Pheidole variabilis

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
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

Pheidole variabilis antweb1008113 p 1 high.jpg

Pheidole variabilis antweb1008113 d 1 high.jpg

Specimen Labels

Subspecies
Synonyms

Identification

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: -26.76805556° to -26.76806°.

 
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Australasian Region: Australia (type locality).

Distribution based on AntMaps

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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

Images from AntWeb

Pheidole variabilis antweb1008113 h 2 high.jpg
Not ProvidedWorker. Specimen code antweb1008113. Photographer Adam Lazarus, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by EPEC.
Pheidole variabilis casent0901547 h 1 high.jpgPheidole variabilis casent0901547 d 1 high.jpgPheidole variabilis casent0901547 p 1 high.jpgPheidole variabilis casent0901547 l 1 high.jpg
Syntype of Pheidole variabilisWorker. Specimen code casent0901547. Photographer Will Ericson, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by NHMUK, London, UK.
Pheidole variabilis casent0901548 h 1 high.jpgPheidole variabilis casent0901548 d 1 high.jpgPheidole variabilis casent0901548 p 1 high.jpgPheidole variabilis casent0901548 l 1 high.jpg
Syntype of Pheidole variabilisWorker (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

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

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