper: syntype, major. Lower: syntype, minor. Scale bars = 1 mm.

Paratype Specimen Labels

Type Material

COLOMBIA: Mt. San Lorenzo, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, 1700 m. Musee d'Histoire Naturelle Genève and Museum of Comparative Zoology - as reported in Wilson (2003)

Etymology

Eponymous. (Wilson 2003)

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • Wilson E. O. 2003. Pheidole in the New World. A dominant, hyperdiverse ant genus. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, [ix] + 794 pp.