The Ants of Africa
Genus Pheidole
Pheidole weissi Santschi - new status (speculative)

excellens group - Major head longer than wide by at least 25%, straight sided in full face view; mandibles very stout edentate border and without apical teeth; clypeus with median carina but anterior margin no more than medially concave; postpetiole with distinct lateral prominences produced as broad to acute spines; minor head square; major and minor with relatively swollen three-segmented club

{Pheidole excellens}

Pheidole weissi (Santschi) - new status (speculative)

Major - return to key Minor - return to key {link to the Hymenoptera Name Server} Type location Congo (Pheidole excellens Mayr, st. Weissi, n. st., Santschi, 1910c: 361, major; Santschi, 1914d: 335, queen; Santschi, 1930b: 65, minor) Brazzaville, by A. Weiss; unavailable name mbalensis (Pheidole excellens Mayr, st. weissi Sants. v. mbalensis n. var., Santschi, 1930b: 65, illustrated, minor) from Angola .

Santschi's (1910c) description of weissi is at {original description} - note Santschi (1914d) corrects major HL to 3.2 not 3.9, and HW 2.3 not 2.4 - see {original description}. Santschi's (1930b) description of the weissi minor is at {original description}. Santschi's (1930b) description of mbalensis is at {original description}.

{Pheidole weissi}The photomontage is of a worker from Congo, Réserve de Lésio-Louna, S 03°16'56.5" E 015°28'28.3"; n sp 16; pitfall trap 12, t 1.1; 16-17.xi.2007; wooded savannah; collected by Eric Zassi.

Other images can be seen in the folder at - {original description}

{Pheidole species T5}

Nigeria specimens (as Pheidole species T5, Taylor, 1980a: 25).
Minor. TL 3.11 mm, HL 0.72, HW 0.65, SL 0.73, PW 0.47
Colour orange-brown, head and gaster darker. The only sculpturation is spiculation on the lateral mesonotum. Erect hairs light, coarse and moderately abundant, especially on the head. Eyes relatively large. Clypeus with a medial carina and an almost straight anterior margin. Alitrunk without visible sutures. This and the Ghana specimen shown below apparently lack the quite dense sculpturation seen on the above type forms and are a better match for the mbalensis form (Santschi, 1930b).

A nest was found in insolated bare earth at the Cocoa Research Institute of Nigera, Idi Ayunre. No soldiers seen. Found foraging on the ground and tending aphids.

{Pheidole weissi minor}The photomontage is of a minor specimen from Ghana, collected by Sky Stephens; 2006. Other images can be seen in the folders at - {original description} and {original description}.

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© 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 - Brian Taylor CBiol FSB FRES
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