| Pheidole vulcan | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Myrmicinae |
| Genus: | Pheidole |
| Species: | P. vulcan |
| Binomial name | |
| Pheidole vulcan Fischer & Fisher, 2013 | |
Pheidole vulcan (named after Vulcan, the Roman god of fire) [1] is a species of ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae.
Pheidole vulcan is known only from the slopes of the two volcanoes Mt. Karthala and La Grille, at elevations between 995 and 1125 m on Grande Comore and thus is possibly an endemic species of the island. The species has been found in rotten logs, sifted leaf litter, under tree bark and on the lower vegetation in montane rainforest. [2]
In its morphology this species is closely related to P. jonas and has been collected in sympatry. While all specimens of P. vulcan are orange in color, the specimens of P. jonas from Mt. Karthala are all dark. More important characters for separating the minor workers of the two species are the shape of the promesonotum in profile, which is less strongly angulate in P. jonas; the amount of sculpture on the clypeus, which is smooth in P. jonas versus posteriorly punctate in P. vulcan; and the significantly more abundant and flexuous standing hairs in P. vulcan in both worker castes. In addition, the postpetiole of P. jonas is relatively longer compared to its height and the height of the petiole than in P. vulcan. The minors of P. vulcan are also similar to those of P. loki . The major workers of P. vulcan differ from those of P. jonas by the combination of a high promesonotal process and inconspicuous to weakly concave transverse groove in the first versus a lower process with concave groove in the latter, longer spines and the postpetiole higher than long versus usually longer than high. [2]
Pheidole is a genus of ants that belongs to the ant subfamily Myrmicinae. The genus is widespread and ecologically dominant. It probably includes more than 1000 species. The genus first evolved in the Americas, eventually spreading across the globe.
Pheidole purpurea is a dimorphic species of ant found in Mexico and Central America. The species shows considerable variance in physical characteristics based on location, though some variance exists even within small populations. Some populations display a metallic, purple sheen.
Pheidole megacephala is a species of ant in the family Formicidae. It is commonly known as the big-headed ant in the USA and the coastal brown ant in Australia. It is a very successful invasive species and is considered a danger to native ants in Australia and other places. It has been nominated as one of the hundred "World's worst" invaders.
Cephalotes alveolatus is an extinct species of ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae known from a single Middle Miocene fossil found in amber on Hispaniola. At the time of description C. alveolatus was one of seven fossil ant species placed in the Cephalotescoffeae clade.
Acamptonectes is a genus of ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur, a type of dolphin-like marine reptile that lived during the Early Cretaceous around 130 million years ago. The first specimen—a partial adult skeleton—was discovered in Speeton, England, in 1958, but it was not formally described until 2012 by Valentin Fischer and colleagues. They also recognised a partial subadult skeleton belonging to the genus from Cremlingen, Germany, and specimens from other localities in England. The genus contains the single species Acamptonectes densus; the generic name means "rigid swimmer" and the specific name means "compact" or "tightly packed".
Leninia is an extinct genus of basal ophthalmosaurine ichthyosaur known from the late Early Cretaceous of western Russia. Leninia was first named by Valentin Fischer, Maxim S. Arkhangelsky, Gleb N. Uspensky, Ilya M. Stenshin and Pascal Godefroit in 2013 and the type species is Leninia stellans. It was named for Vladimir Lenin, one of the leaders of the Communist Revolution in Russia, as the museum it is currently housed in is also named for him.
Asphinctopone is a small genus of rarely encountered Afrotropical ants in the subfamily Ponerinae.
Tyrannomyrmex legatus is a tropical Old World species of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae. It is only known from a single worker from Sri Lanka. Gynes and males are unknown.
Pheidole komori is a species of ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae.
Pheidole parva is a species of ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae. This genus is an invasive species, often coming from the region Wuhan, it is infamous for the burning sting and often is mistaken for its cousin, Carebara diversa in urban areas, the alates, however are very commonly seen after storms performing a nuptial flight.
Pheidole ragnax is a species of ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae.
Pheidole fervens is a species of ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae. Pheidole fervens, described from Singapore, is a widespread invasive species and could be native to the Oriental or the Oceanic region.
Pheidole teneriffana is a species of ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae.
Pheidole dodo is a species of ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae. It is named after the dodo, an extinct bird of Mauritius
Pheidole megatron is a species of ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae.
Pheidole braueri is a species of ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae.
Pheidole loki is a species of ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae.
Pheidole decepticon is a species of ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae.
Pheidole jonas is a species of ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae.
Pristomyrmex tsujii is a species of ant in the genus Pristomyrmex. Known from Fiji, where they are widely distributed but rarely encountered. The species has a discrete ergatoid queen caste that is intermediate between a worker and an alate queen.
This article incorporates text from a scholarly publication published under a copyright license that allows anyone to reuse, revise, remix and redistribute the materials in any form for any purpose: *Fischer, G.; Fisher, B.L. (2013), "A revision of Pheidole Westwood (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the islands of the Southwest Indian Ocean and designation of a neotype for the invasive Pheidole megacephala", Zootaxa , 3683 (4): 301–356, doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3683.4.1 Please check the source for the exact licensing terms.