Pheidole lancifer, Wilson, E. O., 2003

Wilson, E. O., 2003, Pheidole in the New World. A dominant, hyperdiverse ant genus., Cambridge, MA, USA: Harvard University Press : 202

Pheidole lancifer new species

Types Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard.

etymology L lancifer , spear carrier, referring to the propodeal spines of both castes.

Diagnosis A large, blackish brown member of the diligens group easily distinguished by the following traits.

Major: blackish brown; large; head distinctly broader than long; antenna approaching within 25 its maximum length the occipital comer; space between eye and antennal fossa rugoreticulate; head and body mostly smooth; propodeal spine nearly as long as the basal propodeal space anterior to it.

Minor: very dark brown; propodeal spines in side view as long as the basal propodeal face anterior to them, and from above widely divergent; occiput narrowed, with nuchal collar.

Measurements (mm) Holotype major: HW 1.64, HL 1.56, SL 1.10, EL 0.24, PW 0.82. Paratype minor: HW 0.72, HL 0.82, SL 1.10, EL 0.20, PW 0.48.

color Major: concolorous very dark brown to black, except for tarsi and funiculi, which are light to medium brown. Minor: body and antennal scape very dark, almost blackish brown; remainder of appendages medium brown. Range In addition to the type series, from north of Manaus, I have seen specimens from Carajas, Para, Brazil, and Cuzco Amazonico, near Puerto Maldonado, Madre de Dios (Stefan Cover and John E. Tobin).

biology i raised the type colony from a dealate queen i captured on the floor of lowland rainforest near Manaus; the colony, after growing to contain several hundred workers, produced males. A colony found at Cuzco Amazonico by Cover and Tobin was nesting in a rotten stick in leaf litter on the floor of terra firme forest, and contained males on 12 June.

Figure Upper: holotype, major. Lower: paratype, minor. BRAZIL: Fazenda Esteio, 90 km north of Manaus (E. O. Wilson). Scale bars = 1 mm.