Pheidole lokitae Forel, 1913

Katsuyuki Eguchi, Bui Tuan Viet, Emiko Oguri & Seiki Yamane, 2016, The first discovery of the “ Pheidole quadricuspis group ” in the Indo-Chinese Peninsula (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae), Revue suisse de Zoologie 123 (1), pp. 45-55 : 51-53

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.46289
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5684624
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/039B87BC-FFAA-867E-FED9-F8735EDEFC7C
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Pheidole lokitae Forel, 1913
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Treatment

Pheidole lokitae Forel, 1913 View in CoL

Pheidole (Pheidolacanthinus) lokitae Forel, 1913: 46 View in CoL . Pheidole lokitae View in CoL . ‒ Smith, D.R., 1979: 1365.

Type material examined: MNHG; Indonesia, Central Sumatra, Bandar Baroe; v. Buttel-Reepen leg. [9 syntypes (3 majors, 3 minors, 3 queens), type images: CASENT0907766 and CASENT0907767 of AntWeb (http://www.antweb.org/)].

Nontype material examined: ACEG; Malaysia, Sabah, Mahua Waterfall area, ca. 1000 m alt., Crocker Range N. P., K. Eguchi leg. [Eg00-BOR-102]. – ACEG; Indonesia: North Sumatra, Parapat, 900 m alt., Danau Toba, Sk. Yamane leg. [SU02-SKY-95, -96 (Accession No. LC 020541 View Materials : voucher specimen No. Ext20130415- 2)]; W. Sumatra, Padang, Sukarami, F. Ito leg. [FI92-78, FI96-153, -180].

Distinction from P. leloi: In the major, promesonotal dome with a conspicuous transverse ridge on its posterior slope; ventral face of petiole without a longitudinal carina. In the minor, propodeal spine extremely long; petiolar node in lateral view blunt at apex.

Pheidole quadrensis Forel, 1900 View in CoL complex

Pheidole quadrensis Forel, 1900: 25 View in CoL .

Pheidole (Pheidolacanthinus) quadrensis View in CoL . ‒ Forel, 1913: 45.

Type material examined: MHNG; Indonesia, Sumatra, Kajactonam, Sumatra; M. Weber leg.; 1888 [holotype (major), type images: CASENT0907768 of AntWeb (http://www.antweb.org/)].

Nontype material examined: ACEG; Malaysia, E. Malaysia, Sabah, Mahua Waterfall area, ca. 1000 m alt., Crocker Range N. P., K. Eguchi leg. [Eg00-BOR-129 (Accession No.: EF518392.1)], Poring, 450-500 m alt., Kinabalu Park; K. Eguchi leg. [Eg96-BOR-279], Poring, 600 m alt., T. Kikuta leg. [06Q36B5], Poring, 900 m alt., T. Kikuta leg. [512-A; 7IV 0510- 7-1-a]. ‒ ACEG; Sepilok Forest, K. Eguchi [Eg97- BOR-471; Eg98-BOR-870, -876], Tawau Hills N. P., K. Eguchi leg. [Eg96-BOR-034]; Tawau, Gunong Rara, K. Eguchi [Eg96-BOR-328; Eg97-BOR-542, -535, -571], Sarawak, Miri, Lambir N. P., K. Eguchi [Eg98-BOR-806, -822], Bako, F. Ito leg. [FI96-535], Bt. Entimau, 390 m alt., Mahmud leg., 20/iv/1994. ‒ ACEG; Indonesia, W. Sumatra, Padang, Ulu Gaduk, F. Ito leg. [FI97-440], 28/iii/1997 [FI97-499], Lubuk Gadang, Sk. Yamane leg., 21-23/viii/1985; Sitiung, F. Ito leg. [FI93-255]. ‒ ACEG; Brunei, Tutong, Tasek Merimbun, K. Eguchi leg. [Eg99-BOR-052, -535; Eg00-BOR-070], Temburong, Kuala Belalong Field Studies Centre, K. Eguchi [Eg99-BOR-217].

Distinction from P. leloi: In the major, propodeal spine in lateral view broadly based, pointed apically. In the minor, petiolar node in lateral view blunt at apex, and in posterior view not emarginate at apex.

Remarks: Pheidole quadrensis sensu Eguchi (2001) is highly heterogenous in worker morphology and undoubtedly constitutes a species complex. Thus, it needs to be revised based on future intensive sampling in Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula. However, Pheidole leloi is morphologically distinguishable from the complex as mentioned above.

Two minors collected by v. Buttel-Reepen from Maxwell’s Hill, Taiping, Malacca, and labeled as types (CASENT0904266 and CASENT0907769) (see Forel, 1913) were treated as “ syntypes ” of P. quadrensis by the AntWeb. However, the original description ( Forel, 1900) was based on a single major collected by M. Weber from Kajactonam, Sumatra (CASENT0907768). Actually, the two minors seem to be related to P. aristotelis Forel, 1911 (see Eguchi, 2001 for diagnosis of P. aristotelis ).