Pheidole tenuicephala

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Pheidole tenuicephala
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Tribe: Attini
Genus: Pheidole
Species: P. tenuicephala
Binomial name
Pheidole tenuicephala
Longino, 2009

Pheidole tenuicephala casent0609054 p 1 high.jpg

Pheidole tenuicephala casent0609054 d 1 high.jpg

Specimen Labels

Pheidole tenuicephala occurs in cloud forest habitats on the Cordillera Volcánica Central and the Cordillera de Tilarán in Costa Rica. On the Barva Transect it is a narrow elevation specialist, being common at 1100m elevation, but not recorded from 1500m or 500m collecting sites. In the Cordillera de Tilarán collections have been made from 800-1400m elevation. Workers have been collected in Winkler samples, Malaise traps, pan traps, at cookie baits, and as foragers in a refuge clearing. Minor and major workers recruit to cookie baits. A nest was found beneath a stone in the lower Bajo del Tigre forest of Monteverde, a moist forest area just below the continental divide on the upper Pacific slope of the Cordillera de Tilarán. (Longino 2009)

Identification

Longino (2009) - With the habitus of Pheidole madrensis and Pheidole insipida. Minor worker: head relatively narrow, CI 79-85, versus broader, CI > 83 (madrensis, insipida); vertex margin rounded versus flattened (madrensis) (variable in insipida); pronotum completely smooth and shining versus with mixture of smooth shiny areas and faint foveolate sculpture (madrensis); pilosity relatively longer and more abundant versus shorter and sparser (madrensis). Major worker: head relatively narrow, CI 82-88, versus broader, CI > 89 (madrensis, insipida); face almost entirely smooth and shining versus with rugose foveate sculpture extending over anterior two thirds to three fourths (madrensis).

This is a Costa Rican variant of the P. insipida complex. The very narrow head of the major worker, with nearly flat sides, is highly distinctive within the complex.

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 10.34555556° to 9.266667°.

 
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Neotropical Region: Costa Rica (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

Worker

Minor

Images from AntWeb

Pheidole tenuicephala casent0609060 h 1 high.jpgPheidole tenuicephala casent0609060 p 1 high.jpgPheidole tenuicephala casent0609060 d 1 high.jpgPheidole tenuicephala casent0609060 l 1 high.jpg
Paratype Pheidole tenuicephalaWorker. Specimen code casent0609060. Photographer Erin Prado, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by CAS.
Pheidole tenuicephala casent0609057 h 1 high.jpgPheidole tenuicephala casent0609057 p 1 high.jpgPheidole tenuicephala casent0609057 d 1 high.jpgPheidole tenuicephala casent0609057 l 1 high.jpg
Paratype Pheidole tenuicephalaWorker. Specimen code casent0609057. Photographer Stephanie Ware, uploaded by Field Museum. Owned by FMNH.
Pheidole tenuicephala casent0609055 h 1 high.jpgPheidole tenuicephala casent0609055 p 1 high.jpgPheidole tenuicephala casent0609055 d 1 high.jpgPheidole tenuicephala casent0609055 p 2 high.jpgPheidole tenuicephala casent0609055 l 1 high.jpg
Paratype Pheidole tenuicephalaWorker. Specimen code casent0609055. Photographer John T. Longino, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by INBC.

Major

Images from AntWeb

Pheidole tenuicephala casent0609069 h 1 high.jpgPheidole tenuicephala casent0609069 p 1 high.jpgPheidole tenuicephala casent0609069 d 1 high.jpgPheidole tenuicephala casent0609069 l 1 high.jpg
Paratype Pheidole tenuicephalaWorker (major/soldier). Specimen code casent0609069. Photographer Erin Prado, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by CAS.
Pheidole tenuicephala casent0609073 h 1 high.jpgPheidole tenuicephala casent0609073 l 1 high.jpg
Worker (major/soldier). Specimen code casent0609073. Photographer J. Longino, uploaded by University of Utah. Owned by JTLC.

Queen

Images from AntWeb

Pheidole tenuicephala casent0609056 h 1 high.jpgPheidole tenuicephala casent0609056 p 1 high.jpgPheidole tenuicephala casent0609056 l 1 high.jpg
Paratype Pheidole tenuicephalaQueen (alate/dealate). Specimen code casent0609056. Photographer J. Russ, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by JTLC.

