Pheidole colpigaleata Eguchi, 2006, sp. n.
Creators: name: Eguchi, Katsuyuki
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2006
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy

description: Pheidole colpigaleata sp. n.
Figs 1A-H
Pheidole sp. eg-113: Bui & Eguchi, 2003 (a list of local ant fauna); Eguchi et al., 2004 (ecological study).
HOLOTYPE. - Major from colony Eg01-VN-222 (nesiting in a rotting twig). Type locality: Ba Vi N. P. (21°03’N, 105°22’E, ca. 1100 m alt.), Ha Tay, Vietnam [K. Eguchi leg., 11/xi/2001]. Depository: IEBR.
PARATYPES. - 11 majors, 13 minors and 1 dealate queen from the same colony to which the holotype belongs. Depository: IEBR, MHNG, MCZC, BMNH, NHMW, FSKU, ACEG.
NON-TYPE MATERIAL EXAMINED. - Vietnam: Lao Cai: Y Linh Ho (a small fragment of forest, ca. 1100 m alt.), Sa Pa [Eg02-VN-219]; Bac Giang: W. Yen Tu N. P. (21°10’52.2”N, 106°43’41.3”E, ca. 195 m alt.) [B&E03-04]; Ha Tay (misspelled as “Ha Tai” on the labels): Ba Vi N. P. (21°03’N, 105°22’E, 1100-1200 m alt.) [Eg99-VN-130; Eg01-VN-213; Eg02-VN-038, -039]. Eguchi’s informal species code “ Pheidole sp. eg-113 ” has been applied to these specimens.
DIAGNOSIS. - Dorsal and lateral faces of head and alitrunk punctured and dull (minor); hypostoma with 3 conspicuous median processes in addition to the process just mesal to mandibular base (major); frontal carina well developed horizontally (major); promesonotal dome lacking a conspicuous prominence on its posterior declivity (major and minor).
DESCRIPTION. - Major: TL 2.9-3.5 mm, HL 1.21-1.29 mm, HW 1.16-1.24 mm, SL 0.60-0.63 mm, FL 0.74-0.78 mm, CI 92-96, SI 48-53, FI 61-66 (N=5); body reddish brown; head in full-face view very weakly convex laterad, shallowly and broady concave posteriorly, with an inconspicuous median groove from the concavity to frons, in profile hardly or very weakly impressed on vertex; anterior part of frons longitudinally rugose; posterior part of frons, vertex and dorsal and dorsolateral faces of vertexal lobe reticulate, with enclosures very weakly punctured; frontal carina well developed horizontally, partly overhanging antennal scrobe; median part of clypeus almost smooth, without a median longitudinal carina; hypostoma with 3 median processes in addition to the process just mesal to each mandibular base (lateral processes); lateral processes well developed, as large as lateral ones of the three median processes; antenna with a 3-segmented club; scape exceeding midlength of head; EL>>LASX; LG 1.5-1.7 times as much as EL; promesonotal dome without a prominence on its posterior declivity; dorsolateral part of the dome weakly produced laterad; dorsum of the dome punctured reticulate, with enclosures very weakly punctured; lateral face of the dome, higher part of mesopleuron and lateral face of propodeum punctured and dull; lower part of mesopleuron punctured (sometimes only very weakly); propodeal spine finger-shaped or elongate-triangular, narrowly or sometimes moderately based; petiole much longer than postpetiole (excluding helcium); petiolar node in anterior view not or very weakly concave dorsally; postpetiole not massive, 1.9-2.2 times as broad as petiolar node; first gastral tergite largely smooth and shining except a weakly punctured area around its articulation with postpetiole.
Minor: TL 1.7-1.8 mm, HL 0.53-0.58 mm, HW 0.50-0.54 mm, SL 0.51-0.56 mm, ML 0.72-0.79 mm, FL 0.53-0.58 mm, CI 91-95, SI 98-106, FI 106-110 (N=5); body deep yellowish-brown; head puncutured and dull dorsally and laterally, except anteromedian part of frons dimly punctured; preoccipital carina evanescent or very weak dorsally; median part of clypeus smooth and shining, without a median longitudinal carina; antenna with a 3-segmented club; scape usually exceeding posterior margin of head by the length of second antennal segment or more; EL ≈ LASX; mesosoma punctured well and dull over the surface; dorsum of promesonotal dome often overlain by weak rugulae; promesonotal dome in profile without a prominence on its posterior declivity, very weakly produced dorsolaterally; propodeal spine small and thin; petiole longer than postpetiole (excluding helcium); postpetiole somewhat globular, 2.0-2.2 times as broad as petiolar node; first gastral tergite smooth and shining.
REMARKS. - This species is very similar to Pheidole nodgii Forel and its relatives, e.g., P. tjibodana Forel, P. magrettii Emery and P. retivertex Eguchi, but is well distinguished from the latter which have hypostoma with only one well-developed process (in P. colpigaleata hypostoma with three conspicuous median processes). This species is also similar to Pheidole rabo Forel, P. zoceana, Santschi and P. parva Mayr, but is also well distinguished from the latter which have frontal carinae almost absent or vestigial (in P. colpigaleata well developed). Pheidole colpigaleata actually has a mixture of characteristics seen in P. rabo and P. nodgii.
DISTRIBUTION. - N. Vietnam.
BIONOMICS. - This species inhabits forest from lowland to hilly areas (ca. 1100 m alt.), and nests in rotting twigs and small wood fragments. Colony Eg01-VN-222 stored a lot of small seeds inside the nest.
description: Published as part of Eguchi, Katsuyuki, 2006, Six new species of Pheidole Westwood from North Vietnam (Hymenoptera, Formicidae), pp. 115-131 in Revue Suisse de Zoologie 113 (1) on page 115, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.16316