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Pheidole prattorumHNS new species

types Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard.

Etymology Named in honor of Joe d. Pratt, ardent and effective supporter of biodiversity studies, and his family.

diagnosis Similar in various traits to balzaniHNS, brunnescensHNS, exarataHNS, excubitorHNS, fabricatorHNS, germainiHNS, hispaniolaeHNS, nigellaHNS, sabinaHNS, sarpedonHNS, tristisHNS, tristopsHNS, and unicornisHNS, distinguished as follows.

Major: reddish yellow; posterior third of head dorsum mostly smooth; carinulae cover most of anterior two-thirds of head dorsum, their posterior ends aligned in an even semicircle transversely across the head; in dorsal-oblique view, humerus raised slightly as a broad lobe; mesonotal convexity almost completely suppressed; short, thin propodeal spines vertical on propodeal basal face, in side view tilted slightly forward; postpetiole from above diamond-shaped; anterior and lateral margins of pronotal dorsum carinulate, and almost all the rest of mesosoma smooth and shiny.

Minor: head and body almost completely smooth and shiny; occiput broad, lacking a nuchal collar; propodeal spine reduced to denticle, or absent.

Measurements (mm) Holotype major: HW 1.22, HL 1.34, SL 0.60, EL 0.14, PW 0.64. Paratype minor: HW 0.54, HL 0.56, SL 0.54, EL 0.06, PW 0.34. Color Major: concolorous reddish yellow. Minor: concolorous plain medium yellow.

Range Known only from the type colony and three others collected by John T. Longino (1997) and Leeanne Tennant at the La Selva Biological Station in northeastern Costa Rica.

biology One of the colonies of prattorumHNS was found by Longino in mature lowland rainforest beneath an epiphyte mat in an old treefall.

figure Upper: holotype, major. Lower: paratype, minor. COSTA RICA: La Selva Biological Station, near Puerto Viejo, Heredia (Leeanne Tennant-Alonso). Scale bars = 1 mm.