Pheidole portalensis

Stefan Cover reports (personal communication) that “portalensis is an inhabitant of rock walls, where it nests in cracks, in elevations from 1100 to 1800 m. Colonies consist of several hundred ants or more. Minors forage singly on the rock faces, and recruit regularly to good food sources. Baiting is the only reliable way to locate colonies.” (Wilson 2003)

Identification
See the description in the nomenclature section.

Distribution
Known from the mountains of southern Arizona, from the Santa Catalinas in the north to the Pajaritos in the west and east to the type locality. (Wilson 2003)

This taxon was described from the United States.

Description
A member of the fallax group, similar to Pheidole ariel, Pheidole desertorum, Pheidole hyatti, Pheidole sitiens, Pheidole skwarrae, Pheidole vistana, and distinguished as follows.

Major: no rugoreticulum on head or anywhere else on body; antennal scapes just attain the occipital border; entire head, mesosoma, and waist foveolate and opaque; almost all of first two gastral tergites shagreened and opaque; carinulae around midline of head dorsum attain occiput; midclypeus faintly carinulate; mesonotal convexity very low.

Minor: entire head, mesosoma, and waist foveolate and opaque; entire median strip of first two gastral tergites shagreened; mesonotal convexity very low; occiput narrowed, with nuchal collar.

MEASUREMENTS (mm) Holotype major: HW 1.40, HL 1.50, SL 1.30, EL 0.24, PW 0.66. Paratype minor: HW 0.74, HL 0.96, SL 1.28, EL 0.20, PW 0.50.

COLOR Major: body and appendages light reddish brown except for gaster, which is plain medium brown.

Minor: body light reddish brown except for gaster, which is plain medium brown; appendages reddish yellow.



'''Figure. Upper: holotype, major. Lower: paratype, minor. Scale bars = 1 mm.'''

Type Locality Information
ARIZONA: Southwest Research Station (American Museum of Natural History), 8 km west of Portal, Cochise Co., 1650 m, col. William L. Brown.

Etymology
Referring to the type locality.