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Pheidole dispar
| Pheidole dispar | |
|---|---|
| |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Myrmicinae |
| Tribe: | Attini |
| Genus: | Pheidole |
| Species: | P. dispar |
| Binomial name | |
| Pheidole dispar (Forel, 1895)
| |
These rare ants are infrequently encountered. They nest in soil under or between rocks. Little else is known about their biology.
Identification
The antennae are 11-segmented. The upper surface of the head is smooth or uniformly sculptured and lacks grooves for the reception of the antennae when at rest (antennal scrobes are absent). The front margin of the clypeus just above the mandibles has pairs of elongate hairs or setae which straddle the mid-line of the head and lacks a single central hair or seta. The clypeus is smooth or has weak, scattered sculpturing across it entire width. The petiole has a distinct, rounded node. There are major and minor workers but no intermediates (dimorphic).
Distribution
Latitudinal Distribution Pattern
Latitudinal Range: -12.16666667° to -32.52693°.
| North Temperate |
North Subtropical |
Tropical | South Subtropical |
South Temperate |
- Source: AntMaps
Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Australasian Region: Australia (type locality).
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. |
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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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Elevation Range
| Species | Elevation (m asl) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 200 | 400 | 600 | 800 | 1000 | 1200 | |
| Pheidole dispar | 0-10 | 0-10 | ||||
| Shading indicates the bands of elevation where species was recorded. Numbers are the percentage of total samples containing this species. | ||||||
Biology
This species been found in a wide range of localities and habitats, ranging from open savannah in the Kimberley region of northern Western Australia, to rainforests along the east coast of Queensland and mallee in central New South Wales (Shattuck, 1999).
Castes
Worker
Images from AntWeb
   
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| Worker. Specimen code casent0102458. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. | Owned by MHNG, Geneva, Switzerland. |
Queen
Images from AntWeb
   
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| Queen (alate/dealate). Specimen code casent0102457. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. | Owned by MHNG, Geneva, Switzerland. |
Male
Images from AntWeb
    
