Cataglyphis viaticoides

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Cataglyphis viaticoides
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Formicinae
Tribe: Formicini
Genus: Cataglyphis
Species group: albicans
Species complex: livida
Species: C. viaticoides
Binomial name
Cataglyphis viaticoides
(André, 1881)

Cataglyphis viaticoides casent0906298 p 1 high.jpg

Cataglyphis viaticoides casent0906298 d 1 high.jpg

Specimen Labels

Synonyms

At Rawdhat Khorim, Saudia Arabia, C. viaticoides is a common species found throughout the year and abundant from June to October, with a peak in September. Cataglyphis viaticoides was often observed foraging on Calotropis procera (Aiton) W. T. Aiton (Apocynaceae) (Sharaf et al., 2013). Pashaei Rad et al. (2018) found this species in Iran on parkland ground in a moderate to very low rainfall area.

Identification

Salata et al. (2021) - Head and mesosoma uniformly yellowish red to reddish yellow, gaster entirely or mostly dark; thin layer of silvery hair limited to propodeum.

Keys including this Species

Distribution

The collection of this species at Rawdhat Khorim, Saudi Arabia, represents the first record known for Saudi Arabia and the second record for the Arabian Peninsula. Collingwood et al. (2011) reported it from UAE (Sharaf et al., 2013).

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 41.9° to 24.25°.

   
North
Temperate 		North
Subtropical 		Tropical South
Subtropical 		South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Afrotropical Region: Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates.
Palaearctic Region: Armenia, Greece, Iran, Israel, Lebanon (type locality), 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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Habitat

Borowiec and Salata (2022), for Greece - Very thermophilous species. Reported from open areas such as dry hills with sparse vegetation, roadsides in Mediterranean oak forests, and grass and ruderal areas in tourist resorts. All collecting sites were at low and mid altitude, from 25 to 550 m.

Biology

Borowiec and Salata (2022), for Greece - Nests in ground. Workers are active only in strong sunlight, especially in the afternoon hours.

Castes

Nomenclature

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

  • viaticoides. Myrmecocystus albicans var. viaticoides André, 1881b: 57 (in text) (w.) LEBANON.
    • Type-material: syntype workers (number not stated).
    • Type-locality: Lebanon: Beyrouth (= Beirut) (Abeille de Perrin).
    • Type-depositories: MHNG, MNHN.
    • Arnol'di, 1964: 1809 (m.).
    • Combination in M. (Cataglyphis): Forel, 1911d: 354;
    • combination in Cataglyphis: Emery, 1925b: 263.
    • Subspecies of albicans: André, 1882b: 168 (in key); Emery, 1891b: 17; Dalla Torre, 1893: 216; Medina, 1893: 104; Forel, 1895d: 228; Forel, 1902a: 156; Forel, 1903b: 459; Forel, 1904b: 383; Emery, 1906d: 53; Forel, 1909c: 105; Karavaiev, 1910b: 37; Forel, 1911d: 354; Crawley, 1920b: 177; Emery, 1925b: 262; Santschi, 1929b: 61 (in key); Menozzi, 1933b: 85; Santschi, 1934d: 281; Ceballos, 1956: 317.
    • Status as species: Arnol'di, 1964: 1809; Collingwood & Yarrow, 1969: 85; Aktaç, 1977: 128; Collingwood, 1978: 92 (in key); Kugler, J. 1988: 259; Agosti, 1990b: 1495; Tinaut & Plaza, 1990: 192; Collingwood, 1993b: 195; Arakelian, 1994: 109; Bolton, 1995b: 137; Radchenko, 1997c: 428; Radchenko, 1998: 506 (in key); Vonshak, et al. 2009: 39; Legakis, 2011: 35; Collingwood, et al. 2011: 464; Borowiec, L. & Salata, 2012: 487; Kiran & Karaman, 2012: 10; Sharaf, Abdel-Dayem, et al. 2013: 570; Borowiec, L. 2014: 62; Tohmé, G. & Tohmé, 2014: 139; Lebas, et al. 2016: 160; Borowiec, L. & Salata, 2018: 5; Salata & Borowiec, 2018c: 44; Borowiec, L. & Salata, 2020: 6; Borowiec, L. & Salata, 2022: 147.
    • Senior synonym of bulgarica: Salata, Kiyani, et al. 2021: 128.
    • Senior synonym of mixtus: Salata, Kiyani, et al. 2021: 128.
    • Distribution: Afghanistan, Armenia, Bulgaria, Egypt, Greece, Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates.
  • bulgarica. Cataglyphis (Cataglyphis) livida bulgarica Atanassov, 1982: 213, fig. 4 (w.q.) BULGARIA.
    • Type-material: holotype worker, 20 paratype workers, 5 paratype queens.
    • Type-locality: holotype Bulgaria: Rhodope Mts, Ivailovgrad Dist., vic. Odrinzi village, 22.v.1964, no. 2417 (N. Atanassov); paratypes with same data.
    • Type-depositories: NMSB (holotype); NMSB, ZMUM (paratypes) (perhaps also BASS).
    • Subspecies of livida: Agosti, 1990b: 1494; Bolton, 1995b: 134.
    • Status as species: Atanassov & Dlussky, 1992: 293.
    • Junior synonym of livida: Radchenko, 1997c: 428.
    • Junior synonym of viaticoides: Salata, Kiyani, et al. 2021: 128.
  • mixtus. Myrmecocystus albicans var. mixtus Forel, 1895d: 229 (w.) TURKEY.
    • Type-material: syntype workers (number not stated).
    • Type-locality: Turkey: Adrianople (= Edirne) (Flach).
    • Type-depository: MHNG.
    • Combination in M. (Cataglyphis): Forel, 1911d: 354;
    • combination in Cataglyphis: Emery, 1925b: 263.
    • As unavailable (infrasubspecific) name: Emery, 1906d: 53; Emery, 1925b: 263; Santschi, 1929b: 62 (in key); Santschi, 1934d: 281.
    • Subspecies of albicans: Forel, 1911d: 354; Agosti, 1990b: 1492; Bolton, 1995b: 136.
    • Junior synonym of livida: Radchenko, 1997c: 428; Kiran & Karaman, 2012: 9.
    • Junior synonym of viaticoides: Salata, Kiyani, et al. 2021: 128.

