Pheidole piceonigra

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Pheidole piceonigra
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Tribe: Attini
Genus: Pheidole
Species: P. piceonigra
Binomial name
Pheidole piceonigra
Emery, 1922

Pheidole piceonigra casent0601283 profile 1.jpg

Pheidole piceonigra casent0601283 dorsal 1.jpg

Specimen labels

Synonyms

Longino’s notes (1997) on the distribution and natural history ofindistinct may apply to that species, to piceonigra, or to both. I found a large, undoubted piceonigra colony nesting at the base of an ornamental shrub in a much disturbed San José city park. In Tamaulipas, the Cornell University Mexico Field Party of 1965 encountered it at 1070 m in tall cloud forest. (Wilson 2003)

Identification

See the description in the nomenclature section.

Keys including this Species

Distribution

I have seen series from Chiapas, Tamaulipas, and Veracruz in Mexico, at 1070–2200 m, and from Costa Rica. On the basis of the types, I am considering this species as different from indistincta, which also occurs in Costa Rica. (Wilson 2003)

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Neotropical Region: Costa Rica, Mexico (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 piceonigra casent0601284 head 1.jpgPheidole piceonigra casent0601284 profile 1.jpgPheidole piceonigra casent0601284 dorsal 1.jpgPheidole piceonigra casent0601284 profile 2.jpgPheidole piceonigra casent0601284 label 1.jpg
Paralectotype Pheidole piceonigraWorker. Specimen code casent0601284. Photographer John T. Longino, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by NHMV.

Major

Images from AntWeb

Pheidole piceonigra casent0601283 head 2.jpgPheidole piceonigra casent0601283 profile 2.jpg
Lectotype Pheidole piceonigraWorker (major/soldier). Specimen code casent0601283. Photographer John T. Longino, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by NHMV.

Nomenclature

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

  • picea. Pheidole picea Mayr, 1870b: 988 (s.w.) MEXICO. [Junior secondary homonym of picea Buckley, above.] Replacement name: piceonigra Emery, 1922e: 109.
  • piceonigra. Pheidole piceonigra Emery, 1922e: 109. Replacement name for picea Mayr, 1870b: 988. [Junior secondary homonym of Atta picea Buckley, 1967: 344.] See also: Wilson, 2003: 216.

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): Close to Pheidole indistincta of Costa Rica, considered by Longino (1997) to belong with it in a single, very variable species. The types, however, are very different, with those of piceonigra distinguished as follows.

Major: piceonigra with much less abundant pilosity than indistincta; rugoreticulation between eye and antennal fossa; color much darker (see color below), and head concolorous, not bicolorous as in indistincta; posterior side of head with bands of foveolae; humerus in dorsal-oblique view rounded; apex of postpetiole in side view more rounded.

Minor: occiput and posterior sides of head foveolate, not smooth as in indistincta; much less pilose than indistincta; color much lighter.

If continuous intergrades are demonstrated between the two forms, they may be joined; otherwise it is more prudent to distinguish them as species.

MEASUREMENTS (mm) Lectotype major: HW 1.06, HL 1.04, SL 0.76, EL 0.20, PW 0.54. Paralectotype minor: HW 0.62, HL 0.70, SL 0.80, EL 0.14, PW 0.40.

COLOR Major: body dark brown, gaster almost black. Minor: head, mesosoma, and waist dark reddish brown; propodeum and gaster blackish brown; appendages medium brown.


Pheidole piceonigra Wilson 2003.jpg

Figure. Upper: lectotype, major. Lower: paralectotype, minor. Scale bars = 1 mm.

Lectotype Specimen Labels

Type Material

MEXICO (no further data). Naturhistorisches Museum Wien, Vienna, under picea Mayr - as reported in Wilson (2003)

Etymology

L piceonigra, pitch-black plus black. (Wilson 2003)

References

  • Buckley, S. B. 1867. Descriptions of new species of North American Formicidae (continued from page 172.). Proc. Entomol. Soc. Phila. 6: 335-350 (page 344, primary homonym)
  • Emery, C. 1922e. Quelques fourmis nouvelles minuscules. Ann. Hist.-Nat. Mus. Natl. Hung. 19: 107-112 (page 109, replacement name for picea)
  • Mayr, G. 1870b. Neue Formiciden. Verh. K-K. Zool.-Bot. Ges. Wien 20: 939-996 (page 988, junior secondary homonym of Atta picea Buckley)
  • Wilson, E. O. 2003. Pheidole in the New World: A dominant, hyperdiverse ant genus. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA. (page 216, fig. major, minor described)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • Wilson, E.O. 2003. Pheidole in the New World: A Dominant, Hyperdiverse Genus. Harvard University Press