Pheidole tanyscapa

From Wilson (2003): Nests in soil in mature rainforest; workers forage on the ground and into low vegetation, at least to some extent nocturnally (Longino 1997). One colony at La Selva was nesting in the soil (M. Byrne).

Identification
See the description in the nomenclature section.

Distribution
Atlantic and Pacific slopes of Costa Rica to 800 m (Longino 1997).

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Neotropical Region: Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama.

Nomenclature

 *  tanyscapa. Pheidole tanyscapa Wilson, 2003: 237, figs. (s.w.) COSTA RICA.

Description
A member of the diligens group, close to Pheidole longiscapa and Pheidole rochai, and distinguished by the following set of traits.

Major: antennal scape exceeding the occiput by 2! the scape maximum width; propodeal spines half as long as the propodeal basal face anterior to them; anterior margin of propodeum rugulose; carinulae absent from genae.

Minor: scapes exceed occipital corner by half their length; propodeal spines half as long as the basal propodeal face; anterior margin of the pronotum transversely carinulate; mesonotal convexity tilted forward on mesonotum, subangular, and marginally carinulate.

MEASUREMENTS (mm) Holotype major: HW 1.00, HL 1.02, SL 0.96, EL 0.20, PW 0.54. Paratype minor: HW 0.60, HL 0.74, SL 1.10, EL 0.16, PW 0.46.

COLOR Major and minor: concolorous dark yellow.



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

Type Material
COSTA RICA: La Selva Biological Station, near Puerto Viejo, Heredia, col. E. O. Wilson.

Etymology
Gr tanyscapa, with stretched-out stem, alluding to the elongated antennal scape.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Fernández, F. and S. Sendoya. 2004. Lista de las hormigas neotropicales. Biota Colombiana Volume 5, Number 1.
 * Longino J. T. 2013. Ants of Nicargua. Consulted on 18 Jan 2013. https://sites.google.com/site/longinollama/reports/ants-of-nicaragua
 * 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.
 * Longino J. T., J. Coddington, and R. K. Colwell. 2002. The ant fauna of a tropical rain forest: estimating species richness three different ways. Ecology 83: 689-702.
 * Longino J. T., and R. K. Colwell. 2011. Density compensation, species composition, and richness of ants on a neotropical elevational gradient. Ecosphere 2(3): 16pp.
 * Longino J. et al. ADMAC project. Accessed on March 24th 2017 at https://sites.google.com/site/admacsite/