Camponotus cecconii

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Camponotus cecconii
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Formicinae
Tribe: Camponotini
Genus: Camponotus
Species: C. cecconii
Binomial name
Camponotus cecconii
Emery, 1908

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Specimen Labels

In Cyprus Camponotus cecconii has been collected from forests and shadowy habitats (cave, gorge, pine forest), riparian habitats (riverbanks close to the seashore, stream valley), open dry habitats such as seashores, xerothermic meadows and phrygana as well as urban areas including ruderal sites near a citrus orchard, a hotel garden and surroundings, parking lots, and pedestrian roads (Salata et al., 2023).

Identification

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Borowiec (2014) notes that records from Crete are probably based on misidentification with Camponotus baldaccii. Also occurrence on Aegean islands and Dodecanese needs confirmation because recent materials suggested misidentification with Camponotus ionius, common on both archipelagos.

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 38.367778° to 35.270116°.

 
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Palaearctic Region: Cyprus (type locality), Greece, Iran.

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

A nest was found under a large stone.

Castes

Worker

  • Borowiec and Salata 2022. Figures 52.5-6, minor and major. Photographed by Lech Borowiec.
  • Borowiec and Salata 2022. Figures 52.1-2, minor. Photographed by Lech Borowiec.
  • Borowiec and Salata 2022. Figures 52.3-4 major. Photographed by Lech Borowiec.

Nomenclature

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

  • cecconii. Camponotus maculatus subsp. cecconii Emery, 1908a: 198 (s.w.) CYPRUS.
    • Type-material: syntype major and minor workers (numbers not stated).
    • Type-locality: Cyprus: (no further data) (probably G. Cecconi).
    • Type-depository: MSNG.
    • Combination in C. (Tanaemyrmex): Emery, 1925b: 101.
    • Subspecies of maculatus: Forel, 1910a: 23.
    • Subspecies of sylvaticus: Emery, 1920c: 7; Emery, 1925b: 101.
    • Status as species: Agosti & Collingwood, 1987a: 58; Agosti & Collingwood, 1987b: 284 (in key); Collingwood, 1993b: 195; Bolton, 1995b: 91; Petrov, 2006: 110 (in key); Paknia, et al. 2008: 153; Legakis, 2011: 29; Borowiec, L. & Salata, 2012: 473; Borowiec, L. 2014: 28; Salata & Borowiec, 2018c: 43; Borowiec, L. & Salata, 2022: 118.
    • Distribution: Cyprus, Greece, Iran.

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

Description

Worker

Borowiec and Salata (2022) - Large to very large, polymorphic; minor workers HL: 1.508-1.780 (mean 1.620); HW: 1.031-1.198 (mean 1.103); SL: 1.870-1.998 (mean 1.916); EL: 0.397-0.444 (mean 0.420); ML: 2.38-2.57; MW: 0.93-1.06. Color. Head yellow anteriorly and rusty yellow posteriorly or completely orange yellow to rusty yellow, mesosoma and petiolar scale yellow, gaster with brown to black tergites and yellow sternites, antennae and legs uniformly yellow; in intermediate workers as the body size increases, the head becomes darker, rusty brown to brown and mesosoma rusty yellow. Head. Very elongate, 1.5 times as long as wide, sides in front of eyes straight and parallel, behind eyes regularly softly rounded, posterior margin rounded or in the middle straight. Clypeus pentagonal, in the middle forms rectangular plate protruding anterad, its anterior margin straight, simple, on sides anterior clypeal margin very shallowly emarginate, sides of clypeus strongly converging posterad, straight, posterior margin straight but in the middle shallowly emarginate by frontal triangle, clypeal plate along middle with obtuse keel, whole surface with diffused microreticulation, surface strongly shiny, covered with very sparse and short appressed hairs, anterior margin in the middle with 5 very long setae, on sides with few short additional setae, central plate with 3-4 pairs of erected setae. Head microreticulate, sculpture in posterior half and sides of head often tends to form transverse or circular striation, background shiny, covered with sparse and short appressed pubescence, appears partly unhaired, frons along sides with row of 3 long erected setae, vertex and central part of occipitum with a pair of long erected setae, gena and sides of head lacking erected setae, ventral side of head with 4-6 moderately long to long erected setae. Scape very elongate, thin, 1.7-1.8 times as long as width of head, slightly, regularly widened from base to apex, its surface microreticulate, slightly dull, with short and sparse appressed pubescence. Funicular segments elongate, thin, first segment approximately 3.5 times as long as wide and 1.3-1.4 times as long as second segment, third segment distinctly longer than second, the rest of funicular segments very elongate. Eyes large, elongate oval, 0.26 length of head. Mandibles stout, diffusely microreticulate and punctate, surface shiny. Mesosoma. Elongate 2.4-2.6 times as long as wide, dorsally with microreticulation, distinctly sculptured tending to form longitudinal and oblique striation, surface strongly shiny. In lateral view dorsum form regular arch, without mesonotal groove, propodeum never with shallow concavity, posteriorly very broadly rounded. Surface of mesosomal dorsum with short and scarce, hardly visible depressed hairs, lateral sides partly unhaired, pronotum with 2-4, mesonotum 2, propodeum 2-4 very long erected setae, number of erected setae does not increase with the size of the ant. Waist and gaster. Petiole in form of broad, very thick scale with convex anterior and flat posterior face, apex regularly rounded; surface with distinct transverse striation covered with short and sparse appressed hairs, apical crest with two long erected setae. Gaster shorter than mesosoma, tergites with fine transverse microstriation, interspaces without additional microsculpture thus surface of gaster appears strongly shiny, covered with short and scarce appressed hairs; first tergite with a pair of very long erected setae centrally and a row of long setae on posterior margin, two subsequent tergites with a row of long setae close to base and similar row close to posterior margin elongate, appressed hairs on posterior margin of tergites very short, reaching 1/3 length of the transparent margin. Legs. Elongate and thin, hind femora only slightly shorter than mesosoma, surface of legs covered with very sparse appressed hairs, inner margin of tibiae in apical 1/3length with 2-4 thorns. Ventral surface of fore femora with 2-3 long erected setae.

