Current View: All Antweb

Cite this page

View in AntCat

Taxonomic History (provided by Barry Bolton, 2017)

Distribution:

(based on species list records)
Neotropical Region: Americas, Aragua, Argentina, Atlántida, Barbados, Brazil, Central America, Chiapas, Chontales, Colombia, Costa Caribe Norte, Costa Caribe Sur, Costa Rica, Darién, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Estelí, Francisco Morazán, Gracias a Dios, Granada, Guanacaste, Guatemala, Heredia, Honduras, Islas de la Bahía, Izabal, La Libertad, La Paz, Limón, Magdalena, Masaya, Matagalpa, Mexico, Nicaragua, Oaxaca, Olancho, Panama, Paraguay, Petén, Presidente Hayes, Puerto Rico, Puntarenas, Retalhuleu, Rio Grande do Sul, Rio de Janeiro, San José, San Salvador, South America, Trinidad and Tobago, Usulután, Venezuela, Veracruz

Distribution Notes:

Mexico south to Colombia, Venezuela, Trinidad, Puerto Rico.

Biology:

This species occurs in various habitats, including highly disturbed areas (city parks), seasonal dry forest, mature lowland rainforest, and second growth rainforest. It can occur on the ground or in the canopy. Workers readily recruit to baits, and major workers often recruit along with minor workers. Nests are in small cavities and appear to be somewhat opportunistically inhabited.

Comments:

Although Wilson (2003) illustrated a "Lectotype major worker," no lectotype label was found among the type material of P. susannae at MHNG.

The syntypes of P. susannae and P. obscurior are very similar in all respects but color. The syntypes of P. susannae are yellow; those of P. obscurior are dark brown. The key in Wilson separates the species on relative scape length in the major, with P. obscurior purported to have relatively longer scapes. However, measurements of the types reveal that the lectotype of P. obscurior has a SI that is actually lower than that of syntypes of P. susannae.

Pheidole susannae is a relatively common species found in disturbed habitats throughout the Neotropics. It appears quite uniform in morphology across its range. Most specimens are dark red brown. The types from Guatemala and a few collections from El Salvador and Nicaragua are yellow.

Taxonomic Treatment (provided by Plazi)

Specimen Habitat Summary

Found most commonly in these habitats: 54 times found in tropical rainforest, 22 times found in lowland wet forest, 21 times found in 2º lowland rainforest, 15 times found in 2º wet forest, 10 times found in tropical wet forest, 14 times found in tropical moist forest, 6 times found in tropical dry forest, 5 times found in old cacao plantation, 4 times found in 2nd growth forest, 3 times found in 2nd growth dry forest, ...

Found most commonly in these microhabitats: 120 times at bait, 43 times ex sifted leaf litter, 6 times beating vegetation, 3 times at bait on ground, 1 times on trail, 1 times nest in clay bank, 2 times at baits, 1 times nest in dead wood, 3 times foragers, 1 times Arboretum. Night collecting. Nest under barkflap and in abandoned termite galler, 1 times strays, ...

Collected most commonly using these methods: 115 times Baiting, 23 times search, 23 times MiniWinkler, 11 times Winkler, 12 times MaxiWinkler, 8 times bait, 6 times Fogging, 6 times Beating, 2 times Berlese, 1 times pan trap, 1 times Sweeping, ...

Elevations: collected from 5 - 1480 meters, 255 meters average

Type specimens: Lectotype of Pheidole partita: casent0916067; Lectotype of Pheidole susannae obscurior: jtlc000015316; paralectotype of Pheidole partita: casent0919784; paralectotype of Pheidole susannae obscurior: jtlc000015317; syntype of Pheidole susannae: jtlc000015334, jtlc000015335; syntype of Pheidole susannae atricolor: casent0901591, casent0901592; syntype of Pheidole incisa evoluta: casent0913456, casent0913457; syntype of Pheidole susannae atricolor: jtlc000015332, jtlc000015333; type of Pheidole susannae: focol0620; type of Pheidole susannae r. atricolor: focol0241-1, focol0241-2, focol0241-3, focol0241-4; Type of unavailable quadrinomial: Pheidole susannae atricolor fortunata: casent0908122, casent0908123

See something amiss? Send us an email.

AntWeb is hosted and supported by the California Academy of Sciences.