Pheidole similigena

Pheidole similigena
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmicinae
Tribe:	Attini
Genus:	Pheidole
Species:	P. similigena
Binomial name
Pheidole similigena Wheeler, W.M., 1937 Specimen Labels

Nothing is known about this ant’s biology.

Identification

See the description in the nomenclature section.

Keys including this Species

• Key to Pheidole flavens group

Distribution

From Wilson (2003): In addition to the types from Las Villas Province, I have seen specimens from Sierra de Mesa, Pinar del Rio, also in Cuba, col. Jorge Fontenla.

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 23.133° to 21.933333°.

North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

• Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Neotropical Region: Cuba (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.

Castes

Worker

Minor

Images from AntWeb

Worker. Specimen code casent0281759. Photographer Shannon Hartman, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by NHMUK, London, UK.

Nomenclature

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

• similigena. Pheidole similigena Wheeler, W.M. 1937b: 446 (s.w.) CUBA. See also: Wilson, 2003: 508.

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 Especially similar to Pheidole terresi of Hispaniola but also sharing traits with Pheidole amabilis, Pheidole arhuaca, Pheidole citrina, Pheidole crinita, Pheidole delicata, Pheidole hedlundorum, Pheidole laselva, Pheidole mallota, Pheidole melastomae, Pheidole nitidicollis and Pheidole tillandsiarum, differing as follows.

Major: light reddish brown; eyes very small, Eye Length less than one-tenth Head Width; head subrectangular, with moderately deep occipital cleft; mesonotal convexity present but rudimentary; carinulae cover most of anterior half of dorsal head surface, and rest of body entirely smooth and shiny; propodeal spines moderately long, and thick at base; postpetiole from above elliptical, with angulate sides.

Minor: body almost completely smooth and shiny; eyes relatively small; occiput broad, its margin flat in full-face view; propodeal spines moderately long and thin.

MEASUREMENTS (mm) Lectotype major: HW 0.96, HL 1.08, SL 0.50, EL 0.08, PW 0.46. Paralectotype minor: HW 0.44, HL 0.50, SL 0.44, EL 0.08, PW 0.30.

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

Minor: concolorous light yellowish brown.

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

Worker

Major Length 2.5-3 mm. Related to Pheidole floridana Emery. Head large, subrectangular, without the mandibles distinctly longer than broad and distinctly narrower in front than behind, with distinct occipital inpression and rather deeply and angularly excised posterior border. Eyes small, at the anterior fifth of the sides, which are rather convex. Clypeus ecarinate, moderately convex posteriorly, its anterior border broadly and very feebly excised in the middle and narrowly sinuate on each side. Mandibles convex but with nearly straight external borders, their apical borders with two large terminal and two small basal teeth. Frontal area distinct, subtriangular, rounded behind; frontal carinae rather strongly diverging posteriorly where they are twice as far apart as each is from the lateral border of the head, as long as the antennal scapes and forming the mesial borders of narrow, shallow, scrobe-like impressions. Antennae slender; scapes curved at the base, reaching only to the middle of the sides of the head; clubs longer than the remainder of the funiculi; joints 2-8 slightly longer than broad. Pronotum half as broad as the head, forming with the mesonotum a convex, hemispherical mass, with rounded humeri and feeble mesonotal torus; epinotum much lower, as broad as long, marginate on each side, rather concave and sloping in the middle; the spines stout, not very acute, suberect, as long as their basal diameter but shorter than their distance apart. Peduncle of petiole rather short, anterior and posterior faces of node concave, its superior border rather thick and blunt, emarginate when seen from behind. Postpetiole more than twice as broad as long and as broad as the petiolar node, its sides produced at the middle as acute angles, which are not conulate as in floridana. Gaster broadly elliptical, about as large as the head. Femora only moderately thickened.

Shining, with sparse, piligerous punctures, which are largest on the mandibles and posterior half of the head; somewhat more than the anterior half of the head rugose, the rugae fine, sparse, and diverging on the front, coarser, more reticulate and longitudinal on the cheeks and also coarse but more oblique or concentric around the antennal insertions. Scrobe-like impressions nearly smooth, with only a few short, longitudinal rugules. Remainder of body smooth, except for the small, scattered, piligerous punctures.

Pilosity yellowish, erect or sub erect, moderately long and abundant; shorter and more oblique on the legs, scapes, sides and ventral surface of head.

Black or dark brown; cheeks, antennae, clypeus, neck and mandibles, except their apical borders and tips, testaceous; legs, including the coxae, more brownish yellow, middle of femora and tips of antennal scapes brown.

Minor Length 1.4-1.5 mm.

