Pheidole trinitatis

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

The type colony was found in a floodplain forest, nesting in a dead twig; and the Arena Forest Reserve colony was in secondary lowland rainforest, in a hollow fruit buried in sandy soil. (Wilson 2003)

Identification

See the description in the nomenclature section.

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Known from the type locality, and from the Arena Forest Reserve, St. Andrew Co., Trinidad. (Wilson 2003)

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Neotropical Region: Trinidad and Tobago (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

Nomenclature

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

  • trinitatis. Pheidole trinitatis Wilson, 2003: 527, figs. (s.w.) TRINIDAD.

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 exigua, Pheidole flavens, Pheidole moerens, Pheidole nitidicollis, Pheidole nuculiceps, Pheidole orbica, Pheidole pholeops and Pheidole sculptior, distinguished as follows.

Major: reddish yellow, with brown gaster; rugoreticulum fills space between eyes, antennal fossa, and anterior head border on each side of head; very small patch of rugoreticulum on humerus; carinulae of frontal lobes extend posteriorly only to midpoint of head; all of head and body except gaster foveolate and opaque; mesonotal convexity well-developed; pronotal profile in dorsal-oblique view feebly bilobate; postpetiole from above diamond-shaped; pilosity sparse.

Minor: ventral profile of head in side view feebly concave; eyes set well forward on head and slightly tapered anteriorly; humerus dentate in dorsal-oblique view; all of body except gaster foveolate and opaque, and carinulae limited to antennal fossae; mesosomal pilosity sparse, consisting at least partly of widely spaced pairs of setae.

MEASUREMENTS (mm) Holotype major: HW 0.90, HL 0.54, SL 0.48, EL 0.10, PW 0.44. Paratype minor: HW 0.46, HL 0.50, SL 0.44, EL 0.06, PW 0.30.

COLOR Major: body appendages medium reddish yellow (“orange”) except for gaster, which is plain medium brown.

Minor: concolorous light reddish yellow (“light orange”).


Pheidole trinitatis Wilson 2003.jpg

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

Type Material

TRINIDAD: Bridge 1/7, east of Valencia, St. Andrew Parish, col. Stefan Cover. Museum of Comparative Zoology

Etymology

Named after the country from which the type specimens originated.

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • Fernández, F. and S. Sendoya. 2004. Lista de las hormigas neotropicales. Biota Colombiana Volume 5, Number 1.
  • Wilson, E.O. 2003. Pheidole in the New World: A Dominant, Hyperdiverse Genus. Harvard University Press