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) - Moderately large, polymorphic; minor workers HL: 1.025-1.213 (mean 1.132); HW: 0.929-1.049 (mean 1.004); SL: 1.063-1.238 (mean 1.163); EL: 0.305-0.388 (mean 0.354); ML: 1.54-1.82; MW: 0.66-0.81. Color. Head, mesosoma and petiole in fresh specimens yellowish red to red, in dried specimens yellowish to brightly yellowish red, gaster in fresh specimens brown to almost black, often with slightly paler anterior face of first tergite, in dried specimens yellowish brown to dark brown, antennae and legs yellow. 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 anterior margin simple or in the middle slightly crenulate, sides strongly convergent posterad, posterior margin short, from slightly rounded to straight, whole surface with diffused microreticulation, surface shiny; sides of clypeal surface with sparse and short to moderate appressed hairs, anterior margin with a row of 4-6 very long setae, central part of clypeus with a pair of moderately long erected setae. Head with diffused microreticulation, appears shiny, only on sides with sparse and short appressed pubescence, appears mostly unhaired, frontal area a pair of long erected setae, ocellar area with 1-3 short erected setae, occipital part of head with 4-10 moderately long erected setae, gular area with 2 long erected setae. Scape long, thin, 1.1-1.1 times longer than width of head, slightly, regularly widened from base to apex, its surface microreticulate but shiny, with short and sparse appressed to subdecumbent pubescence, erected setae absent. Funicular segments elongate, thin, first segment 3.3 times as long as wide and approximately 1.7 times as long as second segment, third segment approximately as long as second, the rest of funicular segments distinctly longer than broad. Eyes big, elongate oval, 0.31 length of head. Mandibles very elongate, in basal half smooth and shiny in apical half with longitudinal sculpture. Mesosoma. Elongate 2.2-2.3 times as long as wide, dorsally and laterally distinctly microreticulated but surface not opalescent, indistinctly shiny. In lateral view mesonotum not placed higher than pronotum, dorsum with deep mesonotal groove, propodeum moderately high, regularly convex, rounded. Surface of pronotal dorsum and mesonotum with short and scarce depressed hairs, propodeum with slightly longer and denser pubescence than two anterior segments, whole dorsum lacking erected setae or propodeum with 2 short erected setae close to spiracles. Waist and gaster. Petiole in form of broad but low cubical node, apex in anterior view straight; surface anteriorly distinctly microreticulated covered with short and sparse appressed hairs, laterally and posteriorly with diffused microreticulation or smooth, apicolateral corners and lateral margins without or with 1-4 erected setae. Gaster shorter than mesosoma, tergites with fine microreticulation tending to form transverse microstriation, dorsally not opalescent, shiny, on sides shiny, covered with very short and scarce appressed hairs; first tergite without or with 2 erected setae, second tergite without or with a pair of erected setae, third tergite with 2 (occasionally 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 6-8 long erected setae.

