Pheidole scolioceps

At the type locality, Stefan Cover and John E. Tobin found five colonies in terra firme forest and woodland transitional to seasonally flooded forest, nesting variously in clay soil and, in one instance, a hollow rotten stick on the forest floor. (Wilson 2003)

Identification
See the description in the nomenclature section.

Distribution
From Wilson (2003): Known from the type locality and from the Pirelli Plantation (Iriboca), near Belém, Pará, Brazil, col. P. F. Darlington.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Neotropical Region: Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru.

Nomenclature

 *  scolioceps. Pheidole scolioceps Wilson, 2003: 644, figs. (s.w.) PERU.

Description
DIAGNOSIS A member of the transversostriata group, closest to Pheidole gnomus of Ecuador, distinguished in the major by the broad swath of transverse carinulae covering the posterior third of the head, but unlike those of gnomus, they are less extensive and do not curve downward to the sides; also, the pronotum is completely smooth and shiny and lacks anterior carinulae.

MEASUREMENTS (mm) Holotype major: HW 0.72, HL 0.88, SL 0.40, EL 0.10, PW 0.34. Paratype minor: HW 0.38, HL 0.44, SL 0.40, EL 0.06, PW 0.24.

COLOR Major and minor: concolorous clear medium yellow.



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

Type Material
PERU: Cuzco Amazónico, 15 km northeast of Puerto Maldonado, Madre de Dios, col. Stefan Cover.

Etymology
Gr scolioceps, bent head, alluding to dorsal profile of major.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Fichaux M., B. Bechade, J. Donald, A. Weyna, J. H. C. Delabie, J. Murienne, C. Baraloto, and J. Orivel. 2019. Habitats shape taxonomic and functional composition of Neotropical ant assemblages. Oecologia 189(2): 501-513.
 * 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.
 * Groc S., J. H. C. Delabie, F. Fernandez, F. Petitclerc, B. Corbara, M. Leponce, R. Cereghino, and A. Dejean. 2017. Litter-dwelling ants as bioindicators to gauge the sustainability of small arboreal monocultures embedded in the Amazonian rainforest. Ecological Indicators 82: 43-49.
 * Groc S., J. H. C. Delabie, F. Fernandez, M. Leponce, J. Orivel, R. Silvestre, Heraldo L. Vasconcelos, and A. Dejean. 2013. Leaf-litter ant communities (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in a pristine Guianese rainforest: stable functional structure versus high species turnover. Myrmecological News 19: 43-51.
 * Groc S., J. Orivel, A. Dejean, J. Martin, M. Etienne, B. Corbara, and J. H. C. Delabie. 2009. Baseline study of the leaf-litter ant fauna in a French Guianese forest. Insect Conservation and Diversity 2: 183-193.
 * LaPolla, J.S. and S.P. Cover. 2005. New species of Pheidole (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Guyana, with a list of species known from the country. Tranactions of the American Entomological Society 131(3-4):365-374
 * Lapolla, J. S., and S. P. Cover. "New species of Pheidole (Hymenoptera : Formicidae) from Guyana, with a list of species known from the country." Transactions of the American Entomological Society 131, no. 3-4 (2005): 365-374.
 * Lapolla, J.S., T. Suman, J. Soso-Calvo and T.R. Schultz. 2006. Leaf litter ant diversity in Guyana. Biodiversity and Conservation 16:491510
 * Mertl A. L., J. F. A. Traniello, K. Ryder Wilkie, and R. Constantino. 2012. Associations of two ecologically significant social insect taxa in the litter of an amazonian rainforest: is there a relationship between ant and termite species richness? Psyche doi:10.1155/2012/312054
 * Pires de Prado L., R. M. Feitosa, S. Pinzon Triana, J. A. Munoz Gutierrez, G. X. Rousseau, R. Alves Silva, G. M. Siqueira, C. L. Caldas dos Santos, F. Veras Silva, T. Sanches Ranzani da Silva, A. Casadei-Ferreira, R. Rosa da Silva, and J. Andrade-Silva. 2019. An overview of the ant fauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the state of Maranhao, Brazil. Pap. Avulsos Zool. 59: e20195938.