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Southern Mexico to Panama.
This is a common lowland rainforest species at many sites in Central America. It can be very common at baits.
BOLD records show that specimens from Honduras and Nicaragua cluster tightly. A somewhat diverged sister clade occurs in NW Costa Rica. Images on BOLD suggest that this sister clade would also be identified as P. protensa based on morphology.
Pheidole protensaHNS new species
Types Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard.
Etymology L protensaHNS, stretched out, referring to the somewhat elongate head of the major.
Diagnosis A very small, yellow member of the flavensHNS group, distinguished in the major by an elongated head entirely covered dorsally with longitudinal carinulae, which grow faint and curve inwardly in the posterior third of the head to converge toward and meet at the midline, becoming horizontal near the occiput.
Major: also with broken transverse carinulae on pronotal dorsum; a small but distinct mesonotal convexity; propodeal spines reduced to denticles; and a large propodeal spiracle.
Minor: all of head and mesosoma foveolate and opaque; propodeal spines reduced to denticles. Similar to browniHNS, castaHNS, meraHNS, olsoniHNS, and prolixaHNS, but easily distinguished by the above traits. Measurements (mm) Holotype major: HW 0.60, HL 0.82, SL 0.34, EL 0.10, PW 0.32. Paratype minor: HW 0.38, HL 0.44, SL 0.34, EL 0.06, PW 0.36. Color Major and minor concolorous medium yellow.
Range Known from the type series; from near Cuichapa, Veracruz, 1600 m; and from Tuli Creek, near San Miguel, Nicaragua.
biology In Veracruz, protensaHNS has been found in both lowland rainforest and in montane cafetals, i.e., forest with coffee.
figure Upper: holotype, major. Lower: paratype, minor. MEXICO: Las Hamacas, 17 km north of Santiago Tuxtla, Veracruz (E. O. Wilson). Scale bars = 1 mm.
Found most commonly in these habitats: 258 times found in tropical rainforest, 122 times found in tropical wet forest, 97 times found in lowland rainforest, 67 times found in mature wet forest, 24 times found in montane wet forest, 33 times found in lowland wet forest, 31 times found in 2º lowland rainforest, 30 times found in riparian forest in ravine, 9 times found in lowland tropical rain forest, 23 times found in tropical rainforest, some big trees, ...
Found most commonly in these microhabitats: 521 times at bait, 338 times ex sifted leaf litter, 8 times foragers at cookie bait, 2 times at bait along stream, 1 times at bait nr stream edge, 1 times nest in clay bank, 2 times flight intercept trap, 2 times beating vegetation, 1 times stray foragers, 1 times nest in clay soil, 1 times ground nest, clay bank, ...
Collected most commonly using these methods: 503 times Baiting, 268 times MiniWinkler, 56 times MaxiWinkler, 21 times bait, 9 times hand collecting, 8 times Winkler, 5 times search, 8 times Night MiniWinkler, 2 times FIT, 2 times Beating.
Elevations: collected from 30 - 1980 meters, 430 meters average
Collect Date Range: collected between 2002-07-09 and 2022-01-17
Type specimens: Not Provided: casent0282721, casent0283482, casent0283524
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