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Pheidole carrolli
| Pheidole carrolli | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Myrmicinae |
| Tribe: | Attini |
| Genus: | Pheidole |
| Species: | P. carrolli |
| Binomial name | |
| Pheidole carrolli Naves, 1985
| |
Naves (1985) found carrolli only in the shaded, sandy soil of tall oak or pine woodland. Subsequent collection by Stefan Cover and Lloyd Davis Jr. have securely identified carrolli as an early successional species that occurs in open, often disturbed habitats with sandy soil. Colonies are vigorous and consist of several hundred ants, including several dozen soldiers. Naves’ collections may represent moribund colonies in poor nest sites, or colonies about to be eliminated by shading of formerly open habitats. The colonies are small, with only one or two majors present. According to Naves, no more than 15 minors forage at a time, and then singly and mostly at dusk and in the morning, for distances not exceeding 5 meters from the nest entrance. The entrance is difficult to spot and leads to exceptionally deep vertical galleries, in one case extending 1.7 m from the surface. A seedfilled granary chamber approximately 4 X 2 X 2 cm in size is present usually at a depth of 30 cm. The minor workers are exceptionally sluggish, and show the unusual, perhaps unique habit for Pheidole of feigning death when disturbed, often curling themselves around particles of soil in a way that makes them even more difficult to see. (Wilson 2003)
Identification
See the description in the nomenclature section.
Keys including this Species
Distribution
Known from Alachua, Citrus, and Leon Counties in northern Florida. (Wilson 2003)
Latitudinal Distribution Pattern
Latitudinal Range: 30.569° to 28.85°.
| North Temperate |
North Subtropical |
Tropical | South Subtropical |
South Temperate |
- Source: AntMaps
Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Nearctic Region: United States (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. |
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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
   
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| Worker. Specimen code casent0104287. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. | Owned by ABS, Lake Placid, FL, USA. |
Major
Images from AntWeb
  
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| Worker (major/soldier). Specimen code casent0104286. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. | Owned by ABS, Lake Placid, FL, USA. |
Queen
Images from AntWeb
   
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| Queen (alate/dealate). Specimen code casent0104285. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. | Owned by ABS, Lake Placid, FL, USA. |
Nomenclature
The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.
- carrolli. Pheidole carrolli Naves, 1985: 58, figs. 14, 43 (s.w.) U.S.A. See also: Wilson, 2003: 566.
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 A member of the “pilifera complex” of the larger pilifera group; for a characterization of the complex, see under Pheidole pilifera.
Very close to pilifera itself (q.v.), and differing as follows. The only consistent distinction is the orange color of carrolli versus the browns, yellowish browns, and reddish browns of the highly variable, more northern distributed pilifera In addition the major of carrolli has occiput and dorsal surface of postpetiole completely smooth, but this trait also occurs in some pilifera series.
MEASUREMENTS (mm) Holotype major: HW 0.56, HL 1.82, SL 0.70, EL 0.24, PW 0.68.
Paratype minor: HW 0.52, HL 0.58, SL 0.54, EL 0.14, PW 0.32.
COLOR Major: “orange,” i.e., concolorous brownish yellow with a slight reddish tinge.
Minor: concolorous yellowish brown, head a slightly darker shade of light brown.
Figure. Upper: holotype, major. Lower: paratype, minor. Scale bars = 1 mm.
Type Material
FLORIDA: Gainesville, Alachua Co., col. Marcio A. Naves. Florida State Collection of Arthropods and Museum of Comparative Zoology - as reported in Wilson (2003)
Etymology
This species is named after Dr. John F. Carroll, my friend and colleague during several years of graduate study at the University of Florida
References
- Naves, M. A. 1985. A monograph of the genus Pheidole in Florida, USA (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Insecta Mundi 1: 53-90 (page 58, figs. 14, 43 soldier, worker described)
- Wilson, E. O. 2003. Pheidole in the New World: A dominant, hyperdiverse ant genus. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA. (page 566, fig. major, minor described)
References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics
- Deyrup M., C. Johnson, G. C. Wheeler, J. Wheeler. 1989. A preliminary list of the ants of Florida. Florida Entomologist 72: 91-101
- Deyrup, M. 2003. An updated list of Florida ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Florida Entomologist 86(1):43-48.
- Johnson C. 1986. A north Florida ant fauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Insecta Mundi 1: 243-246
- Wilson, E.O. 2003. Pheidole in the New World: A Dominant, Hyperdiverse Genus. Harvard University Press