Major workers: HL: 2.667-3.177 (mean 3.010); HW: 2.433-3.117 (mean 2.904); SL: 2.133-2.667 (mean 2.342); EL: 0.556-0.619 (mean 0.580); ML: 3.31-3.83; MW: 1.54-1.88. Head always dark colored, rusty brown to black, mandibles mostly brown to black except reddish brown base of teeth, scapus mostly brown to black except pale base and apex, mesosoma dorsally brown to black laterally gradually yellowish brown to yellow, petiole, coxa and femora yellow, tibiae and tarsi from rusty yellow to yellowish brown, gastral tergites black, only anterior slope of first tergite with yellowish brown to brown spot, sternites yellow. Head stouter, approximately as long as wide, widest in basal ¼ length, sides softly rounded and converging anterad, posterior margin deeply concave with occipital corners strongly protruding posterad; rectangular anterior plate of clypeus deeply emarginate on sides thus anterior corners acute or hook-like, central plate of clypeus head with 5 pairs of erected setae, gular area with 6-8 short to long erected setae. Scape proportionally shorter, 0.7-0.9 times as long as width of head. Eyes proportionally smaller, 0.19 length of head; mesosoma stouter, 1.8-2.2 times as long as wide, in profile forming more convex arch, propodeum with less obtusely posterior angle. Pronotum with 4, mesonotum 4-6, propodeum 4, petiolar crest 4 very long erected setae. Ventral surface of fore femora with 3-6 long erected setae.

Type Material

Salata et al. (2023) - Syntype workers, Camponotus maculatus cecconii Em., Akantu [Akanthou, Cyprus], 12-J-99 (12 I 1899) (MSNG)

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • Borowiec L. 2014. Catalogue of ants of Europe, the Mediterranean Basin and adjacent regions (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Genus (Wroclaw) 25(1-2): 1-340.
  • Borowiec L., and S. Salata. 2012. Ants of Greece - Checklist, comments and new faunistic data (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Genus 23(4): 461-563.
  • Collingwood, C. A. 1993. A Comparitive Study of the Ant Fauna of Five Greek Islands. Biologia Gallo-hellenica. 20,1:191-197
  • Collingwood, C. A. "A comparative study of the ant fauna of five Greek islands." Biologia Gallo-Hellenica 20 (1993): 191-197.
  • Czechowski W., A. Radchenko, W. Czechowska and K. Vepsäläinen. 2012. The ants of Poland with reference to the myrmecofauna of Europe. Fauna Poloniae 4. Warsaw: Natura Optima Dux Foundation, 1-496 pp
  • Legakis Collection Database
  • Paknia O., A. Radchenko, H. Alipanah, and M. Pfeiffer. 2008. A preliminary checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Iran. Myrmecological News 11: 151-159.