Cataglyphis hellenica

Cataglyphis hellenica
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Formicinae
Tribe:	Formicini
Genus:	Cataglyphis
Species group:	cursor
Species complex:	cursor
Species:	C. hellenica
Binomial name
	Cataglyphis hellenica; (Forel, 1886)

Nests in the ground. Workers are active only in strong sunlight, especially in the afternoon hours. In Achaia, Greece, this species was collected in two mountain localities placed in alpine area on mountain pastures overgrown with poor vegetation. Nests were observed directly in the gravel ground (Borowiec & Salata 2021, 2022).

Identification

Borowiec and Salata (2022) - With Cataglyphis cretica and Cataglyphis minos it forms a separate group of similar species with dark, reddish brown, brown to almost black body. It is the less opalescent species of this complex with at least waist and gaster shiny while both relatives have mesosoma and at least dorsal half of gaster opalescent dull. For other distinguishing characters see comparative remarks in C. cretica.

Morphologically, populatios from central and northern Greece studied by Kuhn et al. (2019) slightly differ from populations of southern Greece in darker, uniform coloration, less setose head and mesosoma and male genitalia with setose apex of dorsolateral triangular plates while southern populations, conspecific with types of C. hellenica, tend to have indistinctly bicoloured body, distinctly setose head and mesosoma and male genitalia without setae on apex of dorsolateral triangular plates.

Keys including this Species

Key to Cataglyphis of Greece

Distribution

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Palaearctic Region: Croatia, Greece (type locality).

Distribution based on AntMaps

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.

Habitat

Borowiec and Salata (2022) - Very thermophilous species. Reported from open areas such as pastures, sandy roads in pine forests, salines, mountain pastures with shrubs and rocks, and ruderal areas in towns. All collecting sites were at low and mid altitude, from sea level to 990 m.

Biology

Castes

Nomenclature

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

hellenica. Myrmecocystus cursor var. hellenicus Forel, 1886f: 204 (w.) GREECE.
- Type-material: 2 syntype workers.
- Type-locality: Greece: Morea, Pyrgos in Elide (E. von Oertzen).
- [Note: this taxon is based on specimens of pallida Mayr, sensu Forel, 1886e: clxi, misidentification.]
- Type-depository: MHNG.
- Combination in Cataglyphis: Müller, 1923b: 150;
- combination in C. (Monocombus): Santschi, 1929b: 35.
- Subspecies of cursor: Dalla Torre, 1893: 217; Emery, 1906d: 48; Emery, 1925b: 263; Santschi, 1929b: 35.
- Junior synonym of aenescens: Borowiec, L. & Salata, 2013: 384 (in text).
- Status as species: Agosti & Collingwood, 1987a: 59; Agosti & Collingwood, 1987b: 285 (in key); Agosti, 1990b: 1482; Bolton, 1995b: 135; Petrov, 2006: 110 (in key); Legakis, 2011: 34; Borowiec, L. & Salata, 2012: 486; Borowiec, L. & Salata, 2021: 6; Borowiec, L. & Salata, 2022: 140.
- Distribution: Greece.

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

Borowiec and Salata (2022) - Cataglyphis hellenica was synonymized with C. aenescens (Nylander) by Borowiec & Salata 2013: 384 as a result of a broad treatment of taxa from the Cataglyphis cursor group from the Balkans, Eastern Europe and the Middle East. Recent genetic and biological studies show that the name C. aenescens hides a number of cryptic species and the populations from the Balkans are a distinct species from the true C. aenescens described from southern Russia (Kuhn et al. 2019). Homogenity of Greek populations classified as Cataglyphis hellenica needs further genetic study.

