Pheidole kukrana

In Costa Rica, kukrana is very adaptable, occurring in seasonal dry forest, and mature and secondary lowland rainforest, and nesting opportunistically in small cavities both on the ground and in the canopy; it occasionally builds carton walls (Longino 1997).

Identification
See the description in the nomenclature section.

Distribution
From Wilson (2003): Known from the type locality, from both the Atlantic and Pacific lowlands of Costa Rica (J. T. Longino), and from Venezuela (4 km northeast of Biscucuy, Portuguesa, 670 m; W. L. Brown and J. Lattke).

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Neotropical Region: Costa Rica, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Venezuela.

Nomenclature

 *  kukrana. Pheidole kukrana Wilson, 2003: 310, figs. (s.w.) NICARAGUA.

Description
A member of the fallax group close to Pheidole caribbaea and Pheidole obscurior (=Pheidole susannae), possibly synonymous with the latter, and somewhat less similar to Pheidole cardinalis, Pheidole mantilla and Pheidole rubiceps, distinguished as follows.

Major: dark brown; antennal scape just attaining the occipital corner; humerus angulate in dorsal-oblique view; occiput in frontal view and ventral half of head in side view smooth and shiny; all of pronotum covered by transverse, “wraparound” carinulae; rugoreticulum on head extends on each side from eye to antennal fossa, posteriorly to halfway between eye and occipital corner, and anteriorly to halfway between eye and anterior border of head. Dorsal and lateral surfaces of head coated with dense, long, subdecumbent yellowish hairs.

Minor: occiput drawn into neck, with nuchal collar; propodeal spines reduced to denticles; anterior strip of pronotal dorsum foveolate and opaque.

MEASUREMENTS (mm) Holotype major: HW 1.06, HL 1.16, SL 0.98, EL 0.20, PW 0.56. Paratype minor: HW 0.52, HL 0.66, SL 0.96, EL 0.14, PW 0.36.

COLOR Major: body dark brown, appendages medium brown.

Minor: body medium brown, appendages light to yellowish brown.



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

Type Material
NICARAGUA: Kukra River, col. Ivette Perfecto.

Etymology
Named after the type locality.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Franco W., N. Ladino, J. H. C. Delabie, A. Dejean, J. Orivel, M. Fichaux, S. Groc, M. Leponce, and R. M. Feitosa. 2019. First checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of French Guiana. Zootaxa 4674(5): 509-543.
 * Galkowski C. 2016. New data on the ants from the Guadeloupe (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Bull. Soc. Linn. Bordeaux 151, 44(1): 25-36.
 * Leponce M., J. H. C. Delabie, J. Orivel, J. Jacquemin, M. Calvo Martin, and A. Dejean. 2019. Tree-dwelling ant survey (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in Mitaraka, French Guiana, in Touroult J. (ed.), “Our Planet Reviewed” 2015 large-scale biotic survey in Mitaraka, French Guiana. Zoosystema 41 (10): 163-179.
 * 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.