Pheidole tumida

Pheidole tumida
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmicinae
Tribe:	Attini
Genus:	Pheidole
Species:	P. tumida
Binomial name
	Pheidole tumida; Eguchi, 2008 Specimen Labels

Ranging from forests edges to well-develop forests. Nesting in the soil and rotting logs.

Identification

Eguchi (2008) - This species has the following combination of diagnostic characteristics: in the minor head and promesonotal dome largely smooth and shining; in the major hypostoma without median and submedian processes; in the major and minor promesonotal dome in lateral view with a conspicuous prominence or mound on its posterior slope; in the major subpetiolar process lobate; in the major and minor postpetiole massive.

Pheidole tumida, Pheidole nodus and Pheidole nodifera are not distinguished from each other in minor’s morphology. Thus, there is a certain possibility that P. tumida is conspecific with P. nodifera which was described by F. Smith (1874) based on the minor alone from N. China. Pheidole tumida, characterised by a lobate subpetiolar process in the major, is easily distinguished from Pheidole nodus and other Indo-Chinese species.

Keys including this Species

Key to the Pheidole of North Vietnam

Distribution

Known from the Indo-Chinese and Indo-Malayan subregions.

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 22.1608° to 21.857°.


North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Oriental Region: Laos, Vietnam (type locality).
Palaearctic Region: China.

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

Images from AntWeb


Paratype of Pheidole tumida. Worker. Specimen code casent0905874. Photographer Will Ericson, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by MSNG, Genoa, Italy.

Nomenclature

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

tumida. Pheidole tumida Eguchi, 2008: 97, figs. 27a-g (s.w.q.) VIETNAM.

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

Description

Worker

Holotype (major). — HL 1.98 mm; HW 1.99 mm; CI 101; SL 1.11 mm; SI 56; FL 1.58 mm; FI 79. Nontype major (n=4). — HL 1.63–1.90 mm; HW 1.63–1.98 mm; CI 100–105; SL 0.93–1.07 mm; SI 52– 60; FL 1.38–1.54 mm; FI 78–85. Minor (n=5, including one paratype minor). — HL 0.71–0.78 mm; HW 0.57–0.66 mm; CI 79–87; SL 0.91–1.04 mm; SI 147–166; FL 1.03–1.18 mm; FI 166–192.

Major — Head in lateral view not or very weakly impressed on vertex; frons and anterior part of vertex rugose longitudinally; posterior part of vertex and dorsal and dorsolateral faces of vertexal lobe rugoso-reticulate obliquely, or reticulate; frontal carina weak, or present just as rugula(e); antennal scrobe inconspicuous or absent; median longitudinal carina of clypeus usually conspicuous, but sometimes weak or just present as weak rugula(e); median and submedian processes of hypostoma absent, or sometimes present but inconspicuous; lateral processes conspicuous but often small; antenna with a 3-segmented club; maximal diameter of eye longer than or almost as long as antennal segment X. Promesonotal dome in dorsal view rugoso-reticulate transversely or irregularly, in lateral view with a conspicuous prominence or at least low mound on its posterior slope; humerus (very) weakly produced laterad; the dome at the humeri narrower than at the bottom (or sometimes almost as broad as or a little broader than at the bottom); propodeal spine usually finger-shaped or spatulate. Petiole shorter than postpetiole (excluding helcium), in dorsal view with a well-developed flange laterally; subpetiolar process extremely developed, lobate; postpetiole massive. First gastral tergite rugoso-punctate or at least shagreened over the surface.

Minor — Frons and vertex largely smooth; area between antennal insertion and eye often rugose or rugoso-punctate; preoccipital carina conspicuous dorsally and laterally; median part of clypeus smooth and shining; median longitudinal carina often present; antenna with a 3-segmented club; scape extending far beyond posterolateral margin of head; maximal diameter of eye shorter than antennal segment X. Promesonotal dome largely smooth, but sometimes shagreened dorsolaterally and/or with several short rugulae on humerus, in lateral view with a conspicuous mound on its posterior slope; humerus of the dome in dorso-oblique view not or hardly produced (rarely produced weakly as a mound); mesopleuron, metapleuron and lateral face of propodeum dimly to weakly punctured at least partly; propodeal spine usually reduced to a short and thin spine or a small dent, or sometimes almost absent. Petiole shorter than postpetiole (excluding helcium); subpetiolar process absent, or present as a longitudinal carina; postpetiole massive.

Type Material

Holotype: major, Cuc Phuong N.P., Ninh Binh, Vietnam (20°14’N, 105°36’E, 370 m alt.) [K. Eguchi leg., colony: Eg01-VN-176] (Entomological Collection of the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources), examined; paratypes: 18 majors, 20 minors & 1 queen from the same colony as holotype (IEBR, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Musee d'Histoire Naturelle Genève & Katsuyuki Eguchi), examined.

References

Brassard, F., Leong, C.-M., Chan, H.-H., Guénard, B. 2021. High diversity in urban areas: How comprehensive sampling reveals high ant species richness within one of the most urbanized regions of the world. Diversity 13, 358 (doi:10.3390/d13080358).
Khachonpisitsak, S., Yamane, S., Sriwichai, P., Jaitrong, W. 2020. An updated checklist of the ants of Thailand (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). ZooKeys 998, 1–182 (doi:10.3897/zookeys.998.54902).
Eguchi, K. 2008. A revision of Northern Vietnamese species of the ant genus Pheidole (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae). Zootaxa. 1902:1-118. PDF

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

Eguchi K. 2008. A revision of Northern Vietnamese species of the ant genus Pheidole (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae). Zootaxa 1902: 1-118.
Eguchi K.; Bui T. V.; Yamane S. 2011. Generic synopsis of the Formicidae of Vietnam (Insecta: Hymenoptera), part I Myrmicinae and Pseudomyrmecinae. Zootaxa 2878: 1-61.
Fontanilla A. M., A. Nakamura, Z. Xu, M. Cao, R. L. Kitching, Y. Tang, and C. J. Burwell. 2019. Taxonomic and functional ant diversity along tropical, subtropical, and subalpine elevational transects in southwest China. Insects 10, 128; doi:10.3390/insects10050128
Guénard B., and R. R. Dunn. 2012. A checklist of the ants of China. Zootaxa 3558: 1-77.
Jaitrong W., B. Guenard, E. P. Economo, N. Buddhakala, and S. Yamane. 2016. A checklist of known ant species of Laos (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Asian Myrmecology 8: 1-32. DOI: 10.20362/am.008019
Leong C. M., S. F. Shiao, and B. Guenard. 2017. Ants in the city, a preliminary checklist of Formicidae (Hymenoptera) in Macau, one of the most heavily urbanized regions of the world. Asian Myrmecology 9: e009014.
Liu C, B. Guénard, F Hita Garcia, S. Yamane, B. Blanchard, and E. Economo. New records of ant species from Yunnan, China. Submitted to Zookeys
Zryanin V. A. 2011. An eco-faunistic review of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). In: Structure and functions of soil communities of a monsoon tropical forest (Cat Tien National Park, southern Vietnam) / A.V. Tiunov (Editor). – M.: KMK Scientific Press. 2011. 277 р.101-124.