Pheidole latinoda Roger
 Iran list  Type location Sri Lanka
/ India
(Pheidole latinoda nov. sp., Roger, 1863a: 195, major worker;
Mayr, 1865: 101, minor worker; Forel, 1885b: 179, queen) Roger gave the
origin
as "? (vielleicht Ceylon)" i.e. perhaps Sri Lanka - no type images on
Antweb (September 2015)
Bolton (1995: 324, had subspecies
angustior
(Forel, 1902c: 170, major; 189, minor; raised to species Bingham, 1903:
236; subspecies by Emery, 1921f: 92, list only) type location India - see below
major (Forel,
1885b: 178, all forms) type location India;
specimens in the Indian Museum, Calcutta
peradeniyae
(Forel,
1911i: 222, all forms) type location Sri
Lanka - see below
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The
minor worker described by Mayr (1865) was collected on the Novara
Expedition which visited Ceylon and Madras but Mayr gave no
location. In his description of major,
Forel (1885b) noted P.
latinoda had hitherto been only found in India and the queen was
still unknown.
Forel (1902c) gave the type form latinoda and major as TL 5.0-6.2 having a
relatively short scape, not reaching the two-thirds point of the head,
and generally brown but with the alitrunk, mandibles, anterior of the
head, legs and antennae reddish-brown; shiny. The subspecies angustior had TL 4.0-5.2 having a
relatively long scape, surpassing the
two-thirds point of the head, and generally black, slightly brownish,
with the mandibles, funiculi, legs and lower alitrunk
reddish-brown; gaster rather matt; overall less robust and more slender
than the type latinoda.
Bingham (1903) gave the latinoda
sizes as major TL 6-0-6.5 mm, minor 2.5-3.0; the species P. angustior
as major TL 5.0-5.5 mm,
minor TL 3.0-3.5. Bingham also considered latinoda to be found right across
the sub-continent and Sri Lanka, whereas angustior was from Western India
through to Burma (Myanmar). In his key, p. 224, he separated P. latinoda as having the head,
alitrunk and gaster yellowish-red, while P. angustior had head alitrunk
gaster black or very dark brown
In the absence of type images of Pheidole latinoda is it difficult
to be sure about the separation from angustior,
although I have little doubt that Bingham was correct and, so, follow
his separation. Note that Emery (1921f) gave no rationale for
reversing Bingham's separation.
The types
of P.
peredeniaye are quite
obviously a distinct species; for instance the sharply angular
profile of the petiole, the very wide postpetiole dorsum, the basal
striation on the gaster and the pronounced narrowing on the anterior
head of the major worker. The minor is even more pronouncedly different.
Overall, latinoda,
as I recognise it here, is not very different from Pheidole providens (indica) but has relatively fewer
and shorter erect hairs. A key difference, however, between the majors,
is the arrangement of hypostomal teeth. Here again the type images are
no use. My providens have an
arrangement of paired small teeth about one-third away from the median
suture and no lateral teeth, the lower edge of the mandible is narrow
tapering to an acute end and with sharp lateral borders. The Iran
latinoda have no
or very small median teeth closer to the median suture and large,
broad-based, lateral triangular processes terminating in large teeth,
the lower edge of the mandibles is broad and near flat.
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The photomontage is of
a major worker from 
The photomontage is of
a second major worker from 
The photomontage is of
the head of
a major worker from 
The photomontage is of a
major worker from 
The photomontage of the 
The photomontage of the