Pheidole hoplitica

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Pheidole hoplitica
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Tribe: Attini
Genus: Pheidole
Species: P. hoplitica
Binomial name
Pheidole hoplitica
Wilson, 2003

Pheidole hoplitica casent0104751 profile 1.jpg

Pheidole hoplitica casent0104751 dorsal 1.jpg

Specimen Label

Lloyd Davis collected this species from a cemetery in Salineno, TX. The nest was in bare sandy clay soil in full sun. There was a pile of insect parts a few cm from the nest entrance.

Identification

See the description in the nomenclature section.

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 26.57° to 19.48333°.

   
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Nearctic Region: United States (type locality).
Neotropical Region: Mexico.

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

Worker

Minor

Images from AntWeb

Pheidole hoplitica casent0103408 head 1.jpgPheidole hoplitica casent0103408 profile 1.jpgPheidole hoplitica casent0103408 dorsal 1.jpgPheidole hoplitica casent0103408 label 1.jpg
Worker. Specimen code casent0103408. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by CAS, San Francisco, CA, USA.

Major

Images from AntWeb

Pheidole hoplitica casent0104751 head 1.jpgPheidole hoplitica casent0104751 profile 1.jpgPheidole hoplitica casent0104751 dorsal 1.jpgPheidole hoplitica casent0104751 label 1.jpg
Worker (major/soldier). Specimen code casent0104751. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by CAS, San Francisco, CA, USA.

Nomenclature

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

  • hoplitica. Pheidole hoplitica Wilson, 2003: 579, figs. (s.w.) U.S.A.

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

Description

DIAGNOSIS A member of the “pilifera complex” of the larger pilifera group, comprising Pheidole calens, Pheidole californica, Pheidole carrolli, Pheidole cavigenis, Pheidole clementensis, Pheidole creightoni, Pheidole hoplitica, Pheidole littoralis, Pheidole micula, Pheidole pilifera, Pheidole rugulosa, Pheidole senex, Pheidole soritis, Pheidole tepicana and Pheidole torosa, which complex is characterized by the following traits. Major: dorsal head surface extensively sculptured; occipital lobes horizontally rugulose (or, in carrolli smooth, in littoralis foveate, and in micula and soritis carinulate); postpetiole from above diamond-shaped, trapezoidal, or spinose. Minor: eye medium-sized to large.

P. hoplitica is distinguished within the complex, including cavigenis, which it most resembles, by the following combination of traits.

Major: posterior dorsal profile of head markedly concave; occiput partly rugoreticulate; carinulae that originate from around frontal triangle turn outward near the center of the head toward the occipital corners; promesonotum strongly convex, almost semicircular in profile; postpetiolar node in side view wide and broadly rounded, not narrow and abruptly rounded.

Minor: head and sides of pronotum smooth and shining, not densely sculptured and opaque; some of the hairs of the promesonotal dorsal surface clavate.

MEASUREMENTS (mm) Holotype major: HW 1.24, HL 1.52, SL 0.60, EL 0.22, PW 0.70. Paratype minor: HW 0.50, HL 0.56, SL 0.46, EL 0.14, PW 0.32.

COLOR Major: light reddish brown.

Minor: brownish yellow.


Pheidole hoplitica Wilson 2003.jpg

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

Type Material

TEXAS: Starr County, col. W. Cloyd. Museum of Comparative Zoology

Etymology

Gr hoplitica, referring to the hoplite, a heavily armed soldier of ancient Greece.

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • Dattilo W. et al. 2019. MEXICO ANTS: incidence and abundance along the Nearctic-Neotropical interface. Ecology https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2944
  • Vásquez-Bolaños M. 2011. Lista de especies de hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) para México. Dugesiana 18: 95-133
  • Wilson, E.O. 2003. Pheidole in the New World: A Dominant, Hyperdiverse Genus. Harvard University Press