Pheidole tuculutan

This species is known from one site in Guatemala. It was an area of dry scrub habitat. Minor and major workers recruited to a ground bait placed in a stream gully.

Identification
Minor: face smooth and shiny; promesonotal groove absent; pronotal dorsum smooth and shiny, lateral pronotum smooth medially, foveolate peripherally, mesonotum weakly foveolate, dorsal face of propodeum foveolate, katepisternum foveolate; propodeal spines short, upturned, about one fifth length of posterior face of propodeum; gaster smooth and shining; mesosomal dorsum and gaster with abundant, short, stiff setae; tibiae without erect setae; color dark brown to black.

Major: inner hypostomal teeth present, closely spaced; scape base terete; antennal scrobes weakly impressed, not sharply delimited; head elongate, subrectangular; face mostly smooth and shiny, space between eye and antennal fossa foveolate, overlain with rugulae; medial frons between frontal carinae faintly foveolate, overlain with fine, widely spaced longitudinal carinulae; propodeal spines about one fifth length of posterior face of propodeum; gastral dorsum smooth and shining; sides of head with erect setae; dorsal mesosoma, gaster, and tibiae with abundant flexuous erect setae; color dark brown.

Measurements, minor worker: HW 0.47, HL 0.52, SL 0.41, EL 0.09, WL 0.62, PSL 0.04, PTW 0.10, PPW 0.14, CI 90, SI 88, PSLI 8, PPI 135 (n=4).

Measurements, major worker: HW 0.79, HL 1.22, SL 0.48, EL 0.13, WL 0.88, PSL 0.06, PTW 0.17, PPW 0.23, CI 65, SI 61, PSLI 8, PPI 136 (n=4).

This small, black species with very elongate head of the major is distinctive, not morphologically close to other species. In Economo et al. (2019) this species (as JTL201) is on a long branch, distantly related to other species. The closest relatives in that phylogeny bear little morphological resemblance.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Neotropical Region: Guatemala.

Minor
Images from AntWeb

Nomenclature

 *  tuculutan. Pheidole tuculutan Longino, 2019: 63, fig. 16 (w.) GUATEMALA.

Type Material

 * HOLOTYPE: 1 major worker, Guatemala, Zacapa: 7.5km NE Teculután, 15.04367 -89.67501 ±30 m, 475 m, 28-Jun-2009, stream gully in dry scrub, at bait (J. Longino, JTL6785-s) [MCZC, unique specimen identifier CASENT0612794].
 * PARATYPES: major, minor workers: same data as holotype [CAS, DZUP, JTLC, MCZC, USNM, UVGC].

Etymology
From the type locality.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Longino J. T. 2019. Pheidole (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of Middle American wet forest. Zootaxa 4599: 1-126