Pheidole oliveirai, Wilson, E. O., 2003

Wilson, E. O., 2003, Pheidole in the New World. A dominant, hyperdiverse ant genus., Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press : 332

Pheidole oliveirai new species

types Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard.

Etymology Named after Paulo S. Oliveira, distinguished Brazilian myrmecologist and ecologist.

Diagnosis A member of the fallax group, similar to galba and huacana, differing as follows.

Major: brown; rugoreticulum on head limited to space between eye and antennal fossa on each side, preceded anteriorly by longitudinal carinulae and posteriorly by rugulae that travel from the frontal lobes to the side of the head; rear half of ventral side of head smooth; nadir of occipital concavity moderate; propodeal spines reduced to denticles; vertex smooth. Minor: propodeal spines reduced to denticles; occiput narrow, with nuchal collar. Measurements (mm) Holotype major: HW 1.38, HL 1.54, SL 0.94, EL 0.22, PW 0.66. Paratype minor: HW 0.60, HL 0.74, SL 0.86, EL 0.14, PW 0.40.

color Major: body light brown except for anterior fourth of head capsule, which is brownish yellow, and gaster, which is dark brown.

Minor: body light brown, appendages light brown, tending toward yellowish brown.

Range Known from the type locality; and from near Villavicencio, Meta; and from Mocoa, Putumayo, 610 m (Charles Kugler). The record of P. oliveirai recorded by Fernandes et al. (1994) from San Antonio de Posse, Sao Paulo, is in error, due to my own misidentification. The species they studied is actually P. oxyops , a member of the diligens group (q.v.).

Biology The Cundinamarca and Meta series were collected from steep forested slopes.

Figure Upper: holotype, major. Lower: paratype, minor. COLOMBIA: Bogota-Villavicencio Highway, Km 79, Cundinamarca (W. L. Brown and i. de Polonia). Scale bars = 1 mm.