Myrmica salina

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Myrmica salina
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Tribe: Myrmicini
Genus: Myrmica
Species group: specioides
Species: M. salina
Binomial name
Myrmica salina
Ruzsky, 1905

Myrmica salina P casent0904072.jpg

Myrmica salina D casent0904072.jpg

Specimen Label

Synonyms

Poorly known, but most probably M. salina inhabits relatively, wet, often halophytous biotopes in steppes of West Siberia and Kazakhstan. (Radchenko and Elmes 2010)

Identification

A member of the specioides complex of the scabrinodis species group. Radchenko and Elmes (2010) - Based on the rediscovered type material, M. salina obviously belongs to the scabrinodis species group, most probably to the specioides-complex. The worker and queens have a moderately developed horizontal lobe at the base of their scape and a relatively wide frons (FI 0.36). By these features, M. salina could be confused with Myrmica scabrinodis, but the male has the specioides-complex features of a combination of a relatively short scape and short standing hairs on the scape and tibiae. On the other hand, the worker of M. salina well differs from Myrmica curvithorax, which have much narrower frons (FI ≤ 0.30).

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 54.16° to 37.2°.

 
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Palaearctic Region: Austria, Azerbaijan, Croatia, Czech Republic, Georgia, Kazakhstan (type locality), Kyrgyzstan, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovenia, Türkiye.

Distribution based on AntMaps

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Distribution based on AntWeb specimens

Check data from AntWeb

Countries Occupied

Number of countries occupied by this species based on AntWiki Regional Taxon Lists. In general, fewer countries occupied indicates a narrower range, while more countries indicates a more widespread species.
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Estimated Abundance

Relative abundance based on number of AntMaps records per species (this species within the purple bar). Fewer records (to the left) indicates a less abundant/encountered species while more records (to the right) indicates more abundant/encountered species.
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Biology

Flight Period

X
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Source: antkeeping.info.

Castes

Nomenclature

The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.

  • salina. Myrmica scabrinodis var. salina Ruzsky, 1905b: 687 (w.q.m.) RUSSIA & KAZAKHSTAN. Subspecies of schencki: Weber, 1948a: 302. Junior synonym of lonae: Sadil, 1952: 249. Revived from synonymy and raised to species: Arnol'di, 1970b: 1842; Arnol'di & Dlussky, 1978: 534; Seifert, 1988: 25. Junior synonym of lacustris: Radchenko, 1994f: 77. Revived from synonymy: Seifert, 1994: 13; Seifert, 2002a: 96, 99. Senior synonym of ahngeri, georgica, tobiasi: Seifert, 2011: 183. See also: Radchenko & Elmes, 2004: 228; Radchenko & Elmes, 2009c: 520; Radchenko & Elmes, 2010: 254.
  • ahngeri. Myrmica scabrinodis var. ahngeri Karavaiev, 1926f: 66, fig. 3 (w.) RUSSIA. Subspecies of scabrinodis: Arnol'di, 1970b: 1841; Arnol'di & Dlussky, 1978: 534. Junior synonym of specioides: Seifert, 1988b: 16; of scabrinodis: Radchenko, 1994e: 79; of salina: Seifert, 2011: 183.
  • georgica. Myrmica georgica Seifert, 1987: 183, figs. 1-10 (w.m.) GEORGIA. Junior synonym of turcica: Seifert, 1988b: 18; of scabrinodis: Radchenko, 1994e: 79. Revived from synonymy: Radchenko & Elmes, 2004: 231. Junior synonym of salina: Seifert, 2011: 183. See also: Radchenko & Elmes, 2010: 141.
  • tobiasi. Myrmica tobiasi Radchenko & Elmes, 2004: 224, figs. 1-17 (w.q.m.) KAZAKHSTAN. Junior synonym of salina: Seifert, 2011: 183. See also: Radchenko & Elmes, 2010: 307.

Taxonomic Notes

See Radchenko & Elmes (2009) for notes on type specimens.

Unless otherwise noted the text for the remainder of this section is reported from the publication that includes the original description.

Description

Radchenko and Elmes (2010) - Myrmica scabrinodis var. salina was described by Ruzsky (1905: 687) based on workers, queens and males from different places in West Siberia and Kazakhstan. The taxonomic history of M. salina is extremely complicated and rather puzzling because for many decades there were no types (presumed to be lost) and the original description of this species was ambiguous. Here we outline the problem. The original text is in Russian so first we translate the description and some of Ruzsky's further comments (loc. cit., p. 700):

Description: “(workers). Frontal carinae well developed, raised at the base, lobe-like (in typical scabrinodis they are smaller). Lobe at the bend of scape transversally oblique (less oblique than in scabrinodis and less transverse than in lobicornis), and looks like transversal dent or thick scale. Middle part of frontal triangle smooth and shiny. Sides of head dorsum with large reticulation, surface between reticulation punctated but appears shiny. [Propodeal] spines long and straight. Petiolar dorsum angled. Outstanding hairs more sparse [presumably compared to scabrinodis], on the gastral tergites almost absent. Brownish-red with dark brown or blackish-brown head dorsum and first gastral segment; antennae, mandibles, legs and apex of gaster lighter. Length 4.7-5 mm.

(queens). With same features as workers. Colour somewhat darker than in workers, alitrunk with brownish-black patches. Basal half of wings brownish. Length 5-6 mm. (males). Whole head very finely punctato-striated (in typical scabrinodis head, especially on sides and rear part, with quite coarse irregular rugosity). Antennal scape thickened in the middle. Outstanding hairs on the body, legs and antennae sparser [presumably compared to scabrinodis?]. Alitrunk almost without hairs. Colour of wing as in queens. Length of scape as in typical scabrinodis.”

Additional comments: “…This variety is interesting because its queens and workers by the dark colour and by the almost transverse, scale-like lobe at the bend of antennal scape, is similar to M. lobicornis, but its males on main features are similar to M. scabrinodis males and differs only by sculpture of head and sparser pilosity. This species, indubitably, is most similar to the variety schencki Emery, and both are intermediate between scabrinodis and lobicornis . ... M. schencki together with var. salina are intermediate between M. scabrinodis and M. lobicornis, but salina is more close to the first and schencki - to the latter”.

Based on the rediscovered type material, M. salina obviously belongs to the scabrinodis species group, most probably to the specioides-complex. The worker and queens have a moderately developed horizontal lobe at the base of their scape and a relatively wide frons (FI 0.36). By these features, M. salina could be confused with M. scabrinodis, but the male has the specioides-complex features of a combination of a relatively short scape and short standing hairs on the scape and tibiae. On the other hand, the worker of M. salina well differs from M. slovaca, which have much narrower frons (FI ≤ 0.30).

Etymology

Radchenko and Elmes (2010) - from mediaeval Latin salina = salt pan, or salted place being derived from the Latin word salis = salt, here it describes the type habitat “salted marsh”.

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

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