Pheidole palenquensis ^HNS new species

Types Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard.

Etymology Named after the type locality.

diagnosis Similar in various traits to albipes ^HNS, alticola ^HNS, chalca ^HNS, ebenina ^HNS, euryscopa ^HNS, lustrata ^HNS, hedlundorum ^HNS, monteverdensis ^HNS, and servilia ^HNS, distinguished as follows.

Major: very small; head quadrate; dorsal occiput covered by broken, irregular rugulae, rest of dorsal head surface carinulate except for frontal triangle and midclypeus, which are smooth; all of body foveolate and opaque except gaster, which is smooth and shiny; antennal scapes moderately long, their tips touching lateral margins of the head midway between level of eyes and level of occiput; propodeal spines curved backward ("melted" in appearance).

Minor: eye oval, set well forward on head; promesonotal profde in side view perfectly semicircular; propodeal spines curved or straight; carinulae limited to antennal fossae, and all of head and mesosoma foveolate and opaque.

Measurements (mm) Holotype major: HW 0.66, HL 0.66, SL 0.40, EL 0.06, PW 0.34.

Paratype minor: HW 0.42, HL 0.44, SL 0.42, EL 0.08, PW 0.26.

Color Major: body dark reddish yellow, appendages medium yellow.

Minor: body light brownish yellow, appendages medium yellow.

Range Known only from the type locality.

biology The type series was collected in forest.

figure Upper: holotype, major. Lower: paratypes, minor. ECUADOR: Rio Palenque Station, 47 km south of Santo Domingo de los Colorados, Pichincha, 215 m (Stewart b. and Jarmila Kukalova-Peck). Scale bars = 1 mm.