Description

Worker

Borowiec and Salata (2022) - Moderately large, polymorphic; minor workers HL: 0.937-1.254 (mean 1.081); HW: 0.762-1.095 (mean 0.905); SL: 1.135-1.492 (mean 1.286); EL: 0.302-0.378 (mean 0.335); ML: 1.56-1.96; MW: 0.64-0.86. Color. Head, mesosoma and gaster reddish brown to dark brown, head or head and pronotum often lighter than gaster, reddish, especially in southern populations, mesonotum, propodeum and antennae from yellow bright brown to brown, femora brown, fore tibiae often paler than fore femora, yellowish, mid and hind femora brown or slightly paler than femora, tarsi yellowish. Head. 1.1-1.2 times longer than wide, in front of eyes parallelsided, behind eyes regularly rounded . Clypeus trapezoidal, transverse, its anterior margin convex with crenulate anterior margin, sides strongly convergent posterad, posterior margin short, straight, whole surface distinctly microreticulated not tending to form longitudinal striation, surface opalescent dull; sides of clypeal surface with sparse and short, hardly visible appressed hairs, anterior margin with a row of 6-8 very long setae, central part of clypeus without or with a pair of moderately long erected setae. Head distinctly microreticulate not tending to form longitudinal striation, appears opalescent dull, only on sides with sparse and short appressed pubescence, appears mostly unhaired, frontal area without or with a pairs of long erected setae, ocellar area with 1-3 short erected setae, occipital part of head with 2-4 long erected setae, gular area with 4-6 short to long erected setae. Scape long, thin, 1.4-1.5 times longer than width of head, slightly, regularly widened from base to apex, its surface microreticulate but shiny, with very short and very sparse appressed pubescence, erected setae absent. Funicular segments elongate, thin, first segment 3.6 times as long as wide and approximately 1.7 times as long as second segment, third segment slightly shorter than second, the rest of funicular segments distinctly longer than broad. Eyes big, elongate oval, 0.31 length of head. Mandibles very elongate, with longitudinal sculpture, surface shiny. Mesosoma. Elongate, 1.9-2.5 times as long as wide, dorsally and laterally distinctly microreticulated but surface not opalescent, indistinctly shiny to only slightly dull. In lateral view mesonotum usually placed slightly higher than pronotum, dorsum with deep mesonotal groove, propodeum high, regularly convex, rounded. Surface of pronotal dorsum and mesonotum with short and scarce, hardly visible depressed hairs, propodeum with slightly longer and dense pubescence than two anterior segments, whole dorsum lacking erected or pronotum centrally with single, long erected seta and mesonotum in posterior part with 1-3 short erected setae. Waist and gaster. Petiole in form of broad, thick scale with convex anterior and flat posterior face, apex regularly rounded; surface distinctly microreticulated covered with short and sparse appressed hairs, margins lacking erected setae. Gaster shorter than mesosoma, tergites with microreticulation partly tending to form transverse microstriation, dorsally not opalescent, indistinctly shiny, on sides shiny, covered with very short and scarce appressed hairs; first tergite lacking erected setae, second tergite without or with a pair of erected setae, third tergite with 2-4 erected setae. Legs. Very long and thin, hind femora longer than mesosoma, surface of legs covered with sparse hairs, inner margin of tibiae with row of thorns. Ventral surface of fore femora with 5-6 long erected setae.

Major workers: HL: 1.492-1.780 (mean 1.652); HW: 1.354-1.660 (mean 1.526); SL: 1.651-1.854 (mean 1.774); EL: 0.429-0.484 (mean 0.464); ML: 2.32-2.68; MW: 0.98-1.18. In all characters except size similar to minor workers including color variation and sculpture. Head proportionally stouter, as long as wide to 1.1 times longer than wide, central part of clypeus with 2-4 long erected setae, frons wit 2-3 of long erected setae, occipital part of head with usually with 4 long erected setae but in the largest workers up to 10 setae, and gular area with 8-10 short to long erected setae. Scape proportionally shorter, approximately 1.2 times as long as width of head. Eyes proportionally smaller, 0.28 length of head. Second tergite with 2-4 erected setae. Ventral surface of fore femora with 7-11 long erected setae.

Queen

Borowiec and Salata (2022) - body predominantly brown to black, head and mesosoma sometimes partly reddish brown, mesosoma and gaster with erected setae.

Taxonomic Notes

Borowiec & Salata (2021) - Based on the morphological characters and available resources, Borowiec and SaLata (2013) suggested that Cataglyphis cursor and its infraspecific taxa described and recorded from Greece represented Cataglyphis aenescens, a member of the cursor species-group recorded from the eastern Mediterranean, characterized by lack of erected setae on scape and mostly reduced number of erect setae on mesosoma. Consequently, Myrmecocystus cursor var. hellenicus (described from Peloponnese), and Myrmecocystus cursor var. cretica (described from Crete) were synonimized under Cataglyphis aenescens. Later, Salata and Borowiec (2018), based on studies on previously unavailable type specimens, supported with a vast material collected on Crete, concluded that Cretan populations represented a distinct species and restored the name Cataglyphis cretica to the species rank. This hypothesis was also confirmed by Kuhn et al. (2019) based on molecular studies. The same authors noted also that populations known from Greek mainland are not conspecific with Cataglyphis aenescens, which was described from the southern part of European Russia. However, they did not propose any formal restoration of the species status for Cataglyphis hellenica. After investigation of syntypes of Myrmecocystus cursor var. hellenicus collected in Pyrgos and several samples recently collected from Cyclades: Naxos, Macedonia: Halkidiki, Peloponnese: Achaia and Korinthia, Sterea Ellas: Attica, Euboea and Phthiotis, and Thessaly: Magnesia we agree with Kuhn et al. (2019) that these populations are distinct from both C. aenescens and C. cretica. Consequently, we propose to consider the name C. hellenica as a bona species. Its exact redescription will be given in forthcoming first volume of the monograph of ants of Greece.

References