Pheidole acutidens

P. acutidens is a permanent workerless parasite of Pheidole nitidula. The discoverer of this remarkable species, Carlos Bruch (1931), has provided extensive notes on its anatomy, ecology, behavior, and life cycle. (Wilson 2003)

Identification
See the description in the nomenclature section.

Distribution
Only known from the type locality.

This taxon was described from Argentina.

Nomenclature

 *  acutidens. Bruchomyrma acutidens Santschi, 1922d: 249, figs. A-D (q.) ARGENTINA. Bruch, 1931: 31 (m.). Combination in Pheidole: Wilson, 1984: 327. See also: Wheeler, W.M. 1937c: 52; Wilson, 2003: 260.

Description
From Wilson (2003): An extreme workerless social parasite of Pheidole nitidula, with adaptations that make it unique within the genus.

Queen: with 9- to 11-segmented antennae and minute, falcate toothless mandibles that taper to needle-sharp points.

Male: pupiform, with mandibles vestigial or absent.

MEASUREMENTS (mm) Syntype queen: HW 0.40, HL 0.42, SL 0.72, EL 0.12, PW 0.58.

COLOR Queen: yellowish brown.



'''Figure. Queen. Scale bars = 1 mm.'''

Type Material
- as reported in Wilson (2003)

Type Locality Information
ARGENTINA: La Plata, Buenos Aires, col. Carlos Bruch. Type locality: Alta Gracia (La Granja). Sierra de Córdoba, Argentina. (Wilson 2003)

Etymology
L acutidens, sharp-pointed tooth apparently referring to the reduced, acute mandible. (Wilson 2003)

Additional References

 * [[Media:Bruch 1931.pdf|Bruch, C. 1931. Notas biológicas y sistemáticas acerca de Bruchomyrma acutidens Santschi. Rev. Mus. La Plata 33: 31-55 PDF]]


 * Santschi, F. 1922e. Description de nouvelles fourmis de l’Argentine et pays limitrophes. An. Soc. Cient. Argent. 94: 241–262.

Text and images from this publication used by permission of the author.