Doesn’t “bigote” mean “moustache” in Spanish?
Why, yes. It does.
Pheidole bigote Longino 2009
Chiapas, Mexico
The inimitable Jack Longino published a taxonomic paper today on the Central American Pheidole, including descriptions of some 23 new species. Among these is the marvelously moustached P. bigote. The function of the fantastic facial hair remains unknown.
source: Longino, J. T. 2009. Additions to the taxonomy of New World Pheidole (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zootaxa 2181: 1-90.
A personal blog by Illinois-based biologist and photographer Alex Wild.
such weird hair??? I woulda guessed it was a bumble bee!
Glad you are back! I have missed my daily dose of great ant photos!
Duh, it’s obviously an adaptation to live in Mexico.
Lol @ Roberto!
I would imagine that the hairs allow for picking up on vibrations, thus detecting enemies and danger from a longer distance away. And maybe prey as well. *is just guessing*
I’m honored to get on the blog Alex. And to be described as inimitable! Awesome. Regarding P. bigote, I think the pompons and concave, dish-like face are adaptations for getting better reception so they can watch telenovelas at night.