Pheidole arachnion

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

Pheidole arachnion inb0003622434 p 1 high.jpg

Pheidole arachnion inb0003622434 d 1 high.jpg

Specimen Labels

Synonyms

Workers, minors and majors, can be moderately abundant in Winkler or Berlese samples of forest floor litter but are rarely collected at baits. The lack of occurrence at baits suggests largely nocturnal foraging or foraging restricted to areas beneath litter or in rotten wood. One nest is known, from rotten wood on the forest floor. (Longino 2009)

Identification

See the description in the nomenclature section.

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 13.7695496° to 8.407045°.

 
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

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

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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Habitat

This species occurs in wet forest habitats, from sea level to 1100m elevation.

Biology

Castes

Worker

Minor

Images from AntWeb

Pheidole arachnion inbiocri001253863 h 1 high.jpgPheidole arachnion inbiocri001253863 p 1 high.jpgPheidole arachnion inbiocri001253863 d 1 high.jpgPheidole arachnion inbiocri001253863 p 2 high.jpgPheidole arachnion inbiocri001253863 l 1 high.jpg
Worker. Specimen code inbiocri001253863. Photographer J. Russ, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by JTLC.

Major

Images from AntWeb

Pheidole arachnion inbiocri001253864 h 2 high.jpg
Specimen code inbiocri001253864. .

Queen

Pheidole arachnion inb0003212178 h 1 high.jpgPheidole arachnion inb0003212178 p 1 high.jpgPheidole arachnion inb0003212178 d 1 high.jpgPheidole arachnion inb0003212178 l 1 high.jpg
.

Nomenclature

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

  • arachnion. Pheidole arachnion Wilson, 2003: 656, figs. (s.w.) COSTA RICA. Senior synonym of iradunca: Longino, 2009: 13.
  • iracunda. Pheidole iracunda Wilson, 2003: 712, figs. (s.w.) COSTA RICA. Junior synonym of arachnion: Longino, 2009: 13.

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 tristis group characterized by the following combination of traits.

Major: dark reddish brown; sides of head covered by loose rugoreticulum (i.e. with large interspaces); humeri and postpetiolar nodes seen from above comulate (hom-shaped); lacking any trace of antennal scrobes.

Minor: propodeal spine reduced to an obtuse angle; body entirely smooth and shiny except for several carinulae on anterior half of dorsal surface of head, one of which loops on each side of the head in a semicircle from the end of the frontal lobe to the anterior clypeal border; a thin nuchal collar present.

Very similar to Pheidole iracunda, also of Costa Rica, but differing in details in the characters as listed and illustrated.

MEASUREMENTS (mm) Holotype major: HW 1.80, HL 1.98, SL 0.76, EL 0.18, PW 0.90. Paratype minor: HW 0.60, HL 0.62, SL 0.74, EL 0.10, PW 0.40.

COLOR Major: body and mandibles dark reddish brown, other appendages light reddish brown. Minor: body plain medium brown, appendages brownish yellow.


Pheidole arachnion Wilson 2003.jpg

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

Type Material

COSTA RICA: Rio Reventazon, 3-5 km east of Turrialba, Cartago, col. William L. Brown. Museum of Comparative Zoology

Longino (2009) - Pheidole iracunda Wilson, 2003: 712, figs. Holotype major worker and associated paratype minor worker: Costa Rica, Prov. Heredia, La Selva Biological Station (Cover, Moffett, Tobin) MCZ (examined).

Etymology

Gr arachnion, cobweb, alluding to the loose rugoreticulum on the head of the major.

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • 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/