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Pheidole valens
| Pheidole valens | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Myrmicinae |
| Tribe: | Attini |
| Genus: | Pheidole |
| Species group: | fallax |
| Species: | P. valens |
| Binomial name | |
| Pheidole valens Wilson, 2003 | |
The type colony was found in a soil nest whose entrance hole was surrounded by pebbles, in a cerrado-like secondary thicket. (Wilson 2003)
Identification
See the description in the nomenclature section.
Keys including this Species
Distribution
Only known from the type locality.
Latitudinal Distribution Pattern
Latitudinal Range: -4.983333° to -24.571944°.
| North Temperate |
North Subtropical |
Tropical | South Subtropical |
South Temperate |
- Source: AntMaps
Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Neotropical Region: Brazil (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.
- valens. Pheidole valens Wilson, 2003: 359, figs. (s.w.) BRAZIL.
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 fallax group with similarities to Pheidole fallax, Pheidole jelskii, Pheidole obscurithorax, Pheidole puttemansi and Pheidole roushae, distinguished as follows.
Major: head quadrate; almost all of anterior two-thirds of dorsal surface of head (except frontal triangle, antennal fossae, and clypeus) rugoreticulate, and posterior third foveolate; anterior half of pronotal dorsum rugoreticulate; antennal scape near base slightly broader than near tip; pronotum weakly bilobous in dorsal-oblique view; metanotum convex in side view; petiole thick in side view, but the apex of its node tapering almost to a point; median strip of entire first gastral tergite shagreened and opaque.
Minor: all of head, mesosoma, and waist foveolate and opaque; anterior half of median strip shagreened.
MEASUREMENTS (mm) Holotype major: HW 1.70, HL 1.80, SL 1.02, EL 0.26, PW 0.92. Paratype minor: HW 0.66, HL 0.84, SL 1.04, EL 0.18, PW 0.54.
COLOR Major: head, mesosoma, and petiole medium reddish brown; postpetiole and gaster dark reddish brown.
Minor: body medium reddish brown except for gaster, which is dark reddish brown; appendages light reddish brown.
Figure. Upper: holotype, major. Lower: paratype, minor. Scale bars = 1 mm.
Type Material
BRAZIL: Mpio. Livramento, Mato Grosso, James C. Trager. Museum of Comparative Zoology
Etymology
L valens, strong, vigorous.
References
- Casadei-Ferreira, A., Economo, E.P., Feitosa, R.M. 2020. Additions to the taxonomy of Pheidole (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from the southern grasslands of Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Entomologia 64(4):e20200068 (doi:10.1590/1806-9665-RBENT-2020-0068).
- Wilson, E. O. 2003. Pheidole in the New World: A dominant, hyperdiverse ant genus. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA. (page 359, fig. major, minor described)
References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics
- Fichaux M., B. Bechade, J. Donald, A. Weyna, J. H. C. Delabie, J. Murienne, C. Baraloto, and J. Orivel. 2019. Habitats shape taxonomic and functional composition of Neotropical ant assemblages. Oecologia 189(2): 501-513.