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| Male (alate). Specimen code casent0102460. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. | Owned by MHNG, Geneva, Switzerland. |
Nomenclature
The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.
- dispar. Liomyrmex (Machomyrma) dispar Forel, 1895f: 425 (s.w.q.) AUSTRALIA. Forel, 1913k: 27 (footnote) (q.). Combination in Machomyrma: Forel, 1913k: 27; in Pheidole: Ward et al., 2014: 15.
Unless otherwise noted the text for the remainder of this section is reported from the publication that includes the original description.
Description
Major L. 2,7 a 3,5 mill. Mandibules assez courtes, epaisses, lisses, luisantes, avec quelques points epars et quelques stries a l'extremite. Epistome court, mediocrement convexe. Aire frontale triangulaire, indistincte. Un sillon frontal court, mais distinct. Aretes frontales courtes, divergentes. Tete tres grande, en trapeze ou en rectangle tres allonge (plus large derriere que devant), chez la worker maxima echancree au milieu de son bord posterieur, au moins 1 ½ fois plus longue que large, longue de 4,5 mill.; yeux petits, situes au cinquieme anterieur des cotes. Antennes courtes; scape long comme a peine 1/3 de la tete; articles 3 a 7 du funicule plus larges que longs; massue distinctement de 3 articles. Pronotnm deux fois plus large que long, formant de chaque cote une large epaule ou protuberance arrondie, horizontale, subbordee et distinctement surplombante. Une impression transversale entre le pronotum et le mesonotum, ce qui rend le bord du thorax trifestonne. Suture meso- metanotale profonde. Les deux faces du metanotum subegales (face basale, un peu plus courte), separees et bordees par deux larges epines en triangle allonge, a pointe un peu mousse. Premier article du pedicule brievement petiole, convexe en dessous, surmonte derriere d'une large ecaille transversale, don’t le sommet tres large est presque tranchant et echancre au milieu. Second noeud plus de 3 fois plus large que long; ses cotes forment deux conules obtus; abdomen tronque devant; cuisses renflees, surtout les posterieures.
Entierement lisse et tres luisante avec ca et la quelques rares tres petits points epars. Extremite anterieure de la tete (derriere le bord anterieur) brievement striee en long.
Une pilosite dressee pointue, jaunatre, assez courte, disperse sur tout le corps, les pattes et les scapes, d'abondance mediocre. Pubescence nulle ou peu s’en faut.
D'un jaune un peu brunatre ou roussatre; mandibules brunes; abdomen et pattes jaune clair.
Minor L. 1,5 a 2,2 mill. Mandibules entierement striees. Sillon frontal nul. Aire frontale plus marquee. Deux faibles arêtes longitudinales sur l’epistome. Tete rectangulaire, seulement un peu plus longue que large, a bord posterieur presque droit. Yeux situes au quart anterieur de la tete. Les scapes sont longs comme la moitie de la tete. Pronotum assez large, mais sans epaules; bord du thorax non festonne; suture pro- mesonotale a peine marquee. Face basale du metanotum en trapeze, terminee par deux larges dents obtuses dont la base borde en partie le metanotum.
Premier noeud du pedicule ressemblant a celui d'une Pheidole, surmonte d'un noeud squamiforme assez etroit et non echancre au sommet. Second noeud arrondi, a cotes a peine subanguleux. Abdomen tronque devant. Cuisses a peine renflees.
Sculpture et pilosite comme chez la worker major. Jaunatre; mandibules brunes; abdomen et pattes d'un jaune pale. La worker minima est entierement d'un jaune pale.
Type Material
- Liomyrmex (Machomyrma) dispar Forel, 1895: Syntype, worker, Mackay, Queensland, Australia, Australian National Insect Collection.
- Liomyrmex (Machomyrma) dispar Forel, 1895: Syntype, 3 workers, Mackay, Queensland, Australia, Museum of Comparative Zoology.
- Liomyrmex (Machomyrma) dispar Forel, 1895: Syntype, queen(s), Mackay, Queensland, Australia.
References
- Burwell, C.J., Nakamura, A. 2020. Rainforest ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) along an elevational gradient at Eungella in the Clarke Range, Central Queensland coast, Australia. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland 125: 43-63.
- Forel, A. 1895g. Nouvelles fourmis d'Australie, récoltées à The Ridge, Mackay, Queensland, par M. Gilbert Turner. Ann. Soc. Entomol. Belg. 39: 417-428 (page 425, soldier, worker, queen described)
- Forel, A. 1913l. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse einer Forschungsreise nach Ostindien ausgeführt im Auftrage der Kgl. Preuss. Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin von H. v. Buttel-Reepen. II. Ameisen aus Sumatra, Java, Malacca und Ceylon. Gesammelt von Herrn Prof. Dr. v. Zool. Jahrb. Abt. Syst. Geogr. Biol. Tiere 36: 1-148 (page 27, (footnote) queen described, Combination in Machomyrma)
- Heterick, B.E. 2021. A guide to the ants of Western Australia. Part I: Systematics. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 86, 1-245 (doi:10.18195/issn.0313-122x.86.2021.001-245).
- Heterick, B.E. 2022. A guide to the ants of Western Australia. Part II: Distribution and biology. Records of the Western Australian Museum, supplement 86: 247-510 (doi:10.18195/issn.0313-122x.86.2022.247-510).
- Shattuck, S.O. 1999. Australian ants. Their biology and identification. Collingwood, Victoria: CSIRO Publishing, xi + 226 pp.
- Ward, P.S., Brady, S.G., Fisher, B.L., Schultz, T.R. 2015. The evolution of myrmicine ants: phylogeny and biogeography of a hyperdiverse ant clade (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Systematic Entomology 40: 61–81 (doi:10.1111/syen.12090).
References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics
- Reichel H., and A. N. Andersen. 1996. The rainforest ant fauna of Australia's Northern Territory. Australian Journal of Zoology 44: 81-95.