Pheidole variabilis

Pheidole variabilis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmicinae
Tribe:	Attini
Genus:	Pheidole
Species:	P. variabilis
Binomial name
	Pheidole variabilis; Mayr, 1876 Specimen Labels
Subspecies
	Pheidole variabilis aliena Emery, 1914; Pheidole variabilis croceithorax Emery, 1914; Pheidole variabilis mediofusca Forel, 1902; Pheidole variabilis ocior Forel, 1915; Pheidole variabilis ocyma Forel, 1915; Pheidole variabilis parvispina Forel, 1902; Pheidole variabilis praedo Forel, 1902; Pheidole variabilis redunca Crawley, 1915;
Synonyms
	Pheidole variabilis rugocciput Forel, 1902;

Identification

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: -26.76805556° to -26.76806°.


North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Australasian Region: Australia (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.

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.

Biology

Castes

Images from AntWeb


Not Provided. Worker. Specimen code antweb1008113. Photographer Adam Lazarus, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by EPEC.


Syntype of Pheidole variabilis. Worker. Specimen code casent0901547. Photographer Will Ericson, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by NHMUK, London, UK.


Syntype of Pheidole variabilis. Worker (major/soldier). Specimen code casent0901548. Photographer Will Ericson, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by NHMUK, London, UK.

Nomenclature

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

variabilis. Pheidole variabilis Mayr, 1876: 103 (s.w.q.m.) AUSTRALIA.
- Current subspecies: nominal plus aliena, croceithorax, latigena, mediofusca, ocior, ocyma, parvispina, praedo, redunca, rugosula.
rugocciput. Pheidole variabilis var. rugocciput Forel, 1902h: 423 (s.w.) AUSTRALIA.
- Junior synonym of variabilis: Heterick, 2021: 19.

Type Material

Pheidole variabilis: Syntype, many workers, queens, males, Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia, Naturhistorisches Museum Wien, Vienna.
Pheidole variabilis rugocciput: Syntype, 2 workers, Mackay, Queensland, Australia, Australian National Insect Collection.

Taxonomic Notes

Heterick (2021): Comparison of AntWeb images of major and minor worker syntypes of Pheidole variabilis rugocciput and P. variabilis reveal no difference between these two ants. Pheidole variabilis rugocciput therefore becomes a junior synonym under the latter name in this work. The ant designated by the unavailable quadrinomial ‘Pheidole variabilis rugocciput atrophispina’, however, is a distinct species not found in WA.

Description

References

Heterick, B.E. 2021. A guide to the ants of Western Australia. Part I: Systematics. Records of the Western Australian Museum, Supplement 86, 1-245 (doi:10.18195/issn.0313-122x.86.2021.001-245).
Heterick, B.E. 2022. A guide to the ants of Western Australia. Part II: Distribution and biology. Records of the Western Australian Museum, supplement 86: 247-510 (doi:10.18195/issn.0313-122x.86.2022.247-510).
Majer, J.D., Castalanelli, M.A., Ledger, J.L., Gunawardene, N.R., Heterick, B.E. 2018. Sequencing the ant fauna of a small island: Can metagenomic analysis enable faster identification for routine ant surveys? Sociobiology 65, 422-432 (doi:10.13102/sociobiology.v65i3.2885).
Mayr, G. 1876. Die australischen Formiciden. J. Mus. Godeffroy 12: 56-115 (page 103, soldier, worker, queen, male described)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

Wheeler, William Morton. 1927. The Ants of Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island. Proceedings of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 62(4): 121-153