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Pheidole specularis
| Pheidole specularis | |
|---|---|
| |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Myrmicinae |
| Tribe: | Attini |
| Genus: | Pheidole |
| Species: | P. specularis |
| Binomial name | |
| Pheidole specularis Wilson, 2003
| |
The species occurs in both lowland and montane rainforest, where the colonies nest both in dead wood on the forest floor and in live plant cavities and under epiphytes; workers have been observed attending extrafloral nectarines (Longino 1997).
Identification
See the description in the nomenclature section.
Keys including this Species
Distribution
Atlantic slope to 1200 m and Pacific lowlands, Costa Rica. (Longino 1997)
Latitudinal Distribution Pattern
Latitudinal Range: 18.878° to 8.407045°.
| North Temperate |
North Subtropical |
Tropical | South Subtropical |
South Temperate |
- Source: AntMaps
Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Neotropical Region: Costa Rica (type locality), Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua.
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 casent0635480. Photographer J. Longino, uploaded by University of Utah. | Owned by JTLC. |
  
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| Worker. Specimen code casent0635531. Photographer J. Longino, uploaded by University of Utah. | Owned by JTLC. |
   File:Pheidole specularis inb0003679951 l 1 high.jpg
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| Worker. Specimen code inb0003679951. Photographer J. Longino, uploaded by University of Utah. | Owned by INBio. |
Major
Images from AntWeb
  
| |
| Worker (major/soldier). Specimen code inbiocri002279806. Photographer J. Longino, uploaded by University of Utah. | Owned by JTLC. |
Nomenclature
The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.
- specularis. Pheidole specularis Wilson, 2003: 510, figs. (s.w.) COSTA RICA.
Unless otherwise noted the text for the remainder of this section is reported from the publication that includes the original description.
Description
DIAGNOSIS Similar to Pheidole chalca, Pheidole daphne, Pheidole floridana, Pheidole nebulosa, Pheidole quercicola and Pheidole stomachosa, differing as follows.
Major: mostly reddish yellow; head in full-face view subrectangular; posterior dorsal profile of head flat, not convex; promesonotal profile raised, semicircular; humeri from above subangular, extending beyond rest of pronotum below and only moderately prominent, along with mesonotal convexity in dorsal-oblique view; propodeal spines robust, more than half as long as the propodeal basal face anterior to them; all of mesosoma and most of dorsal surface of head foveolate and opaque; gaster completely smooth.
Minor: head subrectangular in side view; occiput broad and slightly concave; propodeal spines robust and half as long as propodeal basal face; all of head, mesosoma, and gaster foveolate and opaque; gaster completely smooth and shiny.
MEASUREMENTS (mm) Holotype major: HW 0.82, HL 0.88, SL 0.40, EL 0.10, PW 0.44. Paratype minor: HW 0.44, HL 0.46, SL 0.36, EL 0.10, PW 0.30.
COLOR Major: all of body and appendages medium reddish yellow except for gaster, which is brownish yellow.
Minor: body and mandibles medium reddish yellow, rest of appendages clear medium yellow.
Figure. Upper: holotype, major. Lower: paratype, minor. Scale bars = 1 mm.
Type Material
COSTA RICA: Arboretum, La Selva Biological Station, near Puerto Viejo, Heredia, col. Stefan Cover. Museum of Comparative Zoology
Etymology
L specularis, of a mirror, alluding to the shiny gaster.
References
- Wilson, E. O. 2003. Pheidole in the New World: A dominant, hyperdiverse ant genus. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA. (page 510, fig. major, minor described)
References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics
- Dattilo W. et al. 2019. MEXICO ANTS: incidence and abundance along the Nearctic-Neotropical interface. Ecology https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2944
- Fernández, F. and S. Sendoya. 2004. Lista de las hormigas neotropicales. Biota Colombiana Volume 5, Number 1.
- Longino J. T. L., and M. G. Branstetter. 2018. The truncated bell: an enigmatic but pervasive elevational diversity pattern in Middle American ants. Ecography 41: 1-12.
- Longino J. T., and R. K. Colwell. 2011. Density compensation, species composition, and richness of ants on a neotropical elevational gradient. Ecosphere 2(3): 16pp.
- Longino J. et al. ADMAC project. Accessed on March 24th 2017 at https://sites.google.com/site/admacsite/