Pheidole browni, Wilson, E. O., 2003
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publication ID |
20017 |
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DOI |
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6276085 |
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persistent identifier |
https://treatment.plazi.org/id/09DF2B29-755F-4BB2-F12A-3EEB43302E0A |
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treatment provided by |
Donat |
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scientific name |
Pheidole browni |
| status |
new species |
Pheidole browni HNS new species
Types Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard.
Etymology Named in memory of William L. Brown, pioneering systematist of the world ant fauna.
diagnosis A small, light reddish (major) or dark yellow (minor) member of the flavens HNS group.
Major: distinguished by an elongated head, shallow antennal scrobes, 3-lobed promesonotum in dorsal-oblique view, large propodeal spines, and foveolate and opaque dorsal head surface.
Minor: propodeal spines long and thin; humerus in dorsal-oblique view toothed; dorsal head surface foveolate and opaque; eyes very large, anteriorly tapered.
Similar to casta HNS , mera HNS , olsoni HNS , prolixa HNS , and protensa HNS , but easily distinguished by the traits listed above.
Measurements (mm) Holotype major: HW 0.64, HL 0.76, SL 0.34, EL 0.12, PW 0.40.
Paratype minor: HW 0.36, HL 0.38, SL 0.32, EL 0.10, PW 0.26.
color Major: concolorous light reddish yellow, with only a slight tinge of red.
Minor: concolorous dark yellow.
Range Atlantic slope of Costa Rica up to 1100 m (J. T. Longino 1997).
biology Longino (1997) reports that browni HNS nests in soil or in dead wood on the ground in wet forest. The species is captured frequently in Winkler samples. Longino observed a raid on a colony by Simopelta HNS in the Braulio Carillo National Park at 1100 m elevation, in dense second-growth forest along a stream bank. Stefan Cover (personal communication) located five colonies in primary and secondary lowland rainforest at the type locality, nesting on the forest floor in rotten sticks and, in a single case, a rotten nut husk. Some of the colonies were spread over more than one nest site, and four of the five nests contained seed caches. Winged queens were present in nests at La Selva in March.
Figure Upper: holotype, major. Lower: paratype, minor. COSTA RICA: La Selva Biological Station, near Puerto Viejo, Heredia (Stefan Cover). Scale bars = 1 mm.
No known copyright restrictions apply. See Agosti, D., Egloff, W., 2009. Taxonomic information exchange and copyright: the Plazi approach. BMC Research Notes 2009, 2:53 for further explanation.