Pheidole fadli

Pheidole fadli
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmicinae
Tribe:	Attini
Genus:	Pheidole
Species:	P. fadli
Binomial name
	Pheidole fadli; Sharaf, 2007

This species was collected from Nag El-Shadded, Aswan, under a rock near the river Nile; it was observed that the number of the major workers in the colony was very low as compared to the minor workers. (Fadl et al. 2007)

Identification

Fadl et al. (2007) - This species is one of the smallest Pheidole species recoded from Egypt. It appears taxonomically closest to Pheidole minuscula which was described from North west Africa. Both species are much smaller in size and all body dimensions as compared to the recoded species from Arabia and middle east, but P. fadli is consistently smaller than P. minuscula, HL< 0.5 mm (=0.48) versus HL< 1 mm, HW< 0.5 mm (0.41) versus HW < 1 mm (0.84).

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 24.08333333° to 24.05°.


North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Palaearctic Region: Cyprus, Egypt (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.

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.

Biology

Castes

Worker


.

Nomenclature

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

fadli. Pheidole fadli Sharaf, in Fadl et al. 2007: 240, figs. 7-10 (s.w.) EGYPT.

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

Description

Worker

Major. Holotype. TL: 2.8; HL: 0.8; HW: 0.8; SL: 0.35; SI: 43.7; PPL: 0.12; PPW: 0.17; CI: 100

Head, alitrunk, postpetiole and gaster reddish yellow, legs and petiole yellow. Head as long as broad, with strong longitudinal striae running back to the occiput then diverging laterally to the posterior corners of the head; antennal scapes very short reaching half of the head length and without pubescence or hairs; funiculus with dense yellow hairs and pubescence; mandibles massive, smooth and shining; masticatory margin armed apically with 2 large blunt brown teeth followed by a long diastema and then armed basically with two blunt teeth; mandibles with few sparse hair pits; clypeus smooth and shining; occiput sharply emarginate. Pronotum very high; pro- and mesonotum with strong irregular sculpture and each with two pairs of hairs; propodeum with granulate sculpture and one pair of hairs; propodeal spines long and acute. Petiole and postpetiole each with granulate sculpture and without projecting hairs. Gaster smooth and shining and with sparse hairs.

Minor: TL: 1.63; HL: 0.48; HW: 0.41; SL: 0.36; SI: 90; PPL: 0.07; PPW: 0.11; CI: 85.41

Unicolorous yellow. The whole body except the gaster with dense regular sculpture; gaster smooth and shining. Head clearly longer than broad with convex sides; antennal scapes reaching occiput if held back and with few long yellow hairs; funiculus with dense hairs and pubescence; clypeus nearly smooth and shining; the area just behind the posterior border of the occiput strongly depressed; occiput emarginate with three pairs of short hairs. Alitrunk with a strongly depressed mesopropodeal suture that appears concave in lateral view; mesonotum with one pair of hairs; propodeal spines long, thin, acute and directed upwards. Petiole with a high rounded node and long peduncle. Postpetiole clearly broader than long. Petiole and postpetiole without projecting hairs. Gaster bare, smooth and shining.

Type Material

(1 Major worker, 1 Minor worker), Egypt, Aswan, Nagh El-Shadeed, 8.III.2003; N: 24.05; E: 32.56; M.R.Sharaf; Paratypes: 12 minor workers, same series as holotype; 12 minor workers, Fiala temple, Aswan, 7.III.2003, N:24.05; E:32.56; M. R. Sharaf.

Etymology

This species was named after Dr. Hasan H. Fadl, Professor of Insect Taxonomy, Entomology Department, Ain Shams University, Cairo.

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

Bakr R. F. A., H. H. Fadl, R. M. Badawy, and M. R. Sharaf. 2007. Myrmecophile insects associated with some ant species (Hymenoptera : Formicidae )in Egypt. The second international conference of economic entomology (Entomological Society of Egypt) ,Cairo, Egypt, 8-11 December, (1): 205-233.
Fadl H., R. F. Bakr, and R. M. Badawy. 2007. Six new species of ants (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Egypt. Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference of the Entomological Society of Egypt 2: 235-249.
Fadl, H., R. F. Bakr, M. Bawady, and M. R. Sharaf. "Six new species of ants (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Egypt." In Proceedings of the Second International Conference of Economic Entomology, 235-249. Vol. 1. Cairo: Entomological Society of Egypt, 2007.