Pheidole fimbriata Roger

Wilson, E. O., 2003, Pheidole in the New World. A dominant, hyperdiverse ant genus., Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press : 690

Pheidole fimbriata Roger

Pheidole fimbriata Roger 1863a: 196. Syn.: Pheidole diversa F. Smith 1860c: 74, synonymy by Kempf 1965: 183; Pheidole smithii Dalla Torre 1892: 90, unnecessary replacement name for diversa , junior synonym offimbriata; Pheidole fimbriata var. tucumana Forel 1913m: 228, n. syn. (tentative; types not located); Pheidole fimbriata st. tucumana var. loretana Santschi 1934c: 30, unavailable name (quadrinomial).

Types Possibly either Mus. Naturkunde Humboldt-Univ. Berlin, or Paris Museum; not located in this study.

Etymology L fimbriata , fringed, probably alluding to the pilosity on the venter of the waist.

Diagnosis A very large, small-eyed species immediately recognizable in the major by the dense fringe of short, suberect to erect hairs on the petiolar peduncle and entire venters of the petiole and postpetiole; the concave profde of the posterior dorsum of the head in side view; the large, stout propodeal spines; and the spinose postpetiolar node.

Minor: very small eyes, angular humerus in dorsal-oblique view, and with a fringe of short hairs on venter of petiole. Measurements (mm) Major (Benjamin Constant, Brazil): HW 2.60, HL 2.88, SL 1.20, EL 0.20, PW 1.06. Minor (Benjamin Constant): HW 0.84, HL 0.90, SL 0.84, EL 0.06, PW 0.52. Color Major: medium to dark reddish brown. Minor: concolorous brownish yellow.

Range One of the most widespread of all Neotropical ant species, recorded from Veracruz, Mexico, through Central and South America (including Trinidad) to Misiones, northern Argentina.

biology An inhabitant of tropical forests. At La Selva, Costa Rica, Longino (1997) found large numbers of minors and majors foraging at night over the ground from a soil nest. An incipient colony was discovered in a dead stick on the forest floor.

Figure Upper: major. Lower: minor. BRAZIL: Benjamin Constant, Amazonas (W. L. Brown). (Type locality: "Rio Paraguay.") Scale bars = 1 mm.