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Species: Pheidole beloceps   Wilson, 2003 

Classification:
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Taxonomic History (provided by Barry Bolton, 2021)

Pheidole beloceps Wilson, 2003a: 376, figs. (s.w.) COSTA RICA. Neotropic. AntCat AntWiki HOL
// Distribution

Distribution:

  Geographic regions (According to curated Geolocale/Taxon lists):
    Americas: Costa Rica, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua
  Biogeographic regions (According to curated Bioregion/Taxon lists):
    Neotropical

Distribution Notes:

Nicaragua, Costa Rica.

Biology:

This species occurs in lowland wet forest. At La Selva, it is common in Winkler and Berlese samples, and it occasionally comes to baits. On the Barva transect it is known to 500 m elevation but not above. It also occurs on the Pacific slope below Monteverde, and there is one collection from 500 m elevation in Carara. It was moderately abundant at Cerro Musun in Nicaragua, but has not been collected north of there, nor at Hitoy Cerere or anywhere further south. Brian Fisher and Flavia Esteves found a nest in soil below Monteverde.

Comments:

Note by Longino, 6 Nov 2013: I re-evaluated my concept of P. beloceps. DNA barcoding puts Costa Rican (La Selva) and Nicaraguan specimens in different clusters. The Nicaraguan specimens have the major worker with larger, more rectangular head, with vertex lobes smooth and shiny. This form occurs elsewhere in Nicaragua, Honduras, and Chiapas, Mexico, but so far there are no Guatemala records. The minors are indistinguishable from Costa Rican beloceps. I put this northern form in the morphospecies JTL225. Among the mounted material, the only site where both species occurred was Cerro Musún in southern Nicaragua. Pheidole beloceps was in the miniWinkler transects at 700-800m elevation; Pheidole JTL225 was in higher elevation maxiWinklers, 1000-1400m. In the database, I reidentified all material north of Musún as JTL225, including material in etoh that I did not re-examine. For Musún, I identified all material below 800m as P. beloceps; all material above as JTL225. Ethanol material should be re-examined, although minors cannot be separated at this point.

Taxonomic Treatment (provided by Plazi)

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

Pheidole belocepsHNS new species

types Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard.

etymology Gr belocepsHNS, arrow-headed, referring to the elongate and vertically thin head capsule.

diagnosis A small, yellow species whose major has an elongated head, the dorsal surface of which, with the exception of the midclypeus and frontal triangle, is completely foveolate and opaque; the rest of the cephalic sculpturing comprising longitudinal carinulae confined to the anterior half of the capsule; antennal scrobe absent; thick long, vertical propodeal spines are present, thin tips turning slightly forward in side view; small, subangulate mesonotal convexity present, and postpetiolar node conulate. Similar to charazanaHNS, longinoiHNS, neolongicepsHNS, and prolixaHNS, but differing from each in various combinations of the above traits, and other traits, as illustrated.

Measurements (mm) Holotype major: HW 0.74, HL 0.96, SL 0.30, EL 0.06, PW 0.42. Paratype minor: HW 0.40, HL 0.48, SL 0.36, EL 0.04, PW 0.26. color Major: body dark yellow, appendages medium yellow. Minor: concolorous medium yellow.

Range Costa Rica.

Biology Found in leaf litter of lowland rainforest; workers were attracted to baits (Longino 1997).

figure Upper: holotype, major. Lower: paratype, minor. COSTA RICA: 4 km east of Turrialba, Cartago, 550 m (J. T. Longino). Scale bars = 1 mm.

Specimen Habitat Summary

Found most commonly in these habitats: 224 times found in mature wet forest, 16 times found in tropical wet forest, 14 times found in lowland rainforest, 11 times found in montane wet forest, 1 times found in Puesto5,36G,10m., 4 times found in cloud forest, primary, near ridgetop, 1 times found in Puesto2, 145G,10m., 1 times found in Trampa5,289G. 10m., 1 times found in wet forest, 1 times found in montane rainforest edge, ...

Found most commonly in these microhabitats: 244 times ex sifted leaf litter, 18 times Hojarasca, 1 times litter/soil core, 1 times ex soil, 1 times Bosque Primario, Suelo, 2 times at bait, 1 times ex sifted litter, 1 times SCH, 1 times Primary forest, 1 times One of the ALAS berlese samples., 1 times Malaise trap, ...

Collected most commonly using these methods: 241 times miniWinkler, 24 times Mini Winkler, 8 times Berlese, 9 times Winkler, 3 times baiting, 2 times Malaise, 1 times flight intercept trap, 1 times Lure/Bait, 1 times maxiWinkler.

Elevations: collected from 50 - 1245 meters, 185 meters average

Collect Date Range: collected between 1987-05-13 and 2018-01-05

Type specimens: holotype major Pheidole beloceps: inbiocri001282094; Paratype Pheidole beloceps: casent0625437, casent0625438; paratype Pheidole beloceps: inbiocri001243000, inbiocri001268544, inbiocri001270454, inbiocri001270969, inbiocri001270970, inbiocri001270971, inbiocri001271022, inbiocri001274755



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