Head subrectangular, broader in front than behind, with feebly convex sides and slightly concave posterior border. Eyes at the anterior third of the sides, shorter than their distance from the anterior corners. Mandibles with multidenticulate apical border and long apical tooth. Clypeus convex behind, with medially straight, transverse anterior border. Frontal area distinct, triangular, not impressed. Antennal scapes extending about twice their greatest diameter beyond the posterior border of the head. Thorax shaped as in the soldier, but the promesonotum is less convex; mesoepinotal impression deep, base of epinotum slightly convex in profile. Node of petiole narrow, subconical, without emargination. Postpetiole subglobular, as long as broad, with the sides very feebly angulate anteriorly, less than half again as broad as the petiolar node. Legs rather long.

Smooth and shining, with minute, sparse, piligerous punctures, more distinct on the mandibles. Cheeks and front longitudinally rugulose.

Pilosity whitish, like that of the soldier, but sparser, short and bristly on the antennae and legs, long on the dorsal surface of the body.

Black or dark piceous; mandibles, antennae and remainder of legs paler, yellowish brown, except the middle portions of the femora which are dark brown.

Type Material

Three soldiers and four workers, May 9-11, 1936. CUBA: Buenos Aires, Trinidad Mts., Las Villas, 750–1100 m, col. P. J. Darlington. Museum of Comparative Zoology

Etymology

L similigena, similar cheeks (genae), allusion unknown. (Wilson 2003)

References

• Wilson, E. O. 2003. Pheidole in the New World: A dominant, hyperdiverse ant genus. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA. (page 508, fig. major, minor described)
• Reyes, J.L. 2010. Apuntes sobre una comunidad de hormigas sinantrópicas en Santiago de Cuba (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Cocuyo 18: 44-47.
• Wheeler, W. M. 1937b. Ants mostly from the mountains of Cuba. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 81: 439-465 (page 446, soldier, worker described)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

• Alayo D. P. 1974. Introduccion al estudio de los Himenopteros de Cuba. Superfamilia Formicoidea. Academia de Ciencias de Cuba. Instituto de Zoologia. Serie Biologica no.53: 58 pp. La Habana.
• Fontanla Rizo J.L. 1997. Lista preliminar de las hormigas de Cuba. Cocuyo 6: 18-21.
• Fontenla J. L., and J. Alfonso-Simonetti. 2018. Classification of Cuban ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) into functional groups. Poeyana Revista Cubana de Zoologia 506: 21-30.
• Fontenla Rizo J. L. 1993. Composición y estructura de comunidades de hormigas en un sistema de formaciones vegetales costeras. Poeyana. Instituto de Ecología y Sistemática, Academia de Ciencias de Cuba 441: 1-19.
• Fontenla Rizo J. L. 1993. Mirmecofauna de Isla de la Juventud y de algunos cayos del archipielago cubano. Poeyana. Instituto de Ecologia y Sistematica, Academia de Ciencias de Cuba 444:1-7.
• Fontenla Rizo J. L. 1997. Lista preliminar de las hormigas de Cuba (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Cocuyo 6: 18-21.
• Fontenla Rizo J. L., and L. M. Hernández. 1993. Relaciones de coexistencia en comunidades de hormigas en un agroecosistema de caña de azúcar. Poeyana. Instituto de Ecología y Sistemática, Academia de Ciencias de Cuba 438: 1-16.
• Kempf, W.W. 1972. Catalago abreviado das formigas da regiao Neotropical (Hym. Formicidae) Studia Entomologica 15(1-4).
• Kusnezov N. 1963. Zoogeografia de las hormigas en sudamerica. Acta Zoologica Lilloana 19: 25-186
• Portuondo Ferrer E., and J. L. Fernández Triana. 2005. Species of hymenopterans (bees, wasps, and ants) recorded in Alejandro de Humboldt National Park, from literature records, revision of the collection at BIOECO, and collections before and during the rapid inventory, 12-22 February 2004. In Fong G., A., D. Maceira F., W. S. Alverson, y/and T. Wachter, eds. 2005. Cuba: Parque Nacional “Alejandro de Humboldt.” Rapid Biological Inventories Report 14. The Field Museum, Chicago.
• Reyes, J. L. "Inventario de la colección de hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) del Centro Oriental de Ecosistemas y Biodiversidad, Santiago de Cuba, Cuba." Boletín de la Sociedad Aragonesa 36 (2005): 279-283.
• Wheeler W. M. 1937. Ants mostly from the mountains of Cuba. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology. 81: 439-465.
• Wilson, E.O. 2003. Pheidole in the New World: A Dominant, Hyperdiverse Genus. Harvard University Press