The Ants of Africa
Genus Pheidole
Pheidole pallidula (Nylander)

megacephala-group - Major - head width and length equal or subequal; mandibles relatively slender, with at most reduced teeth or denticles; postpetiole trapezoidal but without elongated lateral prominences. Minors without or variable development of a nuchal collar.

megacephala-subgroup - TL > 3.3 mm

{Pheidole pallidula}

Pheidole pallidula (Nylander)

Major - return to key Minor - return to key {link to the Hymenoptera Name Server} Type location Sicily (Myrmica pallidula n.sp., Nylander, 1849: 42, minor; Mayr, 1855: 457, major, queen & male); junior synonyms arenarum (Ruzky, 1905b: 647, major, minor & male; Karavaiev, 1926b: 106, queen) from Turkestan, cicatricosa (Stitz, 1917: 340, illustrated, major & minor; synonymy by Collingwood, 1978: 68) from Algeria, inquilina (as Xenophaenogaster inquilina, Baroni Urbani, 1964b: 50, illustrated, minor; synonymy Bolton, 1987: 291) from Sicily, orientalis (Emery, 1915j: 230; Müller, 1923: 69, major & minor) from Russia, subdentata (Mayr, 1853a: 145, major & minor) from Austria; subspecies inermis (Stitz, 1917: 340, illustrated, major & minor) from Algeria, koshewnikovi (Ruzky, 1905b: 648, major & minor) from Russia, obscura (as emeryi, Krausse, 1912a: 169, major & minor; replacement name by Santschi, 1936c: 200) from Sardinia, recticeps (Forel, 1909e: 391; Menozzi: 1932e, 452, major & minor) from Egypt, and tristis (Forel, 1907b: 204, minor [not queen]; Santschi, 1908: 521, major, queen & male) from Tunisia, all forms described (see Bolton, 1995) .

The form listed in Bolton (1995: 320) as a junior synonym of P. megacephala, i.e. Formica edax (Formica edax, Forskål, 1775: 84, worker; junior synonym of megacephala, Emery, 1892b: 160; Dalla Torre, 1892: 90) from Egypt is more likely to be a variety of Pheidole pallidula as wide surveys of Egypt have never definitely found P. megacephala.

{Pheidole pallidula} Nylander's (1849) description is at {original description}. Emery (1869b: 19) gave a fuller description, this is at {original description}. Bondroit (1918: 165) gave a description of the type form, this is at {original description}. Forel's (1907b) description of the tristis minor was simply - TL 2.6-2.8 mm, dark brown, mandibles, antennae and tarsi yellow-brown, otherwise identical to the type, not rare in the Atlas; Santschi's (1908) description of tristis with comparative illustrations, is at {original description}. Stitz's (1917) description of cicatricosa and inermis is at {original description}. Emery (1919a) gave notes and illustrations - see {original description}.

{Pheidole pallidula}The photomontage is compiled from several damaged minor specimens from Mali, Bamako; King 46; 25.viii.2007; 12°37.48' N 8°00.27' W; Foraging on wall of outside stairwell in Hotel compound; collected by David M. King. Other images can be seen in the folder at - {original description} This seems to be the first record from sub-Saharan Africa, albeit from the southern Sahel and presumably a migrant from North Africa. It also is one of the darker varieties of a well known but quite poorly defined species.

{Pheidole pallidula}Minors from Egypt, Abumadi, Zaranik, N. Sinai, E 34°26' N 30°39'; 5.v.2003, collected by Mostafa Sharaf. Other images can be seen in the folder at - {original description}

{Pheidole pallidula orientalis major}Specimens from Turkey, collected by David King. Other images can be seen in the folder at - {original description}

{Pheidole pallidula orientalis minor}Minor from Turkey
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© 2007, 2008 - Brian Taylor CBiol FIBiol FRES
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