Pheidole hispaniolae ^HNS new species

Types Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard.

Etymology Named after the Greater Antillean island of origin.

diagnosis Similar in various traits to balzani ^HNS, brunnescens ^HNS, exarata ^HNS, excubitor ^HNS, fabricator ^HNS, germaini ^HNS, nigella ^HNS, prattorum ^HNS, sabina ^HNS, sarpedon ^HNS, tristis ^HNS, tristops ^HNS, and unicornis ^HNS, differing as follows.

Major: head subquadrate, with gently convex sides and deep occipital cleft; promesonotal profile flat; propodeal spines thin, almost needle-like; petiolar node in side view tapered to a blunt point; postpetiolar node 2X broader than petiolar node in dorsal view, and cone-shaped; posterior third of dorsal head surface smooth and mostly shiny, sprinkled with widely spaced foveae; no rugoreticulum present anywhere; promesonotum carinulate.

Minor: occiput broad, lacking nuchal collar; humeri dentate; promesonotal profile smoothly semicircular; promesonotum partially carinulate; most of body smooth and shiny.

Measurements (mm) Holotype major: HW 1.64, HL 1.86, SL 0.86, EL 0.20, PW 0.78. Paratype minor: HW 0.66, HL 0.74, SL 0.78, EL 0.14, PW 0.46.

color Major: body light reddish brown, mandibles medium reddish brown, legs plain medium yellow. Minor: light to medium brownish yellow, legs plain medium yellow.

range Known from the type locality and other sites at 1100-1500 m in the Dominican Republic.

Biology The type colony was found in a rotting log in second-growth mountain rainforest. Other colonies were found in pine and mixed pine-hardwood forests. One nest contained males when discovered in April.

Figure Upper: holotype, major. Lower: paratype, minor. DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: 14 km northwest of Bonao, 19°02N 70°30'W, 1100 m (Philip S. Ward). Scale bars = 1 mm.