Pheidole dammermani

Identification
Wheeler (1924) - This minute species is unlike any Pheidole of which I have seen specimens or descriptions. It somewhat resembles Pheidole sauteri of Formosa, but is decidedly smaller and has a very different sculpture. It is not related to other small East Indian species such as Pheidole parva, Pheidole mus, Pheidole tandjongensis, Pheidole butteli, Pheidole simoni'', etc.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Indo-Australian Region: Indonesia.

Nomenclature

 *  dammermani. Pheidole dammermani Wheeler, W.M. 1924b: 244 (s.w.) INDONESIA (Sebesi I.).

Worker
Soldier Length 1.8 mm.

Head shaped somewhat like that of Pheidole megacephala, slightly longer than broad, with rounded sides and rather deeply and angularly excised posterior border, not broader behind than in front, convex in the frontal region, with a small but distinct impression in the region of the rather deep occipital groove. Eyes small and rather fiat, just in front of the anterior third of the head. Mandibles convex, with two blunt apical teeth and a blunt basal tooth. Clypeus rather flat, with a median tubercle behind, its anterior border emarginate in the middle and, on each side so that it appears bluntly bidendate. Frontal area impressed, semicircular, striated; frontal carinae slightly longer than the scapes, nearly straight, diverging behind and bordering flattened spaces for the accomodation of the antennae. Scapes slender, terete, slightly curved at the base and less than half as long as the head; joints 2-8 of the funiculus very small, broader than long; club very nearly as long as (the remainder of the funiculus, the two basal joints longer than broad, together shorter than the terminal joint. Thorax through the pronotum about half as broad as the head, the pronotum very broad, transverse, with projecting rounded humeri. Mesonotum rapidly sloping, without transverse swelling or sulcus, merely continuing the outline of the pronotum. Epinotum small, cuboidal, much lower than the promesonotum, with subequal base and declivity, longitudinally concave in the middle, the spines reduced to acute triangular" rather erect teeth, which are as broad at the base as long and much shorter than their distance apart. Petiole from above parallel-sided, less than twice as long as broad, its node compressed anteroposteriorly, with rounded, entire superior border. Postpetiole transverse, convex, fully half again as broad. as the petiole, nearly twice as broad as long, with bluntly rounded anterior angles. Gaster broadly elliptical, somewhat, flattened, its anterior border slightly truncated. Legs moderately long, the femora and tibiae somewhat thickened in the middle.

Shining; mandibles with a few small, scattered punctures, the bases slightly striated externally. Clypeus smooth and shining in the middle, the sides longitudinally rugulose. Head covered with sharp longitudinal rugae which are rather far apart, diverge very slightly behind and disappear on the posterior border and corners where there are a few large, scattered and rather shallow punctures. The interrugal spaces are very indistinctly and superficially reticulate. Thorax smooth and shilling, except the mesopleurae and epinotum which are superficially punctate or reticulate, without being opaque. Pedicel and gaster smooth and shining.

Hairs yellowish, erect, sparse, of uneven length, most numerous on the head and gaster, very short, fine and rather oblique on the appendages. Brownish yellow, gaster and in some specimens the postpetiole and petiolar node fuscous; mandibles red, their borders and that of the clypeus darker; antennae and legs yellow.

Worker Length 1.2 mm.

Head subrectangular, scarcely longer than broad, with rounded posterior corners and sides and straight posterior border. Eyes small and rather flat, just in front of the middle of the head. Mandibles with several indistinct denticles. Clypeus moderately convex; ecarinate, its anterior border straight and entire in the middle, very feebly sinuate on each side. Frontal area distinct, like that of the soldier, but not striated; frontal groove lacking; frontal carinae very short. Antennal scapes extending somewhat beyond the posterior corners of the head. Pro- and mesonotum together forming a single hemispherical mass, the former without prominent humeri. Epinotum like that of the soldier, but the teeth are very small and erect. Petiole like that of the soldier; postpetiole small, transversely elliptical, scarcely broader than the petiole. Gaster and legs resembling those of the soldier but the femora and tibiae less thickened.

Head smooth and shining, with a few longitudinal rugae on the cheeks. Sculpture of the remainder of the body as in the soldier, except that the puncturation of the mesopleurae and epinotum is more pronounced, so that these parts are somewhat opaque.

Pilosity as in the soldier but less abundant.

Yellowish brown; anterior portions of head, mandibles, thorax behind the pronotum, petiole and postpetiole paler and more yellowish; gaster castaneous; appendages yellow.

Type Material
Described from four soldiers and a worker taken on Sebesi, Jan. 25 and 26, 1921 by Dr. Dammerman. He has also sent me two soldiers and five workers taken on Klein Kombuis Island in the Java Sea (Nov. II, 1920).

Etymology
Named for the collector of the type series. Wheeler began this paper that contained this ant's description with these remarks: Dr. K. W. Dammerman of the Buitenzorg Museum has sent me for identification a collection of ants of peculiar interest, because they were taken during 1919-'21 on Krakatau and adjacent islands. . ." Dammerman was a curator in what is now the Bogor Zoology Museum in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia. Founded in 1894 by the colonial Dutch East Indies Company, the museum held one of the largest collections of Southeast Asian animals. The majority of the holdings are now in the Widyasatwaloka building at the Indonesian Institute of Sciences complex in Cibinong. Dammerman actively communicated with, and sent specimens to, zoologists in many museums in Europe and America.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Chapman, J. W., and Capco, S. R. 1951. Check list of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Asia. Monogr. Inst. Sci. Technol. Manila 1: 1-327
 * Wheeler, William Morton. 1924. Ants of Krakatau and Other Islands in the Sunda Strait. Treubia. 5(1-3):1-20.