Pheidole tolteca

The Cuautla workers were in a house, and those collected in San Jose Purua, Michoacán, were collected in tropical scrub. (Wilson 2003)

Identification
See the description in the nomenclature section.

Distribution
Recorded from Cuernavaca, Morelos (type locality); Cuautla, Morelos; San Jose Purua, Michoacán, col. Robert J. Hamton; and 95 km north of Acapulco, Guerrero. (Wilson 2003)

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Neotropical Region: Mexico.

Nomenclature

 *  tolteca. Pheidole tolteca Forel, 1901c: 133 (w.) MEXICO. See also: Wilson, 2003: 357.

Description
From Wilson (2003): A large, completely foveolate and opaque member of the fallax group, somewhat similar to Pheidole aequiseta and Pheidole gouldi.

Major: antennal scape just attains occipital corner; pilosity of head and mesosoma short, erect to suberect, and mostly of same length; propodeal spines long and relatively thin; rugoreticulum forms a band from eye to eye, anterior to near anterior border of head, and onto frontal lobes; center of pronotal dorsum with broken, scattered rugulae; humerus prominent, subangular; postpetiole from above elliptical.

Minor: body completely foveolate; propodeal spines one-third as long as the basal propodeal face anterior to them, and thin; occiput narrow and with nuchal collar.

MEASUREMENTS (mm) Major (Michoacán, Mexico): HW 1.72, HL 1.82, SL 1.44, EL 0.30, PW 0.88. Syntype minor: HW 0.86, HL 1.06, SL 1.40, EL 0.22, PW 0.62.

COLOR Major: head and appendages light reddish brown, rest of body medium reddish brown.

Minor: concolorous medium dull brown except for anterior rim of head capsule and mandibles, which are yellowish brown.



'''Figure. Upper: major, with minor compared with syntype minor (San Jose Purua, Michoacán, Mexico, col. R. J. Hamton). Lower: syntype, minor. Scale bars = 1 mm.'''

Type Material
Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico, col. W. M. Wheeler. and  - as reported in Wilson (2003)

Etymology
Named after the Toltec, Amerindian ruling people of central Mexico from 10th to 12th century A.D. (Wilson 2003)

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
 * Fernandes, P.R. XXXX. Los hormigas del suelo en Mexico: Diversidad, distribucion e importancia (Hymenoptera: Formicidae).
 * Kempf, W.W. 1972. Catalago abreviado das formigas da regiao Neotropical (Hym. Formicidae) Studia Entomologica 15(1-4).
 * 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