Messor minor
Messor minor | |
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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) | |
Subspecies | |
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Synonyms | |
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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 |
- Source: AntMaps
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
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. |
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. |
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
- Abdul-Rassoul, M.S., Ali, H.B. & Augul, R.SH. 2013. New Records of Unidentified Ants worker (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae) stored in Iraqi Natural History Museum with key to Species. Adv. Biores., Vol 4 (2): 27-33.
- André, E. 1883b. Les fourmis. [concl.]. Pp. 345-404 in: André, Edm. 1881-1886. Species des Hyménoptères d'Europe et d'Algérie. Tome Deuxième. Beaune: Edmond André, 919 + 48 pp. (page 355, worker, queen described)
- Arnol'di, K. V. 1977b. Review of the harvester ants of the genus Messor (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in the fauna of the USSR. Zool. Zh. 5 56: 1637-1648 (page 1640, Status as species)
- Barech, G., Khaldi, M., Espadaler, X., Cagniant, H. 2020. Révision taxonomique du genre Messor (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) au Maghreb et description de Messor hodnii sp. n., une nouvelle espèce de fourmi trouvée en Algérie. Revue suisse de Zoologie 127(1) : 9-19 (doi:10.35929/RSZ.0002).
- Baroni Urbani, C. 1971c. Catalogo delle specie di Formicidae d'Italia (Studi sulla mirmecofauna d'Italia X). Memorie della Societa Entomologica Italiana 50: 5-287 (page 61, Senior synonym of pompeianus)
- Bernard, F. 1967a [1968]. Faune de l'Europe et du Bassin Méditerranéen. 3. Les fourmis (Hymenoptera Formicidae) d'Europe occidentale et septentrionale. Paris: Masson, 411 pp. (page 149, Status as species)
- Bondroit, J. 1918. Les fourmis de France et de Belgique. Ann. Soc. Entomol. Fr. 87: 1-174 (page 155, Status as species)
- 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., Salata, S. 2020. Review of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Jordan. Annals of the Upper Silesian Museum in Bytom, Entomology 29 (online 2): 1-26 (doi:10.5281/zenodo.3733156).
- Collingwood, C. A. and D. Agosti. 1996. Formicidae (Insecta: Hymenoptera) of Saudi Arabia (part 2). Fauna Saudi Arabia. 15:300-385.
- Dalla Torre, K. W. von. 1893. Catalogus Hymenopterorum hucusque descriptorum systematicus et synonymicus. Vol. 7. Formicidae (Heterogyna). Leipzig: W. Engelmann, 289 pp. (page 101, Variety/subspecies of capitatus)
- Emery, C. 1908f. Beiträge zur Monographie der Formiciden des paläarktischen Faunengebietes. (Hym.) Teil III. Dtsch. Entomol. Z. 1908: 437-465 (page 451, Combination in Messor, Variety/subspecies of barbarus)
- Finzi, B. 1924a. Formiche dell'isola d'Elba e Monte Argentario. Boll. Soc. Entomol. Ital. 56: 12-15 (page 13, Variety/subspecies of barbarus)
- Forel, A. 1910a. Glanures myrmécologiques. Ann. Soc. Entomol. Belg. 54: 6-32 (page 9, Variety/subspecies of barbarus)
- Kutter, H. 1927a. Ein myrmekologischer Streifzug durch Sizilien. Folia Myrmecol. Termit. 1: 94-104 (page 99, Status as species)
- Orou, N., Csősz, S., Arnan, X., Pol, R. G., Arthofer, W., Schlick-Steiner, B. C., Steiner, F. M. 2023. Messor erwini sp. n., a hitherto cryptic harvester ant in the Iberian Peninsula. Zoologischer Anzeiger 307, 36–53 (doi:10.1016/j.jcz.2023.09.001).
- Plowes, N.J.R., Johnson, R.A., Holldobler, B. 2013. Foraging behavior in the ant genus Messor (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae). Myrmecological News 18, 33-49.
- Rigato, F.; Toni, I. 2011. Short notes 21. Hymenoptera, Formicidae. Pp. 873-882 in: Nardi, G.; Whitmore, D.; Bardiani, M.; Birtele, D.; Mason, F.; Spada, L.; Cerretti, P. (eds.) 2011. Biodiversity of Marganai and Montimannu (Sardinia). Research in the framework of the ICP Forests network. Conservazione Habitat Invertebrati, 5. Sommacampagna, Verona: Cierre Edizioni, 896 pp.
- Salata, S., Borowiec, L., Trichas, A. 2020. Review of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Crete, with keys to species determination and zoogeographical remarks. Monographs of the Upper Silesian Museum No 12: 5–296 (doi:10.5281/ZENODO.3738001).
- Salata, S., Demetriou, J., Georgiadis, C., Borowiec, L. 2023. The genus Messor Forel, 1890 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Cyprus. Annales Zoologici 73(2): 215-234 (doi:10.3161/00034541anz2023.73.2.006).
- Salata, S., Lapeva-Gjonova, A., Georgiadis, C., Borowiec, L. 2023. Review of the Messor semirufus complex (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in Greece. ZooKeys 1185, 105–142 (doi:10.3897/zookeys.1185.111484).
- Santschi, F. 1921d. Formicides nouveaux de l'Afrique du Nord. Bull. Soc. Hist. Nat. Afr. Nord 12: 68-77 (page 69, Variety/subspecies of barbarus)
- Santschi, F. 1923f. Messor et autres fourmis paléarctiques. Rev. Suisse Zool. 30: 317-336 (page 325, Variety/subspecies of instabilis)
- Santschi, F. 1927d. Revision des Messor du groupe instabilis Sm. (Hymenopt.). Bol. R. Soc. Esp. Hist. Nat. 27: 225-250 (page 232, Status as species)
- Santschi, F. 1934d. Fourmis d'une croisière. Bull. Ann. Soc. Entomol. Belg. 74: 273-282 (page 273, Status as species)
- Schär, S., Menchetti, M., Schifani, E., Hinojosa, J.C., Platania, L., Dapporto, L., Vila, R. 2020. Integrative biodiversity inventory of ants from a Sicilian archipelago reveals high diversity on young volcanic islands (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Organisms Diversity, Evolution 20, 405–416 (doi:10.1007/s13127-020-00442-3).
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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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