Pheidole sculpturata Mayr

Major - Minor - Type location South Africa (Mayr, 1866b: 897, major; Emery, 1895h: 31, minor); subspecies areolata (Pheidole sculpturata Mayr var. areolata n. var., Forel, 1911e: 269, major & minor), from South Africa, Bothaville, Orange State, collected by Dr Brauns; berthoudi (Pheidole sculpturata Mayr, r. Berthoudi n. st., Forel, 1894b: 89, major & minor; raised to species by Santschi, 1921f, subspecies of sculpturata in Emery, 1921f: 89) from South Africa, Valdezia, Transvaal, collector Rev Paul Berthoud; particeps (Pheidole Berthoudi For. var. particeps nov. var., Santschi, 1921c: 116, minor) from Tanzania, collected at Bukoba, by Viehmeyer; rhodesiana (Pheidole excellens Mayr r. rhodesiana n. st., Forel, 1913a: 131, major & minor; Arnold, 1920a: 470, male; stirps of sculpturata, Santschi, 1930b: 63, footnote) from Zimbabwe, Bulawayo, collector Arnold; and zambesiana (Pheidole sculpturata Mayr r. zambesiana n. st.,Forel, 1913a: 133, major & minor) from Zimbabwe, Victoria Falls, collected by G Arnold .

Mayr's (1866b) description is at . Emery's (1895h) description of the minor is at . Arnold (1920a: 461) gave an illustrated translation and notes on the minor, this is at . Forel's (1894b) description of berthoudi is at . Forel's (1911e) description of areolata is at . Santschi's (1921c) description of particeps is at . Forel's (1913a) description of rhodesiana is at . Forel's (1913a) description of zambesiana is at . Arnold (1920a: 469) gave an illustrated translation of rhodesiana, this is at . Arnold (1920a: 464) gave a translation of zambesiana, this is at . Arnold (1920a: 463) gave translations of areolata and berthoudi, these are at .

With fresh specimens of the type form from Sudan, I have separated the quite dramatically diferent Pheidole welgelegensis as a distinct species, even though I have only the minor workers.

Minors with the body very matt, and head near square (after Bernard, 1952). Collingwood & Agosti (1996) denote it as separable from teneriffana by the postpetiole being as three times as wide as long, and, the head with the median occipital area smooth. Legs and antennae clothed with erect pubescence. Note - they separated katonae as a separate species, in which the appendages have decumbent pubescence and the head sculpturation is weak and stated the earlier reference to sculpturata (by Collingwood, 1985) was an error.

Forel (1911e) described areolata, the major he gave as TL 8 mm, HL 3, HW 2.6-2.7. The minor was TL 2.8 mm. From Bothaville, Orange Free State, by Dr Brauns.

Forel (1909b) noted that Creighton Wellman collected specimens of berthoudi tending aphids in Benguela.

The photomontage is of a specimen from Sudan, collected by J Mathews, by pyrethrum fogging of Acacia senegal; Khordonia, Damazine Plantation, Blue Nile; 11°51' N 34°15' E; 2.x.2001; semi-natural forest, JM 240, 2 minor workers, 2 unmounted.

Other images can be seen in the folder at -

This appears to closely match the Emery (1895h) descrption of the minor.