Pheidole traini, Wilson, E. O., 2003

Wilson, E. O., 2003, Pheidole in the New World. A dominant, hyperdiverse ant genus., Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press : 766

Pheidole traini new species

Types Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard.

etymology Named in honor of Russell E. Train, pioneer in the modern movement of global conservation.

diagnosis Similar in various traits to aper , bambusarum , brevicona , dyctiota , laeviventris , lutzi , risii , rugatula , senilis , sigillata , and trachyderma , differing as follows.

Major: yellow to dark reddish brown; head subrectangular, with almost perfectly straight sides in full-face view; occipital cleft deep, and occipital lobes subangular; in side view frontal lobes project well forward as conspicuous lobes; all of posterior half of dorsal head surface except for occipital margin rugoreticulate; pronotal dorsum rugoreticulate; mesonotal dorsum rugulose; most of sides of mesosoma with scattered short rugulae and carinulae; pilosity very dense, and in mesosoma much of it curved to give a woolly appearance; propodeal spines long, stout, and vertical on propodeal dorsal face.

Minor: all of posterior head surface and pronotum and dorsa of mesothorax and propodeum rugoreticulate; occiput narrowed but lacking nuchal collar.

Measurements (mm) Holotype major: HW 1.64, HL 1.80, SL 0.66, EL 0.18, PW 0.96. Paratype minor: HW 0.70, HL 0.70, SL 0.62, EL 0.10, PW 0.50.

Color Major: concolorous medium reddish yellow (types) or dark reddish brown (Costa Rica: San Vito).

Minor: head and mesosoma medium reddish yellow, with waist, gaster, and appendages medium yellow (types) to dark reddish brown (Costa Rica: San Vito).

Range In addition to the type locality, this species has been reported by Longino (1997) in Costa Rica on the southern Pacific slope.

Biology According to Longino (1997), traini occurs in Costa Rica in mature wet forests. Its nesting and feeding habits are unknown.

Figure Upper: holotype, major. Lower: paratype, minor. PANAMA: Cerro Campana (William L. Brown). Scale bars = 1 mm.