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Pheidole megacephala melancholica
| Pheidole megacephala melancholica | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Myrmicinae |
| Tribe: | Attini |
| Genus: | Pheidole |
| Species: | P. megacephala |
| Subspecies: | P. megacephala melancholica |
| Trinomial name | |
| Pheidole megacephala melancholica Santschi, 1912 | |
Taylor et al. (2018) observed this taxon in a Mangifera indica (mango) orchard in Benin, as prey of Oecophylla longinoda.
Identification
A member of the megacephala species group
Distribution
Latitudinal Distribution Pattern
Latitudinal Range: 4° to -3.125556°.
| North Temperate |
North Subtropical |
Tropical | South Subtropical |
South Temperate |
- Source: AntMaps
Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Afrotropical Region: Benin, Guinea, Ivory Coast (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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Biology
Castes
Nomenclature
The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.
- melancholica. Pheidole punctulata st. melancholica Santschi, 1912b: 164 (s.w.) IVORY COAST. Bernard, 1953b: 225 (q.). Currently subspecies of megacephala: Emery, 1915j: 236; Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 132.
Taxonomic Notes
Taylor et al. (2018) note that this taxon differs from the type Pheidole punctulata (CASENT0901316) in being dark red-brown and not yellow brown. They then treat it as a full species. This treatment has not been followed by other authors.
Description
References
- Bernard, F. 1953b [1952]. La réserve naturelle intégrale du Mt Nimba. XI. Hyménoptères Formicidae. Mém. Inst. Fr. Afr. Noire 19: 165-270 (page 225, queen described)
- Emery, C. 1915i. Les Pheidole du groupe megacephala (Formicidae). Rev. Zool. Afr. (Bruss.) 4: 223-250 (page 236, subspecies of megacephala)
- Santschi, F. 1912b. Fourmis d'Afrique et de Madagascar. Ann. Soc. Entomol. Belg. 56: 150-167 (page 164, soldier, worker described)
- Taylor, B., Agoinon, N., Sinzogan, A., Adandonon, A., Kouaguou, Y. N., Bello, S., Wargui, R., Anato, F., Ouagoussounon, I., Houngbo, H., Tchibozo, S., Todjihounde, R., Vayssieres, J.F. 2018. Records of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from the Republic of Benin, with particular reference to the mango farm ecosystem. Journal of Insect Biodiversity 8(1): 6-29 (doi:10.12976/jib/2018.08.1.2).
- Wheeler, W. M. 1922b. Ants of the American Museum Congo expedition. A contribution to the myrmecology of Africa. II. The ants collected by the American Museum Congo Expedition. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 45: 39-269 (page 132, subspecies of megacephala)