Pheidole fervens F Smith - majors

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The photomontage of a syntype major worker is collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0901520. Accessed 15.x.2012 (contrast adjusted for clarity).

The photomontage of the teneriffana type major worker is collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0249900. Accessed 15.x.2012.

By using the layering and opacity tools of routine imaging software, there is no clear difference of any kind between the above two major workers.

MAJOR - new description TL ca 4.5 mm; CI 90-93 SI 52-58 OI 16 PPW/HW 46-49
Head in full face view with near straight sides, slighlty diverging from front to back; with a deeply impressed occiput; longitudinal striations reaching the occiput and often strongly marked; with a distinct antennal scrobe that has weakly spiculate base sculpture
Mandibles smooth and shiny
Clypeus smooth and shiny without a distinct median longitudinal carina
Frontal carinae long and strongly divergent posteriorly, reaching the posterior quarter of the head and antennal scrobes distinct
Antennae with both scapes and funiculi slender but moderately long
Eye fairly small and near circular (12 facets long X 10 wide); set 1.5 X its own length back from the lateral margin of the clypeus
Hypostoma with a small median tooth, small submedian teeth and small lateral teeth
Underside of head weakly striate and shiny
Alitrunk profile irregular with a high domed pro-mesonotum; there is a very distinct transverse welt on the mesonotum which angles downwards posteriorly into a shallow but quite wide metanotal groove
The propodeum profile is flat but slopes downwards from front to back, with strong triangular teeth; from above it is weakly margined but there is no longitudinal groove
The petiole in profile has a fairly long pedicel which rises evenly from the anterior to the base of the node; that is a moderately high triangle with the upper margin narrowly rounded and entire, the posterior face is near vertical
The postpetiole is small and globular in profile; from above it is more than twice as wide as the petiole and has sharply conical lateral apices
The gaster is almost as large as the head and evenly globular, without a distinct anterior margin
Erect pilosity quite long, fine and abundant; on the gaster the hairs are shorter and even more abundant; the pubescence is short, adpressed but quite sparse.
The sculpturation on the anterior of the head is of strong longitudinal striations with no reticulation, the posterior of the head on the sides also is striated; the alitrunk apart from the pronotum dorsum which has weak transverse rugae, has longitudinal striations overlying loose puncturation, the dorsum of the propodeum has weak transverse striations
Overall quite shiny, with the gaster very smooth and glossy
General colour very variable from nest to nest, from yellow-brown to red-brown even to near black, with the gaster much the same colour

The photomontage here is of a major worker from El Medano, Teneriffe, Canary Islands; collected and identified as teneriffana by Xavier Espadaler.

The photomontage here is of a major worker from Tarragona, Spain; collected and identified as teneriffana by Xavier Espadaler.

The photomontage here is of a major worker from Alicante, Spain; collected and identified as teneriffana by Xavier Espadaler.

The photomontage here is of a major worker from Ibisa, Balearics; collected and identified as teneriffana by Xavier Espadaler.

The photomontage here is of a major worker from Egypt, Sallant Manmsurha; collected and identified collected and identified as teneriffana by Mostafa Sharaf, 28.iii.2003.

The photomontage here is of a major  worker from Egypt, Hawamdyia, Giza, N 30°01' E 31°13'; 20.xii.1998; collected and identified as teneriffana by Mostafa Sharaf.

The above specimens, some originally labelled as P. teneriffana, and their minors (see the respective page) clearly match the Eguchi (2001) illustration and description, although ours are bigger [Eguchi's (2001) note is at ].

This Antweb major from Hokkaido, Japan, also matches ours and Eguchi's. http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0008638&shot=p&project=

A major specimen labelled as Pheidole teneriffana from California (presumably those described by Snelling, 1992b: 121) again is close to ours , specially those from Egypt (top); collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0005777.

This drawing and description by Wilson & Taylor (1967), however, is really rather different. The sculpturation on the head is much less prominent; the transverse welt on the mesonotum is much less pronounced; and the propodeal spines are much smaller and more acute [Wilson & Taylor's (1967) note is at ]. This and the specimen below are similar.

To us, they appear to be variants of Pheidole oceanica, for which we provide a comparison page.

Antweb major http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0005779