Pheidole excellens Mayr

Type location Ghana (Pheidole excellens n. sp., Mayr, 1862: 744, major; Santschi, 1914d: 335, minor, note of collection, no description) - see below
all but male described (see Bolton, 1995) .

Note - I have separated off Pheidole fulvobasalis and Pheidole weissi as distinct species.

Mayr's (1862) description is at .

Other probably questionable records given by Wheeler (1922) included Guinea (Kindia and Conakry, F. Silvestri), Togo (at Bismarckburg) and Nigeria (Slave Coast). Bernard (1952) reported the finding of a single queen, probably of this species, from Nimba, Guinea; describing the species as a common western species.

The photomontage of the type major worker is collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0922194.

Mayr (1862) gave the TL as 8.0 mm and the HL (?) as 3.8 mm, probably inclusive of the mandibles. Note this does not have a widely extended postpetiole when viewed from above.

TL ca 8 mm, HL 2.72, HW 2.55, SL 1.03, PW 1.15; CI 94, SI 40; propodeal spines of major relatively long, stout and upturned; petiole with a markedly emarginate narrow dorsal face; postpetiole strongly produced laterally to form a blunt triangular process. Colour red-brown, dull due to dense puncturation and abundant covering of moderately long, semi-prone, fine hairs

The photomontage of the type minor worker is collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0922193.

TL ca 4 mm, HL 0.82, HW 0.79, SL 0.82, PW 0.50, CI 94, SI 105