Pheidole nuculiceps

This species is only known from type specimens. Nothing is known about its biology.

Identification
See the description in the nomenclature section.

Distribution
Only known from the type locality.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Nearctic Region: United States. Neotropical Region: Mexico.

Nomenclature

 *  nuculiceps. Pheidole nuculiceps Wheeler, W.M. 1908e: 473 (s.w.) U.S.A. See also: Wilson, 2003: 475.

Description
From Wilson (2003): DIAGNOSIS A member of the “flavens complex” within the larger flavens group, also including Pheidole asperithorax, Pheidole breviscapa (=Pheidole perpusilla), Pheidole cardiella, Pheidole striaticeps, Pheidole exigua, Pheidole flavens, Pheidole goeldii, Pheidole mittermeieri, Pheidole moerens, Pheidole nitidicollis, Pheidole pholeops, Pheidole sculptior and Pheidole trinitatis, differing in the following combination of traits.

Major: shallow antennal scrobes present, their surfaces smooth and shiny; parallel longitudinal carinulae cover all of the head surface (including the occiput) except for the center of the clypeus and frontal triangle; anterior and lateral margins of the pronotal dorsum carinulate; mesosoma and sides of waist foveolate and opaque; the strongly convex promesonotum descends to the metanotal groove through a distinct 45-degree posterior face; propodeal spines well-developed.

Minor: carinulae limited to anterior half of head capsule, including lateral margins of the frontal lobes; all of the head and mesosoma, and sides of the waist, foveolate and opaque; the remainder of the body smooth and shiny; propodeal spines well-developed.

MEASUREMENTS (mm) Lectotype major: HW 0.78, HL 0.76, SL 0.64, EL 0.10, PW 0.40. Paralectotype minor: HW 0.44, HL 0.50, SL 0.42, EL 0.08, PW 0.30.

COLOR Major and minor: body concolorous light reddish yellow (“orange”); appendages clear medium yellow.



'''Figure. Upper: lectotype, major. Lower: paralectotype, minor. Scale bars = 1 mm.'''

Type Material
TEXAS: New Braunfels, col. William M. Wheeler. - as reported in Wilson (2003)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Alatorre-Bracamontes, C.E. and M Vasquez-Bolanos. 2010. Lista comentada de las hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) del norte de México. Dugesiana 17(1):9-36
 * Dattilo W. et al. 2019. MEXICO ANTS: incidence and abundance along the Nearctic-Neotropical interface. Ecology https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2944
 * Gregg R. E. 1959. Key to the species of Pheidole (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the United States. Journal of the New York Entomological Society 66: 7-48.
 * O'Keefe S. T., J. L. Cook, T. Dudek, D. F. Wunneburger, M. D. Guzman, R. N. Coulson, and S. B. Vinson. 2000. The Distribution of Texas Ants. The Southwestern Entomologist 22: 1-92.
 * Vásquez-Bolaños M. 2011. Lista de especies de hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) para México. Dugesiana 18: 95-133
 * Wheeler W. M. 1908. The ants of Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. (Part I.). Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 24: 399-485.
 * Wheeler, G.C. and J. Wheeler. 1985. A checklist of Texas ants. Prairie Naturalist 17:49-64.
 * Wilson, E.O. 2003. Pheidole in the New World: A Dominant, Hyperdiverse Genus. Harvard University Press