Major workers: HL: 1.481-1.760 (mean 1.621); HW: 1.368-1.611 (mean 1.481); SL: 1.644-1.460 (mean 1.534); EL: 0.460-0.484 (mean 0.473); ML: 2.17-2.40; MW: 0.98-1.13. 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 with one or two pairs of long erected setae, occipital part of head with usually with 12-16 short erected seta, and gular area with 2-4 long erected setae. Scape proportionally shorter, approximately as long as or 1.1 times longer than width of head. Eyes proportionally smaller, 0.29 length of head. Mesosoma stouter, 2.0-2.1 times as long as wide. Propodeum in posterior half with 8-14 short erected setae. First tergite with 2-8, second and third tergite 2-4 erected setae. Ventral surface of fore femora with 9-12 long erected setae.

Taxonomic Notes

Bracko et al. (2016) - The status of this species was misinterpreted probably due to confusion with type material preserved in the Museum of Natural History in Paris. André (1881), in the original description, clearly wrote that specimens named as a Myrmecocystus albicans var. viaticoides were collected in Beyruth (Lebanon). As diagnostic features he noted red colouration of the head and mesosoma and mostly black gaster. In the same paper he described another taxon: Myrmecocystus albicans var. lividus. Specimens of this species were collected in Jaffa, Syria (now Israel) and were distinguished by whole body pale reddish and only apex of gaster infuscate (now dried syntypes appear faded and are almost completely yellow). Surprisingly, in the material preserved in Paris Museum one bicoloured syntype with dark gaster with determination label “viaticoides” has locality label “Syrie” (available in AntWeb https://www.antweb.org/specimen/ CASENT0912236) and another one, uniformly yellow syntype with determination label “viaticoides”, has locality label “Beyrouth” (available in AntWebhttps://www.antweb.org/ specimen/CASENT0915503). In the same collection there is also one syntype of uniformly yellow body with determination label “lividus” and locality label “Syrie” (available in AntWebhttps://www.antweb.org/specimen/CASENT0915499). We found two other syntypes with determination label “lividus” and locality label “Jaffa” in Forel’s collection in Genève (available in AntWeb https://www.antweb.org/specimen/ CASENT0911099) and in Santschi’s collection in Basel (available in AntWeb https:// www.antweb.org/specimen/CASENT0912207). Radchenko (1997) studied syntype labelled “Beyrouth” (with mostly yellow abdomen) and suggested that records of bicoloured Cataglyphis viaticoides from Turkey, Caucasus and Iran concern Cataglyphis rubra (Forel, 1903). In his next paper with a key to Asian members of the genus Cataglyphis (Radchenko 1998), he named bicoloured taxon as a C. rubra and unicoloured taxa as a C. lividus and C. viaticoides with note that C. viaticoides is a problematic species. Agosti (1990), in his review of Cataglyphis, noted that syntypes of C. viaticoides do not correspond with species description but he did not propose any solution of this problem. In our opinion only syntypes from Beyruth should be the true types of C. viaticoides, while syntypes from Syrie or Jaffa should be treated as a true types of C. lividus. Probably, discussed above syntypes, were inversely labeled in Paris Museum (bicolored specimens should have label "Beyrouth / Abeille" and uniformly yellow specimens should have label “Jaffa / Abeille” or "Syrie / Abeille"). Cataglyphis viaticoides is the only species of the mentioned above two taxa which occurs in Greece. Data on the distribution of C. bicolor (Fabricius, 1793) in Transcaucasia, Asia Minor, Iran, the Middle East and Arabian Peninsula should refer to C. viaticoides. True C. bicolor is restricted only to North Africa (Wehner et al. 1994, C. Galkowski pers. comm).

Salata et al. (2021) - Radchenko (1997), based on confusion related to the type labels of Cataglyphis livida and C. viaticoides (see Bračko et al. 2016), considered C. livida bulgarica and C. albicans mixtus as junior synonyms of C. livida. Results presented by Bračko et al. (2016) clarified that the only member of the livida complex with entirely or mostly black gaster is C. viaticoides and thus Cataglyphis livida bulgarica Atanassov, 1982 and Cataglyphis albicans mixtus (Forel, 1895) should be considered as its junior synonyms.

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

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