Species: Pheidole gilva

Current Valid Name:

Taxonomic History (provided by Barry Bolton, 2023)

Pheidole gilva Wilson, 2003a: 427, figs. (s.w.) PERU. Neotropic. Primary type information: Primary type material: holotype major worker. Primary type locality: Peru: Madre de Dios, Cuzco Amazónico, 15 km. NE Puerto Maldonado (S. Cover & J.E. Tobin). Primary type depository: MCZC. Secondary type information: Secondary type material: 1 paratype minor worker. Secondary type locality: same as for holotype. Secondary type depository: MCZC. Type notes: Details of paratype castes and their numbers are not given. AntCat AntWiki HOL

Taxonomic history

Status as species: Bezděčková et al., 2015 PDF: 119.

// Distribution

Distribution:

  Geographic regions (According to curated Geolocale/Taxon lists):
    Americas: Ecuador, French Guiana, Peru
  Biogeographic regions (According to curated Bioregion/Taxon lists):
    Neotropical

Comments:

J. Longino, 26 Apr 2014: Pheidole caltrop (Panama), P. floricola (Costa Rica to Honduras), P. gilva (Peru), and P. pilispina (Panama) are very similar. The P. pilispina and P. gilva type major workers have head shape and HW intermediate between P. caltrop and P. floricola. Minor workers of P. caltrop, P. gilva, and P. pilispina look indistinguishable to me. Minor workers of P. floricola have a mix of foveolate and shiny sculpture on the face; the other three are uniformly foveolate. Pheidole floricola is an arboreal species, and I suspect P. gilva, P. pilispina, and P. caltrop are as well. There is no evidence of sympatry among any of these forms.

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 gilvaHNS new species

Types Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard.

Etymology L gilvaHNS, pale yellow, alluding to color of minor.

diagnosis Similar in various traits to the species listed in the heading above, differing as follows.

Major: yellow; humeri in dorsal-oblique view are a "sharkfin" shape, pointing forward, and from above extend just beyond the margins of the pronotum below; propodeal spines more than half as long as the propodeal basal face preceding them; postpetiole from above diamond-shaped; rugoreticulum fills space between each eye and adjacent antennal fossa, and rest of dorsal head surface mostly carinulate; most of dorsal head surface and all of mesosoma foveolate.

Minor: humeri acute-angular, each bearing a long seta at the tip; occiput narrowed, with a nuchal collar; all of head, mesosoma, and waist foveolate.

Measurements (mm) Holotype major: HW 1.12, HL 1.10, SL 0.64, EL 0.14, PW 0.56.

Paratype minor: HW 0.56, HL 0.62, SL 0.62, EL 0.08, PW 0.38.

color Major: concolorous medium yellow.

Minor: concolorous pale yellow.

Range Known only from the type locality.

biology The type colony was found in mature terra firme rainforest, nesting in a 8-cm-wide dead branch 3 m from the ground.

figure Upper: holotype, major. Lower: paratype, minor. PERU: Cuzco Amazonico, 15 km northeast of Puerto Maldonado, Madre de Dios (Stefan Cover and John E. Tobin). Scale bar = 1 mm.

Specimen Habitat Summary

Found most commonly in these habitats: 1 times found in TerraFirme.

Found most commonly in these microhabitats: 1 times Ground.

Collected most commonly using these methods: 1 times Winkler48h.

Elevations: collected from 200 - 525 meters, 308 meters average

Collect Date Range: collected between 1989-06-10 00:00:00.0 and 2018-10-14 00:00:00.0

Type specimens: paratype Pheidole gilva: casent0644208, jtlc000016389

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Citing AntWeb

Species: Pheidole gilva Wilson, 2003

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