Pheidole argentina

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Pheidole argentina
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Tribe: Attini
Genus: Pheidole
Species: P. argentina
Binomial name
Pheidole argentina
(Bruch, 1932)

A permanent workerless parasite of Pheidole nitidula. (Wilson 2003)

At a Glance • Workerless Inquiline  

Identification

The original line drawing from Bruch (1932):

Pheidole-argentina-bruch.jpg

See the description in the nomenclature section.

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Only known from the type locality.

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: -31.016° to -31.657°.

 
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Neotropical Region: Argentina (type locality).

Distribution based on AntMaps

AntMapLegend.png

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

This species is a workerless parasite.

Nomenclature

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

  • argentina. Gallardomyrma argentina Bruch, 1932: 273, figs. 1-8 (q.) ARGENTINA. Combination in Pheidole: Wilson, 1984: 327. See also: Wilson, 2003: 267.

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

Description

From Wilson (2003): An extreme workerless parasite of Pheidole nitidula. The queen possesses a trait unique within the ants: the antenna is 10-segmented, with a well-developed, 1-segmented club. Also, the body is somewhat pupiform and the mandibles are reduced to toothless straps.

MEASUREMENTS (mm) Syntype queen: according to Bruch (1932), the total length of a queen in the type series is 1.7 mm.

COLOR Head, especially vertex, brownish yellow; mesosoma, waist, and gaster (except the apex) grayish brown.


Pheidole argentina Wilson 2003.jpg

Figure. Syntype, queen. (Adapted from Bruch 1932.) Scale bars = 1 mm.

Type Material

ARGENTINA: Alta Gracia (La Granja), Sierra de Córdoba, col. Carlos Bruch. Museo de La Plata, Argentina - as reported in Wilson (2003)

Etymology

Named after the country of origin. (Wilson 2003)

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • Kempf, W.W. 1972. Catalago abreviado das formigas da regiao Neotropical (Hym. Formicidae) Studia Entomologica 15(1-4).