Pheidole guayasana ^HNS new species

Types Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard.

Etymology Named based on the Ecuadoran province of the type locality.

diagnosis Similar in various characters to fullerae ^HNS, gauthieri ^HNS, hetschkoi ^HNS, heyeri ^HNS, napoensis ^HNS, pidax ^HNS, rosae ^HNS, rosula ^HNS, and especially securiger ^HNS, differing as follows.

Major: brown; frontal lobes extended forward as conspicuous right-angular processes, seen from the side; antennal scrobes present, each followed posteriorly by a patch of rugoreticulum; a very small patch of rugoreticulum present on edge of antennal fossa; occipital lobes in full-face view smoothly rounded; posterior half of pronotal profile flat in dorsal-oblique view; mesonotum and dorsal propodeal face almost entirely free of carinulae; postpetiole spinose.

Minor: propodeal spines reduced to denticles; occiput narrow, with very thin nuchal collar; carinulae on promesonotum mostly limited to anterior and posterior margins; carinulae on head mostly limited to posterior fourth of dorsal head surface. Measurements (mm) Holotype major: HW 1.52, HL 1.64, SL 0.68, EL 0.14, PW 0.74. Paratype minor: HW 0.56, HL 0.60, SL 0.70, EL 0.08, PW 0.38.

color Major: gaster plain dark brown; rest of body, and mandibles, medium reddish brown; other appendages plain dark yellow. Minor: body plain light brown, appendages dark yellow.

Range Known only from Bucay and Rio Palenque, Ecuador.

Biology The type series was collected from a forest at the base of a mountain, and the nest contained seeds. Winged queens were present in the Rio Palenque nest when found by G. J. Umphrey on 28 July.

figure Upper: holotype, major. Lower: paratype, minor. ECUADOR: 3 km southwest of Bucay, Guayas (William L. Brown). Scale bars = 1 mm.