Pheidole prattorum

One of the colonies of prattorum was found by Longino in mature lowland rainforest beneath an epiphyte mat in an old treefall. (Wilson 2003)

Identification
See the description in the nomenclature section.

Distribution
Known only from the type colony and three others collected by John T. Longino (1997) and Leeanne Tennant at the La Selva Biological Station in northeastern Costa Rica. (Wilson 2003)

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

Worker
Minor

Nomenclature

 *  prattorum. Pheidole prattorum Wilson, 2003: 736, figs. (s.w.) COSTA RICA.

Description
DIAGNOSIS Similar in various traits to Pheidole balzani, Pheidole brunnescens, Pheidole exarata, Pheidole excubitor, Pheidole fabricator, Pheidole germaini, Pheidole hispaniolae, Pheidole nigella, Pheidole sabina, Pheidole sarpedon, Pheidole tristis, Pheidole tristops and Pheidole unicornis, distinguished as follows.

Major: reddish yellow; posterior third of head dorsum mostly smooth; carinulae cover most of anterior two-thirds of head dorsum, their posterior ends aligned in an even semicircle transversely across the head; in dorsal-oblique view, humerus raised slightly as a broad lobe; mesonotal convexity almost completely suppressed; short, thin propodeal spines vertical on propodeal basal face, in side view tilted slightly forward; postpetiole from above diamond-shaped; anterior and lateral margins of pronotal dorsum carinulate, and almost all the rest of mesosoma smooth and shiny.

Minor: head and body almost completely smooth and shiny; occiput broad, lacking a nuchal collar; propodeal spine reduced to denticle, or absent.

MEASUREMENTS (mm) Holotype major: HW 1.22, HL 1.34, SL 0.60, EL 0.14, PW 0.64. Paratype minor: HW 0.54, HL 0.56, SL 0.54, EL 0.06, PW 0.34.

COLOR Major: concolorous reddish yellow.

Minor: concolorous plain medium yellow.



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

Type Material
COSTA RICA: La Selva Biological Station, near Puerto Viejo, Heredia, col. Leeanne Tennant-Alonso.

Etymology
Named in honor of Joe D. Pratt, ardent and effective supporter of biodiversity studies, and his family.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Dattilo W. et al. 2019. MEXICO ANTS: incidence and abundance along the Nearctic-Neotropical interface. Ecology https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2944
 * Fernández, F. and S. Sendoya. 2004. Lista de las hormigas neotropicales. Biota Colombiana Volume 5, Number 1.
 * 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. T., J. Coddington, and R. K. Colwell. 2002. The ant fauna of a tropical rain forest: estimating species richness three different ways. Ecology 83: 689-702.
 * Longino J. T., and R. K. Colwell. 2011. Density compensation, species composition, and richness of ants on a neotropical elevational gradient. Ecosphere 2(3): 16pp.
 * Longino J. et al. ADMAC project. Accessed on March 24th 2017 at https://sites.google.com/site/admacsite/