Pheidole angulifera

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Pheidole angulifera
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Tribe: Attini
Genus: Pheidole
Species: P. angulifera
Binomial name
Pheidole angulifera
Wilson, 2003

Pheidole angulifera inbiocri001281571 p 1 high.jpg

Pheidole angulifera inbiocri001281571 d 1 high.jpg

Specimen Labels

Occurs in wet montane forests; the type colony was found nesting in a hard dead branch (Longino 1997).

Identification

See the description in the nomenclature section.

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Southern Pacific highlands of Costa Rica (Longino 1997).

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 9.15° to 9.15°.

 
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Neotropical Region: Colombia, Costa Rica (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 angulifera casent0625430 h 1 high.jpgPheidole angulifera casent0625430 p 1 high.jpgPheidole angulifera casent0625430 d 1 high.jpgPheidole angulifera casent0625430 p 4 high.jpgPheidole angulifera casent0625430 l 1 high.jpg
Paratype Pheidole anguliferaWorker. Specimen code casent0625430. Photographer Jeremy Pilllow, uploaded by University of Utah. Owned by JTLC.

Major

Images from AntWeb

Pheidole angulifera inbiocri001281572 h 1 high.jpgPheidole angulifera inbiocri001281572 p 1 high.jpgPheidole angulifera inbiocri001281572 d 1 high.jpgPheidole angulifera inbiocri001281572 h 2 high.jpgPheidole angulifera inbiocri001281572 l 1 high.jpg
Worker (major/soldier). Specimen code inbiocri001281572. Photographer J. Russ, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by JTLC.

Images from AntWeb

Pheidole angulifera inbiocri001281571 p 4 high.jpg
Holotype major Pheidole anguliferaWorker (major/soldier). Specimen code inbiocri001281571. Photographer Jeremy Pilllow, uploaded by University of Utah. Owned by JTLC.

Queen

Images from AntWeb

Pheidole angulifera casent0625431 h 1 high.jpgPheidole angulifera casent0625431 p 1 high.jpgPheidole angulifera casent0625431 d 1 high.jpgPheidole angulifera casent0625431 p 4 high.jpgPheidole angulifera casent0625431 l 1 high.jpg
Paratype Pheidole anguliferaQueen (alate/dealate). Specimen code casent0625431. Photographer Jeremy Pilllow, 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.

  • angulifera. Pheidole angulifera Wilson, 2003: 371, 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

A medium-sized, bicolorous member of the flavens group whose major is distinguished by the prominent “sharkfin” shape of the pronotal humerus in dorsal-oblique view. In this respect it resembles the major of Pheidole schmalzi of South America but is distinct in the way the angles extend past the lower humeral margins in dorsal view, and in the wider, nearly perfectly semicircular shape of the occipital border. The minor has a much less prominent humeral profile in dorsal-oblique view than that of schmalzi, and the carinulae on the dorsal surface of the head do not extend beyond the eye.

Compare also with Pheidole arhuaca, Pheidole boliviana, Pheidole caulicola, Pheidole chalca, Pheidole nitidicollis, Pheidole crinita, Pheidole flavifrons, Pheidole mincana, Pheidole sagana, Pheidole tambopatae and Pheidole tysoni.

MEASUREMENTS (mm) Holotype major: HW 0.88, HL 0.92, SL 0.42, EL 0.10, PW 0.46. Paratype minor: HW 0.48, HL 0.54, SL 0.40, EL 0.06, PW 0.34.

COLOR Major: yellowish brown; head faintly bicolorous, with head capsule anterior to eye a slightly contrasting dark yellow.

Minor: head light brown; gena a slightly contrasting dark yellow; anterior half of mesosoma dark yellow and posterior half yellowish brown.


Pheidole angulifera Wilson 2003.jpg

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

Type Material

COSTA RICA: 4 km south of San Vito, Puntarenas, 8°47'N 82°58'W, 1200 m, col. J. T. Longino. Museum of Comparative Zoology

Etymology

L angulifera, angle-bearer, referring to the prominently angulate humerus.

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • Donoso D. A. 2014. Assembly mechanisms shaping tropical litter ant communities. Ecography 37 doi: 10.1111/j.1600-0587.2013.00253.x