Pheidole teneriffana (Wilson, E. O. 2003)
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Ordo: Hymenoptera
Familia: Formicidae
Genus: Pheidole
Name
Pheidole teneriffana Wilson, E. O., 2003 – Wikispecies link – Pensoft Profile
- Pheidole teneriffana Wilson, E. O., 2003: 640-640.
Etymology
Etymology Named after the place of origin of the types.
Diagnosis
Diagnosis Major: unique in the possession of a broad, convex metanotum and a four-lobed mesosomal profile in dorsal-oblique view (2 on pronotum, one each on mesonotum and metanotum); also, presence of a weak antennal scrobe; carinulae cover all the dorsal head surface except for the frontal triangle and midclypeus; carinulae originating laterad to antennal scrobes circle outward and downward again to travel to the eye and behind it; postpetiole elliptical from above. Minor: occiput slightly narrowed, no nuchal collar.
Description
Measurements (mm) Major (Oriente, Cuba): HW 1.34, HL 1.34, SL 0.82, EL 0.20, PW 0.64. Minor (Oriente, Cuba): HW 0.62, HL 0.70, SL 0.74, EL 0.14, PW 0.34. color Major and minor: light yellowish brown, with head, mandibles, and gaster a slightly darker shade.
Distribution
Range Canary Islands and Mediterranean area. 1 have examined series from Egypt and Malta. The species, in addition to Aguayo's hotel series from Cuba, has been discovered by Michael J. Martinez (1992) in Admiral Kidd Park in western Long Beach, California. Another collection was made at Lima, Peru, by M. Pacheco, in 1991. The true origin of this tramp species is unknown, but the best guess is the Mediterranean region.
Biology and Ecology
Biology In 1989 Martinez (1992) found a population occupying about two hectares of Admiral Kidd Park, evidently consisting of a single continuous, polydomous colony. The separate nests contained large numbers of workers and multiple inseminated queens, as many as 23 in one instance. Nest sites included lawns and open ground, where nest entrances were surmounted by mounds of excavated soil; crevices of sidewalks and curbs; and the bases of trees. New nest sites were occupied by budding from occupied sites. The workers were aggressive toward other ant species; they preyed on insects and harvested seeds. By 1998, according to Gulmahamad and Martinez (1999), the population was extinct. It had been weakened by attempts to exterminate it and changes in the nest habitat, and given the coup de grace by encroaching Argentine ants (Linepithema humileHNS).
Materials Examined
Figure Upper: major. Lower: minor. CUBA: Hotel Telegrafo, Holguin, Oriente (lectotype and paralectotype of P. teneriffana subsp. tainaHNS Aguayo). (Type locality: Tenerife, Canary Islands.) Also, see excellent figure by Snelling (1992b). Scale bars = 1 mm.
Taxon Treatment
- Wilson, E. O.; 2003: Pheidole in the New World. A dominant, hyperdiverse ant genus. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA: 640-640. doi
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