Messor minor

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Messor minor
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Tribe: Stenammini
Genus: Messor
Species: M. minor
Binomial name
Messor minor
(André, 1883)

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Specimen Labels

Subspecies
Synonyms

A west-Mediterranean taxon, whose variability and taxonomy of which are still poorly known. In Italy it is common especially along the Tyrrhenian Sea (Rigato & Toni, 2011).

At a Glance • Limited invasive  

Identification

Collingwood and Agosti (1996) - HW 1.8-2.4; EL/HW 0.18-0.22. This red-headed species occurs in South Italy and Tunisia and seems to be indistinguishable from Messor minor maurus from Tenerife and Lanzarote. It is known in Arabia only from a restricted area of the Asir highlands.

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 44.48606407° to 20.25°.

     
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Afrotropical Region: Saudi Arabia.
Oriental Region: India.
Palaearctic Region: Azerbaijan, Canary Islands, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy (type locality), Kuwait, Montenegro, Morocco.

It occurs in North Africa (Abdul-Rassoul et al. 2013).

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

Castes

Nomenclature

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

  • minor. Aphaenogaster barbara var. minor André, 1883b: 355 (w.q.) ITALY (mainland, Sardinia, Sicily), FRANCE (Corsica).
    • Type-material: syntype workers, syntype queens (numbers not stated).
    • Type-localities: Italy (+ Sardinia, Sicily), France: Corsica (no further data).
    • Type-depository: MNHN.
    • Emery, 1908e: 451 (m.).
    • Combination in Messor: Emery, 1908e: 451.
    • As unavailable (infrasubspecific) name: Emery, 1891b: 12; Emery, 1893c: 84; Forel, 1905b: 176; Santschi, 1908: 517; Forel, 1909e: 379; Emery, 1922c: 94.
    • Subspecies of capitatus: Dalla Torre, 1893: 101.
    • Subspecies of barbarus: Emery, 1887b: 457; Forel, 1890a: lxx; Emery, 1908e: 451; Forel, 1910a: 9; Karavaiev, 1912a: 9; Krausse, 1912b: 164; Emery, 1912f: 97; Santschi, 1914d: 335; Emery, 1916b: 143; Stitz, 1917: 343; Santschi, 1921d: 69; Emery, 1921f: 71; Finzi, 1924a: 13; Chapman & Capco, 1951: 137.
    • Subspecies of instabilis: Santschi, 1923f: 325 (in text); Wheeler, W.M. 1927g: 103; Bernard, 1948: 138.
    • Status as species: Bondroit, 1918: 155; Santschi, 1927c: 232 (redescription); Kutter, 1927: 99; Finzi, 1929: 84; Santschi, 1934d: 273; Grandi, 1935: 100; Finzi, 1936: 159; Finzi, 1940: 158; Baroni Urbani, 1964c: 151; Cagniant, 1964: 87; Bernard, 1967: 149 (redescription); Baroni Urbani, 1971c: 61; Bernard, 1971: 7; Arnol'di, 1977b: 1640; Bernard, 1980: 266; Collingwood, 1985: 251; Agosti & Collingwood, 1987b: 271 (in key); Casevitz-Weulersse, 1990b: 156 (in key); Bolton, 1995b: 255; Poldi, et al. 1995: 3; Collingwood & Agosti, 1996: 319; Cagniant & Espadaler, 1998: 424; Cagniant, 2006a: 197; Petrov, 2006: 92 (in key); Paknia, et al. 2008: 152; Casevitz-Weulersse & Galkowski, 2009: 489; Lush, 2009: 116; Vonshak, et al. 2009: 42; Karaman, M.G. 2011b: 37; Borowiec, L. 2014: 109 (see note in bibliography); Bharti, Guénard, et al. 2016: 38; Lebas, et al. 2016: 296; Barech, et al. 2020: 16.
    • Senior synonym of pompeianus: Baroni Urbani, 1971c: 61; Bolton, 1995b: 255.
    • Distribution: Algeria, France (Corsica), India, Iran, Israel, Italy (+ Sardinia, Sicily), Kuwait, Montenegro, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia.
    • Current subspecies: nominal plus calabricus, capreensis, hesperius, maurus Barquin Diez (unresolved junior homonym).
  • pompeianus. Messor minor var. pompeianus Santschi, 1927c: 233 (w.) ITALY.
    • Type-material: syntype workers (number not stated).
    • Type-locality: Italy: Pompeii, 10.vii.1924 (F. Santschi).
    • Type-depository: NHMB.
    • [Misspelled as pompejana by Grandi, 1935: 100, and others.]
    • Finzi, 1929: 86 (q.).
    • Subspecies of minor: Finzi, 1929: 86; Santschi, 1934d: 273; Grandi, 1935: 100.
    • Junior synonym of minor: Baroni Urbani, 1971c: 61; Bolton, 1995b: 256.

Description

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

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  • Antarea (Personal Communication - Rumsais Blatrix- 27 April 2018)
  • Antarea (at www.antarea.fr on June 11th 2017)
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