Pheidole lancifera

I raised the type colony from a dealate queen I captured on the floor of lowland rainforest near Manaus; the colony, after growing to contain several hundred workers, produced males. A colony found at Cuzco Amazónico by Cover and Tobin was nesting in a rotten stick in leaf litter on the floor of terra firme forest, and contained males on 12 June. (Wilson 2003)

Identification
See the description in the nomenclature section.

Distribution
From Wilson (2003): In addition to the type series, from north of Manaus, I have seen specimens from Carajás, Pará, Brazil, and Cuzco Amazónico, near Puerto Maldonado, Madre de Dios (Stefan Cover and John E. Tobin).

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

Nomenclature

 *  lancifera. Pheidole lancifer Wilson, 2003: 202, figs. (s.w.) BRAZIL.

Description
A large, blackish brown member of the diligens group easily distinguished by the following traits.

Major: blackish brown; large; head distinctly broader than long; antenna approaching within 2! its maximum length the occipital corner; space between eye and antennal fossa rugoreticulate; head and body mostly smooth; propodeal spine nearly as long as the basal propodeal space anterior to it.

Minor: very dark brown; propodeal spines in side view as long as the basal propodeal face anterior to them, and from above widely divergent; occiput narrowed, with nuchal collar.

MEASUREMENTS (mm) Holotype major: HW 1.64, HL 1.56, SL 1.10, EL 0.24, PW 0.82. Paratype minor: HW 0.72, HL 0.82, SL 1.10, EL 0.20, PW 0.48.

COLOR Major: concolorous very dark brown to black, except for tarsi and funiculi, which are light to medium brown.

Minor: body and antennal scape very dark, almost blackish brown; remainder of appendages medium brown.



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

Type Material
BRAZIL: Fazenda Esteio, 90 km north of Manaus, col. E. O. Wilson.

Etymology
L lancifer, spear carrier, referring to the propodeal spines of both castes.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Bezdeckova K., P. Bedecka, and I. Machar. 2015. A checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Peru. Zootaxa 4020 (1): 101–133.