Nomenclature

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

  • tenuicephala. Pheidole tenuicephala Longino, 2009: 84, fig. 24 (s.w.) COSTA RICA.

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

Description

Worker

Minor Measurements (paratype): HL 0.76, HW 0.63, HLA 0.28, SL 0.76, EL 0.15, ML 0.94, PSL 0.06, PMG 0.02, SPL 0.03, PTW 0.12, PPW 0.17, CI 83, SI 121, PSLI 8, PMGI 3, SPLI 4, PPI 137.

Measurements (n=10): HL 0.68-0.76, HW 0.55-0.63, SL 0.73-0.86, CI 79-85, SI 121-143.

Mandible, clypeus, and face smooth and shining; margin of vertex rounded; occipital carina narrow, not visible in full face view; scape with abundant erect setae longer than maximum width of scape; promesonotal groove present, conspicuous; propodeal spines present; pronotum largely smooth and shining with narrow region of faint foveolae and rugulae on anterior margin; katepisternum, lateral face of propodeum, and dorsal face of propodeum foveolate; abundant setae on promesonotal dorsum; dorsal (outer) margin of hind tibia with abundant, long, suberect setae; first gastral tergum smooth and shining; gastral dorsum with abundant, long, suberect setae; color dark red brown.

Major Measurements (holotype): HL 1.30, HW 1.14, HLA 0.36, SL 0.71, EL 0.18, ML 1.15, PSL 0.04, PMG 0.03, SPL 0.04, PTW 0.19, PPW 0.25, IHT 0.42, OHT 0.48, CI 88, SI 62, PSLI 3, PMGI 2, SPLI 3, PPI 131, HTI 88.

Measurements (n=6): HL 1.20-1.30, HW 1.04-1.14, SL 0.69-0.74, CI 82-88, SI 62-71.

Mandibles smooth and shiny; clypeus smooth and flat with strong anterior notch; face with longitudinal rugae from anterior margin to about level of compound eye and antennal insertion, rest of head completely smooth and shining; head with abundant short subdecumbent setae projecting from sides of head in face view; scape smooth and shining, terete at base, with abundant suberect setae about as long as maximum width of scape; hypostomal margin gently curved, hypostomal sclerite narrow, meeting genal bridge at obtuse angle; median tooth absent; inner hypostomal teeth sharply pointed, widely-spaced, much closer to outer hypostomal teeth than to midline; promesonotal groove present, conspicuous; propodeal spines present; pronotum smooth and shiny, katepisternum and propodeum generally shiny, with irregular rugulae and foveolae; dorsal (outer) margin of hind tibia with abundant suberect setae subequal in length to maximum length of tibia; pilosity abundant on mesosomal dorsum; postpetiole in dorsal view globular, sides rounded; first gastral tergite smooth and shining, with abundant suberect setae; color dark red brown.

Type Material

Holotype major worker. Costa Rica, Puntarenas: Monteverde, 10.30000°N 84.80000°W, ±2000m, 1400m, 21 Jun 1999 (J. Longino#4042) Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad, unique specimen identifier CASENT0609054.

Paratypes: major and minor workers. Same data as holotype The Natural History Museum, California Academy of Sciences, Field Museum of Natural History, Instituto Nacional de Biodiversidad, John T. Longino Collection, Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Musee d'Histoire Naturelle Genève, Instituto de Zoologia Agricola, Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de Sao Paulo, University of California, Davis, National Museum of Natural History].

Etymology

The name is in reference to the relatively narrow head of the major worker.

References

  • Longino, J.T. 2009. Additions to the taxonomy of New World Pheidole. Zootaxa 2181: 1-90. PDF

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • Basset Y., L. Cizek, P. Cuenoud, R. K. Didham, F. Guilhaumon, O. Missa, V. Novotny, F. Odegaards, T. Roslin, J. Schmidl et al. 2012. Arthropod diversity in a tropical forest. Science 338(6113): 1481-1484.
  • Longino J. T. 2009. Additions to the taxonomy of New World Pheidole (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zootaxa 2181: 1-90.
  • Longino J. T. L., and M. G. Branstetter. 2018. The truncated bell: an enigmatic but pervasive elevational diversity pattern in Middle American ants. Ecography 41: 1-12.
  • Longino J. et al. ADMAC project. Accessed on March 24th 2017 at https://sites.google.com/site/admacsite/