Pheidole ajax

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Pheidole ajax
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Tribe: Attini
Genus: Pheidole
Species: P. ajax
Binomial name
Pheidole ajax
Forel, 1899

Pheidole-ajax-MCZ001L.jpg

Pheidole-ajax-MCZ001D.jpg

Specimen Label

A nest was found by Longino (1997). beneath the bark of a rotten stump in mature wet forest.

Identification

See the description in the nomenclature section.

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Atlantic slope to 600 m (Longino 1997).

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 17.831944° to 10.33333°.

 
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Neotropical Region: Colombia, Costa Rica (type locality), Nicaragua.

Distribution based on AntMaps

AntMapLegend.png

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 ajax casent0178235 head 1.jpgPheidole ajax casent0178235 profile 1.jpgPheidole ajax casent0178235 dorsal 1.jpgPheidole ajax casent0178235 label 1.jpg
Worker. Specimen code casent0178235. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by CAS, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Pheidole ajax inbiocri001280418 head 1.jpgPheidole ajax inbiocri001280418 profile 1.jpgPheidole ajax inbiocri001280418 dorsal 1.jpgPheidole ajax inbiocri001280418 profile 2.jpgPheidole ajax inbiocri001280418 label 1.jpg
Worker. Specimen code inbiocri001280418. Photographer J. Russ, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by JTLC.
Pheidole ajax jtlc000014065 head 1.jpgPheidole ajax jtlc000014065 profile 1.jpgPheidole ajax jtlc000014065 dorsal 1.jpgPheidole ajax jtlc000014065 label 1.jpg
Holotype of Pheidole ajaxWorker. Specimen code jtlc000014065. Photographer John T. Longino, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by MHNG.

Major

Images from AntWeb

Pheidole ajax casent0178234 head 1.jpgPheidole ajax casent0178234 profile 1.jpgPheidole ajax casent0178234 dorsal 1.jpgPheidole ajax casent0178234 label 1.jpg
Worker (major/soldier). Specimen code casent0178234. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by CAS, San Francisco, CA, USA.
Pheidole ajax inbiocri001280413 head 1.jpgPheidole ajax inbiocri001280413 profile 1.jpgPheidole ajax inbiocri001280413 dorsal 1.jpgPheidole ajax inbiocri001280413 head 2.jpgPheidole ajax inbiocri001280413 label 1.jpg
Worker (major/soldier). Specimen code inbiocri001280413. 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.

  • ajax. Pheidole ajax Forel, 1899c: 71 (s.w.) COSTA RICA. See also: Wilson, 2003: 263.

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): A large brown member of the fallax group immediately recognizable in the major by the extremely long propodeal spines; by the completely carinulate center of the head and frontal lobes, which is flanked by a rugoreticulum on either side in full-face view; and by the striate first gastral tergite.

Minor: extremely long propodeal spines and mostly smooth and shiny head and body.

Similar to Pheidole fiorii, Pheidole hector, Pheidole jaculifera and Pheidole lourothi, differing in many details of body form, sculpturing, and pilosity, as depicted.

MEASUREMENTS (mm) Major (Rio Toro Amarillo, Costa Rica): HW 1.28, HL 1.36, SL 1.16, EL 0.22, PW 0.66.

Minor (Rio Toro Amarillo, Costa Rica): HW 0.56, HL 0.82, SL 1.12, EL 0.14, PW 0.40.

COLOR Major: body dark brown, appendages medium brown.

Minor: body and most appendages medium to light brown, except for yellowish brown tarsi.


Pheidole ajax Wilson 2003.jpg

Figure. Upper: major. Lower: minor. COSTA RICA: Rio Toro Amarillo, near Guapiles, col. William L. Brown. Minor compared with syntype in Museum d’Histoire Naturelle, Genève, by W. O. Brown. Scale bars = 1 mm.

Syntype Specimen Labels

Type Material

San José, Costa Rica. Musee d'Histoire Naturelle Genève - as reported in Wilson (2003)

Etymology

Gr Ajax, legendary Greek hero of the Trojan war. (Wilson 2003)

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics