Pheidole obtusopilosa

A collection of obtusopilosa was made by William L. Brown at the Boraceia Biological Station, near Salesópolis, São Paulo, in wet mountain forest at 850 m. (Wilson 2003)

Identification
See the description in the nomenclature section.

Distribution
Recorded from Uruguay; and, in Argentina, the northern and central provinces of Buenos Aires, Córdoba, Jujuy, La Pampa, and Tucumán (Kempf 1972b). I have confirmed a series from São Paulo. (Wilson 2003)

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Neotropical Region: Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay.

Biology
Kempf (1974) reported that Oxyepoecus bruchi were collected with P. obtusopilosa in Alta Gracia and La Granja, Córdoba, Argentina.

Nomenclature

 *  obtusopilosa. Pheidole obtusopilosa Mayr, 1887: 586 (s.), 602 (w.) URUGUAY. Santschi, 1917f: 278 (m.); Santschi, 1926d: 7 (q.). See also: Wilson, 2003: 477.

Description
From Wilson (2003): DIAGNOSIS Similar to Pheidole heterothrix, distinguished from it and other Pheidole species by the following combination of traits.

Major: entire dorsal surface of head rugoreticulate except for frontal lobes, frontal triangle, clypeus, and anterior genae; humeri rugoreticulate; anterior margin of pronotal dorsum carinulate; all of mesosoma and waist foveolate; postpetiole from above elliptical.

Minor: almost all of body except gaster foveolate and opaque; humeri subangulate; propodeal spines moderately long and slender; occipital margin concave; nuchal collar absent.

MEASUREMENTS (mm) Lectotype major: HW 1.16, HL 1.18, SL 0.54, EL 0.14, PW 0.60. Paralectotype minor: HW 0.56, HL 0.58, SL 0.50, EL 0.10, PW 0.36.

COLOR Major: body light reddish brown except for gaster, which is plain medium brown.



'''Figure. Upper: lectotype, major. Lower: paralectotype, minor. Scale bars = 1 mm.'''

Type Material
URUGUAY - as reported in Wilson (2003)

Etymology
L obtusopilosa, blunt-haired, allusion uncertain. (Wilson 2003)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Drose W., L. R. Podgaiski, C. Fagundes Dias, M. de Souza Mendonca. 2019. Local and regional drivers of ant communities in forest-grassland ecotones in South Brazil: A taxonomic and phylogenetic approach. Plos ONE 14(4): e0215310.
 * Fernández, F. and S. Sendoya. 2004. Lista de las hormigas neotropicales. Biota Colombiana Volume 5, Number 1.
 * Kempf, W.W. 1972. Catalago abreviado das formigas da regiao Neotropical (Hym. Formicidae) Studia Entomologica 15(1-4).
 * Kusnezov N. 1952. El género Pheidole en la Argentina (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Acta Zoologica Lilloana 12: 5-88.
 * Kusnezov N. 1978. Hormigas argentinas: clave para su identificación. Miscelánea. Instituto Miguel Lillo 61:1-147 + 28 pl.
 * Osorio Rosado J. L, M. G. de Goncalves, W. Drose, E. J. Ely e Silva, R. F. Kruger, and A. Enimar Loeck. 2013. Effect of climatic variables and vine crops on the epigeic ant fauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the Campanha region, state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. J Insect Conserv 17: 1113-1123.
 * Pignalberi C. T. 1961. Contribución al conocimiento de los formícidos de la provincia de Santa Fé. Pp. 165-173 in: Comisión Investigación Científica; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (Argentina) 1961. Actas y trabajos del primer Congreso Sudamericano de Zoología (La Plata, 12-24 octubre 1959). Tomo III. Buenos Aires: Librart, 276 pp.
 * Santschi F. 1916. Formicides sudaméricains nouveaux ou peu connus. Physis (Buenos Aires). 2: 365-399.
 * Vittar, F. 2008. Hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) de la Mesopotamia Argentina. INSUGEO Miscelania 17(2):447-466
 * Vittar, F., and F. Cuezzo. "Hormigas (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) de la provincia de Santa Fe, Argentina." Revista de la Sociedad Entomológica Argentina (versión On-line ISSN 1851-7471) 67, no. 1-2 (2008).
 * Zolessi L. C. de, Y. P. Abenante, and M. E. de Philippi. 1988. Lista sistematica de las especies de Formicidos del Uruguay. Comun. Zool. Mus. Hist. Nat. Montev. 11: 1-9.
 * de Zolessi, L.C., Y.P. de Abenante and M.E. Philippi. 1987. Lista sistemática de las especies de formícidos del Uruguay. Comunicaciones Zoologicas del Museo de Historia Natural de Montevideo 11(165):1-9
 * de Zolessi, L.C., Y.P. de Abenante and M.E. Phillipi. 1989. Catalago Systematico de las Especies de Formicidos del Uruguay (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Oficina Regional de Ciencia y Technologia de la Unesco para America Latina y el Caribe- ORCYT. Montevideo, Uruguay