Pheidole humeridens

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

At the type locality humeridens colonies occupied conspicuous mound nests in a heavily grazed pasture. (Wilson 2003)

Identification

See the description in the nomenclature section.

Keys including this Species

Key to Pheidole fallax group

Distribution

Only known from the type locality.

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: -31.25° to -34.583333°.


North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Neotropical Region: Argentina (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

Nomenclature

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

humeridens. Pheidole humeridens Wilson, 2003: 301, figs. (s.w.) ARGENTINA.

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

Description

A member of the fallax group similar in various characters to Pheidole chiapasana, Pheidole dentata, Pheidole laeviventris, Pheidole madrensis, Pheidole maja and Pheidole tetroides, differing as follows.

Major: humerus dentate; rugoreticulum on sides of head extends to halfway between eyes and level of occiput; mid-occiput transversely carinulate; antennal scapes reach halfway between eyes and level of occiput; anterior edge of pronotum and all of propodeal dorsum transversely carinulate; in side view, propodeal spines short, vertical to basal propodeal face; from above, postpetiole oval.

Minor: bicolored (see below); humerus toothed; propodeal tooth small and thin; propodeal dorsum carinulate; occiput in full-face view flat.

MEASUREMENTS (mm) Holotype major: HW 1.50, HL 1.56, SL 1.02, EL 0.26, PW 0.78. Paratype minor: HW 0.74, HL 0.80, SL 0.94, EL 0.20, PW 0.46.

COLOR Major: brownish yellow, with rear halves of gastral tergites changing to light brown.

Minor: bicolored, with head, gaster, and pronotal dorsum medium brown, and rest of body and appendages brownish yellow.

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

Type Material

ARGENTINA: Buenos Aires, col. James C. Trager. Museum of Comparative Zoology

Etymology

L humeridens, shoulder-tooth.

References

Wilson, E. O. 2003. Pheidole in the New World: A dominant, hyperdiverse ant genus. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA. (page 301, fig. major, minor described)
Casadei-Ferreira, A., Economo, E.P., Feitosa, R.M. 2020. Additions to the taxonomy of Pheidole (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from the southern grasslands of Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Entomologia 64(4):e20200068 (doi:10.1590/1806-9665-RBENT-2020-0068).
Dröse, W., Podgaiski, L.R., Gossner, M.M., Meyer, S.T., Hermann, J.-M., Leidinger, J., Koch, C., Kollmann, J., Weisser, W.W., de S. Mendonça, M., Overbeck, G.E. 2021. Passive restoration of subtropical grasslands leads to incomplete recovery of ant communities in early successional stages. Biological Conservation 264, 109387 (doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109387).

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

Osorio Rosado J. L, M. G. de Goncalves, W. Drose, E. J. Ely e Silva, R. F. Kruger, and A. Enimar Loeck. 2013. Effect of climatic variables and vine crops on the epigeic ant fauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the Campanha region, state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. J Insect Conserv 17: 1113-1123.