Pheidole tuxtlasana

The type series was sifted from litter on the floor of lowland forest. (Wilson 2003)

Identification
See the description in the nomenclature section.

Distribution
Only known from the type locality.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Neotropical Region: Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico.

Nomenclature

 *  tuxtlasana. Pheidole tuxtlasana Wilson, 2003: 622, figs. (s.w.) MEXICO.

Description
DIAGNOSIS A yellow species, distinguished from other members of the punctatissima group as follows.

Major: rugoreticula cover rear quarter of the dorsal head surface except for a narrow band of carinulae at the midline, with some rugoreticula extending all the way along the side of the head to the eye; promesonotum trilobous in dorsal-oblique view; propodeal spines long and stout; postpetiolar node diamond-shaped, with angular lateral margins.

Minor: humerus angulate, anterior face of propodeum in side view topped by an obtuse angle and descends steeply to the metanotum; meso somal pilosity sparse; head and dorsal surface of the meso soma foveolate and opaque.

MEASUREMENTS (mm) Holotype major: HW 0.72, HL 0.72, SL 0.52, EL 0.12, PW 0.34. Paratype minor: HW 0.38, HL 0.44, SL 0.52, EL 0.08, PW 0.26.

COLOR Major and minor: concolorous yellow.



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

Type Material
MEXICO: Estacion Biologica Los Tuxtlas, 10 km north-northwest of Sontecomepan, Veracruz, 18°35'N 95°05W, 200 m, col. Philip S. Ward.

Etymology
Named after the type locality.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Ahuatzin D. A., E. J. Corro, A. Aguirre Jaimes, J. E. Valenzuela Gonzalez, R. Machado Feitosa, M. Cezar Ribeiro, J. Carlos Lopez Acosta, R. Coates, W. Dattilo. 2019. Forest cover drives leaf litter ant diversity in primary rainforest remnants within human-modified tropical landscapes. Biodiversity and Conservation 28(5): 1091-1107.
 * Dattilo W. et al. 2019. MEXICO ANTS: incidence and abundance along the Nearctic-Neotropical interface. Ecology https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2944
 * Longino J. T. L., and M. G. Branstetter. 2018. The truncated bell: an enigmatic but pervasive elevational diversity pattern in Middle American ants. Ecography 41: 1-12.
 * Longino J. et al. ADMAC project. Accessed on March 24th 2017 at https://sites.google.com/site/admacsite/
 * Vásquez-Bolaños M. 2011. Lista de especies de hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) para México. Dugesiana 18: 95-133
 * Wilson, E.O. 2003. Pheidole in the New World: A Dominant, Hyperdiverse Genus. Harvard University Press