Pheidole speculifera Emery

Type location Eritrea (Pheidole speculifera n. sp., Emery, 1877b: 373, major & minor; Santschi, 1930d: 268, male; Bernard, 1952: 223, queen) Ainsaba, Beccari - see below
subspecies
bispecula (Pheidole speculifera Em. v. bispecula n. var., Santschi, 1930a: 58, minor) from Zaïre, Haut Uélé, Moto, L Burgeon - see http://www.antweb.org/specimenImages.do?code=casent0913445
all forms described (see Bolton, 1995) .

Note: Pheidole ascara (Pheidole speculifera Emery var. ascarus n. var., Emery, 1901e: 62, major; Santschi, 1930d: 268, minor & male) from Ethiopia, and Pheidole cubangensis (Pheidole crassinoda Emery, v. cubangensis n. var., Forel, 1901d: 306, major only; variety of speculifera, Forel, 1916: 413) from Angola, Cubanga-Cuitohere, raised to full species.

Emery's (1877b) description is at and . Santschi's (1930d) description of the male and of ascara is at . Santschi's (1930a) description of bispecula is at .

Wheeler (1922: ) gave a drawing labelled "Pheidole speculifera" but no details other than the size of the major in the drawing as being smaller (TL ca 6 mm) than cubangensis (TL 7 mm). With the availablity of type images, that drawing is revealed to be the major of Ph. aeberlii.

The photomontage of a type collection major worker is collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0281187.  This is a little odd in that Emery gave the colour as dull ferruginous.

The photomontage of a syntype minor worker is collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0906523.

Oxford University Museum specimens

Pheidole speculifera B Taylor det.	Liberia E Poirier Yekepa PF 6	29.iii.2013 Nimba County 07°33’38" N 08°32’33" E	Pitfall trap Degraded secondary forest 518 m asl minor	1
Pheidole speculifera B Taylor det.	Ghana S Sky Stephens 05G0012	2005	in personal collection of S Sky Stephens	1
Pheidole speculifera B Taylor det.	Cameroun A Fotso Kuate Pheidole speculifera	17.xii.2005 Awae II 03°54'30" N 11°25'58" E	Tuna bait in forest minor	1
Pheidole speculifera B Taylor det.	Cameroun A Fotso Kuate Pheidole speculifera	17.v.2007 Matomb 03°54'30" N 11°25'58" E	Tuna bait in fallow minor	1
Pheidole speculifera B Taylor det.	Cameroun G Debout & A Dalecky Cameroon 71	18.iv.2001 BOU 3°13.31' N 10°15.01' E	nest in the ground	2
Pheidole speculifera B Taylor det.	Central African Republic P Annoyer PCO1 to PCO5	24-27.xi.2010 Dzanga-Sangha 2°28'49.5"N 16°12'55.9"E	392 m; pitfall/dung trap, Lake 1 base minors	14

Cameroun - minor from Cameroon, location BOU; McKey Wolbachia project (Cameroon 71).

The photomontage is of a minor from Cameroun; Matomb; collector A Fotso Kuate (fk pheidole speculifera).

The photomontage is of a minor worker from Ghana, collector S Sky Stephens (05G0012).