Pheidole kusnezovi

Wilson, E. O., 2003, Pheidole in the New World. A dominant, hyperdiverse ant genus., Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press : 311

publication ID

20017

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6274849

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/EF32100E-8D1C-6936-738B-3123AC985E8E

treatment provided by

Donat

scientific name

Pheidole kusnezovi
status

 

Pheidole kusnezovi   HNS , new name

Eriopheidole symbiotica Kusnezov   HNS 1952d ("1951"): 16. Combination with Pheidole   HNS by Brown 1973b: 180, creating an unresolved junior homonym of Pheidole symbiotica Wasmann   HNS 1909a: 515, now resolved with the new name kusnezovi   HNS .

types Inst. Miguel Lillo, Tucuman; Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard.

Etymology Named after N. Kusnezov, Argentinean entomologist who discovered the species.

diagnosis A permanent, workerless social parasite of Pheidole obscurior   HNS . The queen is very small in size, with slender head and large eyes, mostly shiny body surface, subangular petiole in side view, and hexagonal postpetiolar node seen from above. Overall, it has not evolved any of the extreme parasitic traits of other socially parasitic Pheidole   HNS such as acutidens   HNS , argentina   HNS , and elecebra   HNS . measurements (mm) Queen: HW 0.64, HL 0.64, SL 0.78, EL 0.24, PW (not measured).

color Queen: appendages, anterior half of the head, and most of the sides of the mesosoma yellow; rest of head and body a contrasting light brown.

Range Known only from the type locality.

Biology Kusnezov's (1952a) field and laboratory research showed that Pheidole inquilina   HNS is a workerless inquiline of P. obscurior   HNS . He correctly pointed out that the queen represents an early stage of the kind of degenerative anatomy that characterizes ant inquilines in general.

Figure Syntype, queen. ARGENTINA: Parque General San Martin, Entre Rios (N. Kusnezov). Scale bar = 1 mm.

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Hymenoptera

Family

Formicidae

Genus

Pheidole

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