Pheidole sykesii
Pheidole sykesii | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Hymenoptera |
Family: | Formicidae |
Subfamily: | Myrmicinae |
Tribe: | Attini |
Genus: | Pheidole |
Species: | P. sykesii |
Binomial name | |
Pheidole sykesii Forel, 1902 |
A large species occurring in India, Pheidole sykesii nests are constructed with concentric soil walls around a central entrance, the walls preventing rain water from entering the nest. Within the nest are chambers used to store either grain or brood (eggs, larvae and pupae). The passageways to these chambers are relatively narrow and air is trapped within them, preventing the entrance of water. The concentric embankments vary across nests, from a single tube less than 25mm high in flat dry country, to a half-dozen concentric rings with a largest diameter of 450mm and with the centre tube 75mm or more high and each of the outer rings decreasing in height. Additionally, when the nest is on a slope, the up-hill half of a ring is always considerably higher than the lower half. Note that while Pheidole wroughtonii and Pheidole latinoda build similar nests, they are rudimentary compared with those of P. sykesi (Wroughton, 1892).
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Identification
Distribution
Latitudinal Distribution Pattern
Latitudinal Range: 20.593684° to 18.513271°.
North Temperate |
North Subtropical |
Tropical | South Subtropical |
South Temperate |
- Source: AntMaps
Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Oriental Region: India (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.
- sykesii. Pheidole sykesii Forel, 1902c: 173 (s.), 190 (w.q.m.) INDIA. [Also described as new by Forel, 1902f: 541.]
Description
References
- Forel, A. 1902c. Myrmicinae nouveaux de l'Inde et de Ceylan. Rev. Suisse Zool. 10: 165-249 (page 173, 190, soldier, worker, queen, male described)
- Forel, A. 1902g. Les Formicides de l'Empire des Indes et de Ceylan. Part IX. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 14: 520-546 (page 541, also described as new)
- Rasheed, S.B., Ali, M., Zaidi, F., Noreen, S. 2020. Diversity of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in residential area of Tarbela, Swabi: New recrds from Pakistan. The Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences 31: 617-624 (doi:10.36899/japs.2021.2.0250).
- Wroughton, R.C. 1892. Our ants. Part II. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 7:175-203.
References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics
- Rajan P. D., M. Zacharias, and T. M. Mustak Ali. 2006. Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae. Fauna of Biligiri Rangaswamy Temple Wildlife Sanctuary (Karnataka). Conservation Area Series, Zool. Surv. India.i-iv,27: 153-188.