Pheidole caracalla

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Pheidole caracalla
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Tribe: Attini
Genus: Pheidole
Species: P. caracalla
Binomial name
Pheidole caracalla
Wilson, 2003

Pheidole caracalla jtlc000016339 p 1 high.jpg

Pheidole caracalla jtlc000016339 d 1 high.jpg

Specimen Labels

This species is only known from a few collections. Winged queens were found in March at the type locality and in April in Yasuni National Park. (Wilson 2003)

Identification

See the description in the nomenclature section.

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Known only from the type locality and from Yasuni National Park, Puerto Tipugini, Ecuador, col. S. O’Donnell. (Wilson 2003)

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: -9.166667° to -9.166667°.

 
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Neotropical Region: Ecuador, Peru (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 caracalla casent0624241 h 1 high.jpgPheidole caracalla casent0624241 p 1 high.jpgPheidole caracalla casent0624241 d 1 high.jpgPheidole caracalla casent0624241 p 4 high.jpgPheidole caracalla casent0624241 l 1 high.jpg
Paratype Pheidole caracallaWorker. Specimen code casent0624241. Photographer Jeremy Pilllow, uploaded by University of Utah. Owned by MCZC.

Major

Images from AntWeb

Pheidole caracalla jtlc000016339 p 4 high.jpg
Paratype Pheidole caracallaWorker (major/soldier). Specimen code jtlc000016339. Photographer Jeremy Pilllow, uploaded by University of Utah. Owned by MCZC.

Queen

Images from AntWeb

Pheidole caracalla casent0624242 h 1 high.jpgPheidole caracalla casent0624242 p 1 high.jpgPheidole caracalla casent0624242 d 1 high.jpgPheidole caracalla casent0624242 p 4 high.jpgPheidole caracalla casent0624242 l 1 high.jpg
Paratype Pheidole caracallaQueen (alate/dealate). Specimen code casent0624242. Photographer Jeremy Pilllow, uploaded by University of Utah. Owned by MCZC.

Nomenclature

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

  • caracalla. Pheidole caracalla Wilson, 2003: 388, figs. (s.w.) PERU.

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

Description

Similar in various traits to Pheidole breviscapa (=Pheidole perpusilla), Pheidole bruchella, Pheidole micon, Pheidole nana, Pheidole subreticulata and Pheidole tennantae, differing as follows. Major: reddish brown; pilosity thick and long, especially on mesosoma, waist, and gaster, where many hairs are 1.5X eye Length or longer; pronotum weakly bilobate in dorsal-oblique view; propodeal spines robust and moderately long; petiolar node in side view thick, its apex broad and rounded; postpetiole from above bell-shaped; a narrow band of rugoreticulum extends from eye to antennal fossa on each side; most of head carinulate, except for occiput, frontal triangle, and midclypeus; sides of propodeum carinulate. Minor: reddish yellow; pilosity dense and long; pronotum in dorsal-oblique view subangulate; petiolar node in side view thick, with broadly rounded apex; occiput slightly narrowed, with straight posterior margin.

MEASUREMENTS (mm) Holotype major: HW 0.90, HL 0.90, SL 0.44, EL 0.12, PW 0.46. Paratype minor: HW 0.52, HL 0.54, SL 0.46, EL 0.08, PW 0.32.

COLOR Major: light reddish brown except for gaster, which is dark brown. Minor: medium reddish yellow except for gaster, which is dark brown.


Pheidole caracalla Wilson 2003.jpg

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

Type Material

PERU: Tingo Maria, Huánaco, col. W. L. Brown and W. Sherbrooke. Museum of Comparative Zoology

Etymology

L caracalla, great coat with hood, referring to the dense, long pilosity.

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • Bezdeckova K., P. Bedecka, and I. Machar. 2015. A checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Peru. Zootaxa 4020 (1): 101–133.
  • Fernández, F. and S. Sendoya. 2004. Lista de las hormigas neotropicales. Biota Colombiana Volume 5, Number 1.