''Pheidole vulcan'' (named after

Vulcan Vulcan may refer to: Mythology * Vulcan (mythology), the god of fire, volcanoes, metalworking, and the forge in Roman mythology Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * Vulcan (''Star Trek''), name of a fictional race and their home p ...

, the

Roman god Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans. One of a wide variety of genres of Roman folklore, ''Roman mythology'' may also refer to the modern study of these representat ...

of fire) is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

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 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 Grande Comore () is an island in Comoros off the coast of Africa. It is the largest island in the Comoros nation. Most of its population is of the Comorian ethnic group. Its population is about 316,600. The island's capital is Moroni, Comoros, ...

and thus is possibly an

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

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 Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

Description

In its

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines *Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts *Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...

this species is closely related to '' P. jonas'' and has been collected in

sympatry In biology, two related species or populations are considered sympatric when they exist in the same geographic area and thus frequently encounter one another. An initially interbreeding population that splits into two or more distinct species sh ...

. 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.

References

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q16987964

vulcan Vulcan may refer to: Mythology * Vulcan (mythology), the god of fire, volcanoes, metalworking, and the forge in Roman mythology Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * Vulcan (''Star Trek''), name of a fictional race and their home p ...

Insects described in 2013 Hymenoptera of Africa