''Pheidole teneriffana'' is a
species of
ant in the
subfamily
In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...
Myrmicinae
Myrmicinae is a subfamily of ants, with about 140 extant genera; their distribution is cosmopolitan. The pupae lack cocoons. Some species retain a functional sting. The petioles of Myrmicinae consist of two nodes. The nests are permanent and ...
.
Habitat and distribution
''Pheidole teneriffana'' is an Asian species with collection records scattered over several continents and islands across the globe. Described from the
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...
and found widely distributed throughout the greater
Mediterranean region. Probably introduced to the
Malagasy region, it was described from
Madagascar as ''
P. voeltzkowii'', only one year after the publication of the
senior synonym.
Morphologically, ''P. teneriffana'' can be grouped together with, and is possibly related to, ''
P. fervens'', ''
P. indica'', ''
P. oceanica'', and ''
P. sinaitica''. In the
New World, ''Pheidole teneriffana'' has been introduced to
California,
Cuba,
Peru, and the
West Indian islands. It seems to be common in dry habitats, especially along coasts and in urban areas, and has been described as aggressive toward other ant species, locally abundant, and spreading in urban areas. In the Malagasy region ''P. teneriffana'' was collected on the
Comoros
The Comoros,, ' officially the Union of the Comoros,; ar, الاتحاد القمري ' is an independent country made up of three islands in southeastern Africa, located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean. It ...
,
Mauritius, the
Seychelles, and from coastal towns in Madagascar, usually from under stones, ground nests, or foraging on the ground or lower vegetation in urban or garden habitats at elevations between 2 and 296 m, on Mayotte in native littoral and secondary forest (7 m elevation). It has been collected in
Saudi Arabia from soil, under stones, and foraging on the ground on a few farms at elevations between 570 and 1620 m.
References
*
*Eli М. Sarnat, Georg Fischer, Benoit Guénard, Evan P. Economo. Introduced Pheidole of the world: taxonomy, biology and distribution. ZooKeys, 2015; 543: 1 DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.543.6050
External links
*
teneriffana
Insects described in 1893
{{myrmicinae-stub