Pheidole in the New World. A dominant, hyperdiverse ant genus.
Wilson, E. O.
urn:lsid:biosci.ohio-state.edu:osuc_concepts:181831
Insecta
Formicidae
Pheidole
CoL
Animalia
Pheidole valens Wilson
Pheidole valens Wilson
Hymenoptera
359
Arthropoda
species
valens
Etymology L valens, strong, vigorous.
diagnosis A member of the fallaxgroup with similarities to fallax, jelskii, obscurithorax, puttemansi, and roushae, distinguished as follows.
Major: head quadrate; almost all of anterior two-thirds of dorsal surface of head (except frontal triangle, antennal fossae, and clypeus) rugoreticulate, and posterior third foveolate; anterior half of pronotal dorsum rugoreticulate; antennal scape near base slightly broader than near tip; pronotum weakly bilobous in dorsal-oblique view; metanotum convex in side view; petiole thick in side view, but the apex of its node tapering almost to a point; median strip of entire first gastral tergite shagreened and opaque. Minor: all of head, mesosoma, and waist foveolate and opaque; anterior half of median strip shagreened. measurements (mm) Holotype major: HW 1.70, HL 1.80, SL 1.02, EL 0.26, PW 0.92. Paratype minor: HW 0.66, HL 0.84, SL 1.04, EL 0.18, PW 0.54. Color Major: head, mesosoma, and petiole medium reddish brown; postpetiole and gaster dark reddish brown. Minor: body medium reddish brown except for gaster, which is dark reddish brown; appendages light reddish brown.
Range Known only from the type locality.
biology The type colony was found in a soil nest whose entrance hole was surrounded by pebbles, in a cerrado-like secondary thicket.
figure Upper: holotype, major. Lower: paratype, minor. BRAZIL: Mpio. Livramento, Mato Grosso (James C. Trager). Scale bars = 1 mm.