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Pheidole vallifica
| Pheidole vallifica | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Myrmicinae |
| Tribe: | Attini |
| Genus: | Pheidole |
| Species: | P. vallifica |
| Binomial name | |
| Pheidole vallifica Forel, 1901
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In 1896, Auguste Forel (1901) found colonies of this "singuliere espece, une des plus curieuses du genre," at San Antonio, Colombia, in humid, sandy soil at the edge of a small stream. The small nests, which had few minors and only one or two majors, had small entrances abutted by semicircular piles of excavated soil. I found vallifica common in a banana plantation at Palmar Sur, at the base of Costa Rica's Osa Peninsula, where colonies nested in open soil. (Wilson 2003)
Identification
See the description in the nomenclature section.
Keys including this Species
Distribution
Honduras, Costa Rica, Colombia, Brazil (Mato Grosso), and Paraguay (Amambay). (Wilson 2003)
Latitudinal Distribution Pattern
Latitudinal Range: -9.466667° to -40.7°.
| North Temperate |
North Subtropical |
Tropical | South Subtropical |
South Temperate |
- Source: AntMaps
Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Neotropical Region: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia (type locality), Costa Rica, Honduras, Paraguay.
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
Association with Other Organisms
Explore: Show all Associate data or Search these data. See also a list of all data tables or learn how data is managed.
This species is a host for the eucharitid wasp Orasema costaricensis (a parasite) (Wheeler & Wheeler, 1937; Kempf, 1972; Baker et al., 2019).
Castes
Worker
Minor
       
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Nomenclature
The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.
- vallifica. Pheidole vallifica Forel, 1901e: 357 (s.w.) COLOMBIA. Combination in P. (Elasmopheidole): Forel, 1913k: 43. See also: Wilson, 2003: 774.
Unless otherwise noted the text for the remainder of this section is reported from the publication that includes the original description.
Description
From Wilson (2003): DIAGNOSIS An unusual member of the tristis group, of uncertain affinity.
Major: frontal lobes in full-face view square, turned obliquely outward; from the side the lobes project as an acute angle, as does the clypeus beneath them; carinulae limited to head at eye level and anterior to it, and body is otherwise almost completely smooth and shiny; propodeal spines reduced to oblique angles; postpetiole conulate.
Minor: basal face of propodeum and dorsal surface of head from eyes forward carinulate, and rest of body almost completely smooth and shiny; propodeal spines reduced to right angles.
MEASUREMENTS (mm) Syntype major: HW 1.12, HL l.22, SL 0.60, EL 0.18, PW 0.60. Syntype minor: HW 0.60, HL 0.66, SL 0.58, EL 0.12, PW 0.42.
COLOR Major (Palmar Sur, Costa Rica): light reddish brown, appendages yellowish brown. Minor: plain light brown, appendages brownish yellow.
Figure. Upper: major (Palmar Sur, Puntarenas, Costa Rica), compared with syntype in Forel Collection. Lower: syntype, minor. Scale bars = 1 mm.
Type Material
San Antonio, Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia, over 1000 m. Musee d'Histoire Naturelle Genève - as reported in Wilson (2003)
Etymology
L vallifica, of a valley, allusion uncertain. (Wilson 2003)
References
- Wilson, E. O. 2003. Pheidole in the New World: A dominant, hyperdiverse ant genus. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA. (page 774, 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).
- Baker, A.J., Heraty, J.M., Mottern, J., Hang, J.Z., Hines, H.M., Lemmon, A.R., Lemmon, E.M. 2019. Inverse dispersal patterns in a group of ant parasitoids (Hymenoptera: Eucharitidae: Oraseminae) and their ant hosts. Systematic Entomology 45: 1–19 (doi:10.1111/syen.12371).
- Cantone S. 2017. Winged Ants, The Male, Dichotomous key to genera of winged male ants in the World, Behavioral ecology of mating flight (self-published).
- Forel, A. 1901j. Variétés myrmécologiques. Ann. Soc. Entomol. Belg. 45: 334-382 (page 357, soldier, worker described)
- Forel, A. 1913l. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse einer Forschungsreise nach Ostindien ausgeführt im Auftrage der Kgl. Preuss. Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin von H. v. Buttel-Reepen. II. Ameisen aus Sumatra, Java, Malacca und Ceylon. Gesammelt von Her (page 43, Combination in P. (Elasmopheidole))
References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics
- Fernández, F. and S. Sendoya. 2004. Lista de las hormigas neotropicales. Biota Colombiana Volume 5, Number 1.
- Kempf W. W. 1972. A study of some Neotropical ants of genus Pheidole Westwood. I. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Studia Entomologica 15: 449-464.
- Wild, A. L. "A catalogue of the ants of Paraguay (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)." Zootaxa 1622 (2007): 1-55.