Pheidole obtusopilosa

Pheidole obtusopilosa
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmicinae
Tribe:	Attini
Genus:	Pheidole
Species group:	flavens
Species:	P. obtusopilosa
Binomial name
Pheidole obtusopilosa Mayr, 1887 Specimen Labels

A collection of obtusopilosa was made by William L. Brown at the Boraceia Biological Station, near Salesópolis, São Paulo, in wet mountain forest at 850 m. (Wilson 2003)

Identification

See the description in the nomenclature section.

Keys including this Species

• Key to Pheidole flavens group

Distribution

Recorded from Uruguay; and, in Argentina, the northern and central provinces of Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Jujuy, La Pampa, and Tucumán (Kempf 1972b). I have confirmed a series from São Paulo. (Wilson 2003)

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: -13.121944° to -37.12°.

North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

• Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Neotropical Region: Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay (type locality).

Distribution based on AntMaps

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.

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.

Biology

Kempf (1974) reported that Oxyepoecus bruchi were collected with P. obtusopilosa in Alta Gracia and La Granja, Córdoba, Argentina.

Nomenclature

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

• obtusopilosa. Pheidole obtusopilosa Mayr, 1887: 586 (s.), 602 (w.) URUGUAY. Santschi, 1917f: 278 (m.); Santschi, 1926d: 7 (q.). See also: Wilson, 2003: 477.

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 Similar to Pheidole heterothrix, distinguished from it and other Pheidole species by the following combination of traits.

Major: entire dorsal surface of head rugoreticulate except for frontal lobes, frontal triangle, clypeus, and anterior genae; humeri rugoreticulate; anterior margin of pronotal dorsum carinulate; all of mesosoma and waist foveolate; postpetiole from above elliptical.

Minor: almost all of body except gaster foveolate and opaque; humeri subangulate; propodeal spines moderately long and slender; occipital margin concave; nuchal collar absent.

MEASUREMENTS (mm) Lectotype major: HW 1.16, HL 1.18, SL 0.54, EL 0.14, PW 0.60. Paralectotype minor: HW 0.56, HL 0.58, SL 0.50, EL 0.10, PW 0.36.

COLOR Major: body light reddish brown except for gaster, which is plain medium brown.

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

Type Material

URUGUAY Naturhistorisches Museum Wien, Vienna - as reported in Wilson (2003)

Etymology

L obtusopilosa, blunt-haired, allusion uncertain. (Wilson 2003)

References

• Wilson, E. O. 2003. Pheidole in the New World: A dominant, hyperdiverse ant genus. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA. (page 477, fig. major, minor described)
• Albuquerque, N.L.d., Brandão, C.R.F. 2004. A revision of the Neotropical Solenopsidini ant genus Oxyepoecus Santschi, 1926 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae). 1. The Vezenyii species-group. Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia (São Paulo). 44: 55-80 (doi:10.1590/S0031-10492004000400001).
• Casadei-Ferreira, A., Economo, E.P., Feitosa, R.M. 2020. Additions to the taxonomy of Pheidole (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from the southern grasslands of Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Entomologia 64(4):e20200068 (doi:10.1590/1806-9665-RBENT-2020-0068).
• Dröse, W., Podgaiski, L.R., Gossner, M.M., Meyer, S.T., Hermann, J.-M., Leidinger, J., Koch, C., Kollmann, J., Weisser, W.W., de S. Mendonça, M., Overbeck, G.E. 2021. Passive restoration of subtropical grasslands leads to incomplete recovery of ant communities in early successional stages. Biological Conservation 264, 109387 (doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109387).
• Mayr, G. 1887. Südamerikanische Formiciden. Verh. K-K. Zool.-Bot. Ges. Wien 37: 511-632 (page 586, 602, soldier described, worker described)
• Santschi, F. 1917f. Description de quelques nouvelles fourmis de la République Argentine. An. Soc. Cient. Argent. 84: 277-283 (page 278, male described)
• Santschi, F. 1926d. Deux nouvelles fourmis parasites de l'Argentine. Folia Myrmecol. Termit. 1: 6-8 (page 7, queen described)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

• Drose W., L. R. Podgaiski, C. Fagundes Dias, M. de Souza Mendonca. 2019. Local and regional drivers of ant communities in forest-grassland ecotones in South Brazil: A taxonomic and phylogenetic approach. Plos ONE 14(4): e0215310.
• Fernández, F. and S. Sendoya. 2004. Lista de las hormigas neotropicales. Biota Colombiana Volume 5, Number 1.
• Kempf, W.W. 1972. Catalago abreviado das formigas da regiao Neotropical (Hym. Formicidae) Studia Entomologica 15(1-4).
• Kusnezov N. 1952. El género Pheidole en la Argentina (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Acta Zoologica Lilloana 12: 5-88.
• Kusnezov N. 1978. Hormigas argentinas: clave para su identificación. Miscelánea. Instituto Miguel Lillo 61:1-147 + 28 pl.
• Osorio Rosado J. L, M. G. de Goncalves, W. Drose, E. J. Ely e Silva, R. F. Kruger, and A. Enimar Loeck. 2013. Effect of climatic variables and vine crops on the epigeic ant fauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the Campanha region, state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. J Insect Conserv 17: 1113-1123.
• Pignalberi C. T. 1961. Contribución al conocimiento de los formícidos de la provincia de Santa Fé. Pp. 165-173 in: Comisión Investigación Científica; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (Argentina) 1961. Actas y trabajos del primer Congreso Sudamericano de Zoología (La Plata, 12-24 octubre 1959). Tomo III. Buenos Aires: Librart, 276 pp.
• Santschi F. 1916. Formicides sudaméricains nouveaux ou peu connus. Physis (Buenos Aires). 2: 365-399.
• Vittar, F. 2008. Hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) de la Mesopotamia Argentina. INSUGEO Miscelania 17(2):447-466
• Vittar, F., and F. Cuezzo. "Hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) de la provincia de Santa Fe, Argentina." Revista de la Sociedad Entomológica Argentina (versión On-line ISSN 1851-7471) 67, no. 1-2 (2008).
• Zolessi L. C. de, Y. P. Abenante, and M. E. de Philippi. 1988. Lista sistematica de las especies de Formicidos del Uruguay. Comun. Zool. Mus. Hist. Nat. Montev. 11: 1-9.
• de Zolessi, L.C., Y.P. de Abenante and M.E. Philippi. 1987. Lista sistemática de las especies de formícidos del Uruguay. Comunicaciones Zoologicas del Museo de Historia Natural de Montevideo 11(165):1-9
• de Zolessi, L.C., Y.P. de Abenante and M.E. Phillipi. 1989. Catalago Systematico de las Especies de Formicidos del Uruguay (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Oficina Regional de Ciencia y Technologia de la Unesco para America Latina y el Caribe- ORCYT. Montevideo, Uruguay