Pheidole tertiaria

†Pheidole tertiaria Temporal range: Late Eocene K Pa Eo Ol Mi Pl ↓ Florissant, Colorado, United States
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmicinae
Tribe:	Attini
Genus:	Pheidole
Species:	†P. tertiaria
Binomial name
†Pheidole tertiaria Carpenter, 1930

Boudinot et al. (2024), Note 3 - Given the single photograph available for this species, which is otherwise reported from two specimens (Carpenter 1930), we consider †P. tertiaria in need of revised study, and strongly recommend against its use in divergence dating analysis until definitive synapomorphies of Pheidole may be documented. Most notably would be the occurrence of cross vein 2rs-m, which encloses the second submarginal cell and is otherwise absent from other Myrmicinae with the exception of various Myrmicini and Pogonomyrmecini.

Distribution

This taxon was described from Florissant, Colorado, United States (Late Eocene).

Nomenclature

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

• †tertiaria. †Pheidole tertiaria Carpenter, 1930: 33, pl. 5, fig. 2; pl. 11, fig. 2 (q.) U.S.A. (Oligocene).

References

• Boudinot, B.E., Bock, B.L., Weingardt, M., Tröger, D., Batelka, J., LI, D., Richter, A., Pohl, H., Moosdorf, O.T.D., Jandausch, K., Hammel, J.U., Beutel, R. G. 2024. Et latet et lucet: Discoveries from the Phyletisches Museum amber and copal collection in Jena, Germany. Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift 711, 111–176 (doi:10.3897/dez.71.112433).
• Carpenter, F. M. 1930. The fossil ants of North America. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 70: 1-66. (page 33, pl. 5, fig. 2, pl. 11, fig. 2 queen described)
• Casadei-Ferreira, A., Chaul, J.C.M., Feitosa, R.M. 2019. A new species of Pheidole (Formicidae, Myrmicinae) from Dominican amber with a review of the fossil records for the genus. ZooKeys 866: 117–125 (DOI 10.3897/zookeys.866.35756).
• Varela-Hernández, F., Flores-Zapoteco, D. 2024. New Miocene Mexican amber ant (Formicidae, Myrmicinae) of the genus Pheidole Westwood, 1839. Historical Biology, pp. 1–6 (doi:10.1080/08912963.2024.2312403).
• Varela-Hernández, F., Riquelme, F. 2024. Pheidole praehistorica sp. nov., a new addition to spiny ants of the genus Pheidole Westwood, 1839 (Formicidae, Myrmicinae) from Oligo–Miocene Mexican amber. European Journal of Taxonomy 968: 86-97 (doi:10.5852/ejt.2024.968.2719).