Pheidole fracticeps

Pheidole fracticeps
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmicinae
Tribe:	Attini
Genus:	Pheidole
Species:	P. fracticeps
Binomial name
Pheidole fracticeps Wilson, 2003 Specimen labels

Probably a rainforest species. The South American specimens were taken variously from leaf litter and soil. (Wilson 2003)

Identification

See the description in the nomenclature section.

Keys including this Species

• Key to Pheidole aberrans group

Distribution

Known from the type locality (Trinidad); Yasuni Research Station, Puerto Tiputini, Yasuni National Park, Ecuador; two series from Brazil; and Reserva Mbaracayú, Dept. Canindeyú, Paraguay. (Wilson 2003)

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 3.4025° to -64.23°.

North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

• Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Neotropical Region: Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago (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.

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.

Castes

Worker

Minor

Images from AntWeb

Worker. Specimen code casent0178025. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by ALWC, Alex L. Wild Collection.

Nomenclature

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

• fracticeps. Pheidole fracticeps Wilson, 2003: 133, figs. (s.w.) TRINIDAD.

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

Description

A member of the aberrans group closest to the Argentine species Pheidole lilloi, differing from it and other species in the group by the following set of traits.

Major: very small; yellow; hypostoma 4-toothed; in side view, occiput juts out like a brow, with the principal transverse carina (in profile) giving it a sharp edge, and the profile of the head below it dipping away as a strong concavity; in full-face view, occiput bearing the principal demarcating transverse carina plus several others that cross as irregular lines; eye elliptical, placed forward to a little more than an Eye Length from the anterior genal border.

Minor: dorsal surface of head and most of mesosoma and waist foveolate, with a near absence of carinulae overall.

MEASUREMENTS (mm) Holotype major: HW 0.68, HL 0.86, SL 0.30, EL 0.10, PW 0.40. Paratype minor: HW 0.38, HL 0.44 (approximately), SL 0.34, EL 0.06, PW 0.24.

COLOR Major: concolorous medium yellow. Minor: concolorous yellow.

Figure. Upper: holotype, major. Lower: paratype, minor (head partly crushed). Scale bars = 1 mm.

Type Material

TRINIDAD: Maracas Valley col. N. A. Weber, May 1936. Museum of Comparative Zoology

Etymology

L fracticeps, broken head, from the appearance of the major occiput.

References

• Wilson, E. O. 2003. Pheidole in the New World: A dominant, hyperdiverse ant genus. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA. (page 133, fig. major, minor described)
• Albuquerque, E., Prado, L., Andrade-Silva, J., Siqueira, E., Sampaio, K., Alves, D., Brandão, C., Andrade, P., Feitosa, R., Koch, E., Delabie, J., Fernandes, I., Baccaro, F., Souza, J., Almeida, R., Silva, R. 2021. Ants of the State of Pará, Brazil: a historical and comprehensive dataset of a key biodiversity hotspot in the Amazon Basin. Zootaxa 5001, 1–83 (doi:10.11646/zootaxa.5001.1.1).
• Mendoza-Penagos, C.C., Hessen, K.O.V., Almeida, R.P.S. 2020. Assessing sodium limitation as a resource for ground-dwelling ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in an area of the Amazonian Terra Firme Forest. Boletim do Museu Paraense Emílio Goeldi - Ciências Naturais 15, 135–143 (doi:10.46357/bcnaturais.v15i1.269).

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

• Christianini A. V., A. J. Mayhé-Nunes, and P. S. Oliveira. 2012. Exploitation of Fallen Diaspores By Ants: Are There Ant-Plant Partner Choices? Biotropica 44: 360-367.
• Fernandes I., and J. de Souza. 2018. Dataset of long-term monitoring of ground-dwelling ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the influence areas of a hydroelectric power plant on the Madeira River in the Amazon Basin. Biodiversity Data Journal 6: e24375.
• Fernández, F. and S. Sendoya. 2004. Lista de las hormigas neotropicales. Biota Colombiana Volume 5, Number 1.
• Gallego-Ropero M.C., R.M. Feitosa & J.R. Pujol-Luz, 2013. Formigas (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) Associadas a Ninhos de Cornitermes cumulans Kollar (Isoptera, Termitidae) no Cerrado do Planalto Central do Brasil. EntomoBrasilis, 6(1): 97-101.
• Pacheco R., H. L. Vasconcelos, S. Groc, G. P. Camacho, and T. L. M. Frizzo. 2013. The importance of remnants of natural vegetation for maintaining ant diversity in Brazilian agricultural landscapes. Biodivers. Conserv. DOI 10.1007/s10531-013-0463-y
• Pires de Prado L., R. M. Feitosa, S. Pinzon Triana, J. A. Munoz Gutierrez, G. X. Rousseau, R. Alves Silva, G. M. Siqueira, C. L. Caldas dos Santos, F. Veras Silva, T. Sanches Ranzani da Silva, A. Casadei-Ferreira, R. Rosa da Silva, and J. Andrade-Silva. 2019. An overview of the ant fauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the state of Maranhao, Brazil. Pap. Avulsos Zool. 59: e20195938.
• Vasconcelos, H.L. and J.M.S. Vilhena. 2006. Species turnover and vertical partitioning of ant assemblages in the Brazilian Amazon: A comparison of forests and savannas. Biotropica 38(1):100-106.
• Vasconcelos, H.L., J.M.S. Vilhena, W.E. Magnusson and A.L.K.M. Albernaz. 2006. Long-term effects of forest fragmentation on Amazonian ant communities. Journal of Biogeography 33:1348-1356
• Wild, A. L. "A catalogue of the ants of Paraguay (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)." Zootaxa 1622 (2007): 1-55.