Pheidole tanyscapa Wilson, 2003, new species

Pheidole tanyscapa new species

Types Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard.

Etymology Gr tanyscapa, with stretched-out stem, alluding to the elongated antennal scape.

diagnosis A member of the diligens group, close to longiscapa and rochai, and distinguished by the following set of traits. Major: antennal scape exceeding the occiput by 2X the scape maximum width; propodeal spines half as long as the propodeal basal face anterior to them; anterior margin of propodeum rugulose; carinulae absent from genae.

Minor: scapes exceed occipital corner by half their length; propodeal spines half as long as the basal propodeal face; anterior margin of the pronotum transversely carinulate; mesonotal convexity tilted forward on mesonotum, subangular, and marginally carinulate. Measurements (mm) Holotype major: HW 1.00, HL 1.02, SL 0.96, EL 0.20, PW 0.54. Paratype minor: HW 0.60, HL 0.74, SL 1.10, EL 0.16, PW 0.46. color Major and minor: concolorous dark yellow.

range Atlantic and Pacific slopes of Costa Rica to 800 m (J. T. Longino 1997).

Biology Nests in soil in mature rainforest; workers forage on the ground and into low vegetation, at least to some extent nocturnally (Longino 1997). One colony at La Selva was nesting in the soil (M. Byrne).

Figure Upper: holotype, major. Lower: paratype, minor. COSTA RICA: La Selva Biological Station, near Puerto Viejo, Heredia (E. O. Wilson). Scale bars = 1 mm.