Pheidole specularis, Wilson, E. O., 2003

Wilson, E. O., 2003, Pheidole in the New World. A dominant, hyperdiverse ant genus., Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press : 510

Pheidole specularis new species

Types Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard.

Etymology L specularis , of a mirror, alluding to the shiny gaster.

diagnosis Similar to chalca , daphne , floridana , nebulosa , quercicola , and stomachosa , differing as follows.

Major: mostly reddish yellow; head in full-face view subrectangular; posterior dorsal profile of head flat, not convex; premesonotal profile raised, semicircular; humeri from above subangular, extending beyond rest of pronotum below and only moderately prominent, along with mesonotal convexity in dorsal-oblique view; propodeal spines robust, more than half as long as the propodeal basal face anterior to them; all of mesosoma and most of dorsal surface of head foveolate and opaque; gaster completely smooth.

Minor: head subrectangular in side view; occiput broad and slightly concave; propodeal spines robust and half as long as propodeal basal face; all of head, mesosoma, and gaster foveolate and opaque; gaster completely smooth and shiny.

Measurements (mm) Holotype major: HW 0.82, HL 0.88, SL 0.40, EL 0.10, PW 0.44.

Paratype minor: HW 0.44, HL 0.46, SL 0.36, EL 0.10, PW 0.30.

Color Major: all of body and appendages medium reddish yellow except for gaster, which is brownish yellow. Minor: body and mandibles medium reddish yellow, rest of appendages clear medium yellow.

Range Atlantic slope to 1200 m and Pacific lowlands, Costa Rica (j. T. Longino 1997).

biology The species occurs in both lowland and montane rainforest, where the colonies nest both in dead wood on the forest floor and in live plant cavities and under epiphytes; workers have been observed attending extrafloral nectarines (Longino 1997).

Figure Upper: holotype, major. Lower: paratype, minor. COSTA RICA: Arboretum, La Selva Biological Station, near Puerto Viejo, Heredia (Stefan Cover). Scale bars = 1 mm.