Pheidole striaticeps

Wilson, E. O., 2003, Pheidole in the New World. A dominant, hyperdiverse ant genus., Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press : 512

Pheidole striaticeps Mayr

Pheidole striaticeps Mayr 1870b: 987.

Types Naturhist. Mus. Wien.

Etymology L striaticeps , lined (striate) head.

Diagnosis A member of the flavens group close to chloe , less so to the other species listed in the heading, distinguished as follows. Major: antennal scrobes present; entire dorsal surface of head covered by longitudinal carinulae, which curve inwardly toward midline at occiput; humerus prominent and rounded in dorsal-oblique view; mesonotal convexity present, especially in dorsal-oblique view; head wider than long (Head Width/Head Length 1.03); pronotum transversely carinulate. Minor: carinulae absent from around thorax-propodeal suture.

Measurements (mm) Lectotype major: HW 1.06, HL 1.02, SL 0.56, EL 0.12, PW 0.50. Paralectotype minor: HW 0.62, HL 0.62, SL 0.56, EL 0.08, PW 0.42. Color Major: concolorous light reddish brown. Minor: concolorous light reddish brown.

Range Mexico (almost certainly tropical Mexico), Honduras, Costa Rica, and Amazonian Peru. Longino (1997) does not distinguish this species from chloe , although the two are different. He reports " striaticeps , " which may include both species, from the Atlantic slope to 500 m and Pacific lowlands of Costa Rica.

Biology Longino (1997) reports " striaticeps , " which may include both true striaticeps and chloe , from mature rainforest, nesting under the bark of rotting stumps and logs. At Cuzco Amazonico, near Puerto Maldonado, Stefan Cover and John E. Tobin found a colony in a gap within mature rainforest, beneath the bark of a rotten but still hard log.

Figure Upper: lectotype, major. Lower: paralectotype, minor. MEXICO. Scale bars = 1 mm.