The Ants of Africa
Genus Pheidole
Pheidole areniphila Forel

teneriffana-group - Major distinguished particularly by the transverse metanotal welt; head with longitudinal striations or rugae, long frontal carinae with more or less distinct shallow scrobes; mandibles with two short apical teeth

Pheidole areniphila Forel

return to key {link to the Hymenoptera Name Server} Type location Botswana (Pheidole areniphila Forel, 1910a: 14 [30 in Bolton 1995], footnote; replacement name for Pheidole arenicola n. sp., Forel, 1910f: 11, all forms) from Khakea, Kalahari, L Schultze - see minors below
subspecies aurora (Pheidole areniphila For. v. aurora n. var., Santschi, 1928f: 204, major) from Tanzania - see major below
all forms described (see Bolton, 1995) .


Forel's (1910f) description is at {original description}. In the paper referenced as "1910a", Forel refers to the (already) published description of a species from the Kalahari for which he used the name arenicola without realising that had been applied to a subspecies of Pheidole fallax Mayr. Arnold (1920a: 479) gave a translation of Forel's (1910f) description, this is at {original description}. Santschi's (1928f) description of aurora is at {original description}.

Overall the description of the major appears to differ very little, if at all, from Pheidole fervens but that does not have a rugoreticulum on the occiput, simply fine longitudinal striations; the type minors also are very similar.


{Pheidole areniphila minor}The photomontage of two "type" minor workers is collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0907805 and http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0907806.

The Antweb workers appear not to have found the type major worker.

{Pheidole areniphila aurora major}The photomontage of the aurora type major worker is collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0913268,


{Pheidole areniphila aurora major}The photomontage of the aurora type minor worker is collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0913269,


{Pheidole areniphila queen}The photomontage of the type queen is collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=focol1313 .

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© 2007, 2008, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2018 - Brian Taylor CBiol FRSB FRES
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