Pheidole pelor

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

Pheidole pelor casent0103409 profile 1.jpg

Pheidole pelor casent0103409 dorsal 1.jpg

Specimen Label

Nothing is known about the biology of pelor.

Identification

See the description in the nomenclature section.

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Known only from the type locality, and two other localities in central Texas (Pedemales State Park, Blanco Co. and Junction, Kimble Co.). At the Brackenridge Field Laboratory in Austin, it occurs with the similar species Pheidole lamia. (Wilson 2003)

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 33.8815° to 29.72342°.

 
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Nearctic Region: United States (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 pelor casent0103410 head 1.jpgPheidole pelor casent0103410 profile 1.jpgPheidole pelor casent0103410 dorsal 1.jpgPheidole pelor casent0103410 label 1.jpg
Worker. Specimen code casent0103410. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by CAS, San Francisco, CA, USA.

Nomenclature

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

  • pelor. Pheidole pelor Wilson, 2003: 547, figs. (s.w.) U.S.A.

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

Description

DIAGNOSIS A typical member of the lamia group: the major has a phragmotic head, with the anterior portion incorporating the c1ypeus and mandibles flattened (truncated), and deep antennal scrobes. This species is easily distinguished from the other members of the lamia group (Pheidole colobopsis, Pheidole lamia, Pheidole truncula) by the rugoreticulate posterior dorsum of the head, preceded by parallel longitudinal carinulae that extend to all the surface of the frontal lobes, and by the irregularly rugose sculpturing of the central part of the c1ypeus.

MEASUREMENTS (mm) Holotype major: HW 1.00, HL 1.30, SL 0.50, EL 0.14, PW 0.56. Paratype minor: HW 0.60, HL 0.64, SL 0.46, EL 0.10, PW 0.40.

COLOR Major: concolorous dark yellow.

Minor: concolorous medium yellow.


Pheidole pelor Wilson 2003.jpg

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

Type Material

TEXAS: Brackenridge Laboratory, a field station of the University of Texas in Austin, col. D. H. Feener. Museum of Comparative Zoology

Etymology

Gr pelor, prodigy, monster, referring to the bizarre head form.

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • General D.M. & Thompson L.C. 2008. New Distributional Records of Ants in Arkansas for 2008. Journal of the Arkansas Academy of Science. 63: 182-184
  • Roeder K. A., and D. V. Roeder. 2017. The Pheidole (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Oklahoma: new species records and distributional notes. Check List 13(2): 2071.
  • Wilson, E.O. 2003. Pheidole in the New World: A Dominant, Hyperdiverse Genus. Harvard University Press