Tapinoma subboreale

Tapinoma subboreale
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Dolichoderinae
Genus:	Tapinoma
Species:	T. subboreale
Binomial name
Tapinoma subboreale Seifert, 2012 Specimen Labels

A thermophilous species, it prefers sun-exposed, sandy and gravelly ground. Noted from xerothermous grasslands, gravel quarries, light pine forests and dirty heathland. Nest were found under stones. (Borowiec and Salata 2022)

Identification

Borowiec and Salata (2022) - Within Greece: The smallest species with the smallest gynes within Greek Tapinoma. Shallow, semicircular to triangular median emargination on clypeus places this species only close to Tapinoma festae but it differs distinctly in structure of male genitalia. For other distinguishing characters see comparative remarks under Tapinoma festae. Both species are separated geographically, T. festae is southern species known only from islands north to the southern Ionian Islands while T. subboreale is northern species so far not recorded from Greece. However, its confirmed presence in north Balkan countries suggests that it can occur in northern provinces of Greece.

Keys including this Species

• Key to Central European Tapinoma
• Key to Palaearctic Tapinoma
• Key to Tapinoma of Greece

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 56.87° to 41.774°.

North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

• Source: AntMaps, Seifert et al. (2024)

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Palaearctic Region: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Georgia, Germany (type locality), Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye, Ukraine, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

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.

Castes

Images from AntWeb

Worker

Worker. Specimen code casent0914256. Photographer Michele Esposito, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by CAS, San Francisco, CA, USA.

Queen

Queen (alate/dealate). Specimen code casent0914257. Photographer Michele Esposito, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by CAS, San Francisco, CA, USA.

Nomenclature

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

• subboreale. Tapinoma subboreale Seifert, 2012: 143, figs. 1, 2, 4 (w.q.m.) GERMANY.

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

Description

Worker

Table 1: All data primary ratios (without RAV correction). Rather small, mean CS 699 μm. Depth of anteromedian clypeal excision 5.2% of cephalic size, much lower than in Tapinoma erraticum or Tapinoma nigerrimum but equal to Tapinoma madeirense. In general most similar to T. madeirense but the following three characters show statistically significant differences: With maximum cephalic length in visual plane, excavation of hind vertex just notable, being ± 0.43% of CS (in T. madeirense almost zero). Head and mesosoma more elongated than in T. madeirense, CL / CW 1.153, ML / CS 1.362. Using the seven characters, presented in Table 1, there was no clear clustering of workers in a PCA while a DA and LOOCV-DA resulted in error rates of 12.5 and 18.7% in 62 workers (data not shown). The univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA) confirmed as highly significant difference to T. madeirense a smaller CL / CW0.75, ExOcc / CS0.75 and ML / CS0.75 (Tab. 1). For differences to T. erraticum and T. nigerrimum see Table 1.

Borowiec and Salata (2022) - Very small to large, polymorphic: the largest workers: HL: 0.806-817 (mean 0.812); HW: 0.698-0.703 (mean 0.701); SL: 0.746-0.748 (mean 0.747); EL: 0.198-0.219 (mean 0.209); ML: 1.01-1.02; MW: 0.49-0.51; the smallest workers: HL: 0.635-0.671 (mean 0.649); HW: 0.527-0.556 (mean 0.543); SL: 0.590-0.632 (mean 0.614); EL: 0.160-0.167 (mean 0.162); ML: 0.75-0.79; MW: 0.39-0.40. Color. Body brown to black, gena often slightly paler than res to head, yellowish brown, antennae and legs brown, coxa often slightly paler brown than femora, in pale specimens tibiae yellowish brown, tarsi always paler than femora yellow to yellowish brown. Head. In major workers 1.1, in minor workers 1.1-1.2 times as long as wide, widest in basal 1/3 length then softly converging anterad, occipital corners rounded, occipital margin concave. Clypeus microreticulated but shiny, triangularly extended to the front, in the middle moderately emarginate to 0.18-0.25 length of clypeus, shape of emargination semicircular to slightly triangular; sides of clypeus deeply concave, posterior margin rounded, surface covered with moderately dense appressed hairs, explanate anterior margin close to median emargination with one pair of erected setae and few decumbent short setae partly extending behind margin of clypeus but usually not extending behind margins of median emargination. Head distinctly microreticulated but shiny, with moderately long and moderately dense appressed pubescence not covering head surface, erected setae absent, ventral side of head with0ut erected setae. Scape moderately elongate, in both major and minor workers 1.0- 1.1 times as long as width of head, very thin, only slightly widened from base to apex, its surface microreticulate but shiny, with short and moderately dense appressed pubescence, erected setae absent. Funicular segments elongate, thin, first segment 1.9-2.0 times as long as wide and 1.5-1.6 times as long as second segment which is 1.4-1.5 times as long as wide, the rest of funicular segments s longer than broad. Eyes big, placed in the middle of frontal surface of head, almost circular, 0.25-0.26 length of head. Mandibles long, without striation, teeth of masticatory margin gradually smaller posterad. Mesosoma. Elongate, 1.9-2.1 times as long as wide, dorsally and laterally distinctly microreticulated but shiny, sometimes sides of propodeum with slightly dull background, with short and moderately dense appressed pubescence . In lateral view pronotum and mesonotum regularly convex, propodeum forms obtuse angle, mesonotal groove moderately deep. Mesosomal dorsum lacking erected setae. Waist and gaster. Petiolar scale small, thin, hidden under protruding anterad anterior face of first gastral tergite. Gaster longer than mesosoma, tergites distinctly microreticulated sometimes tending to form transverse sculpture, surface shiny, covered with moderately long and dense appressed pubescence, first three tergites lacking erected setae, sternites with median keel. Legs. Moderately long, tibiae distinctly widened from base to apex, mid and hind tibiae with very long, sharp apical spur, first segment of tarsi longer than subsequent segments combined, surface covered with moderately long and moderately dense appressed hairs, erected setae absent, inner margin of tibiae lacking row of thorns.

Queen

Rather small, CS 836-930 μm. Depth of anteromedian clypeal excision much lower than in Tapinoma erraticum or T. nigerrimum but equal to T. madeirense. In all studied characters most similar to T. madeirense but statistically significant differences are the more elongated head, the larger distance of the inner margins of antennal fossae and the larger eye length (Tab. 2). Using the seven characters presented in Table 2, there was no clear clustering of gynes of T. subboreale sp.n. and T. madeirense in a PCA while a DA and LOOCV-DA resulted in error rates 5.1 and 15.4% in 38 gynes (data not shown). For differences to T. erraticum and T. nigerrimum see below and Table 2.

Borowiec and Salata (2022) - Very small: HL: 0.802-0.873 (mean 0.839); HW: 0.825-0.889 (mean 0.858); SL: 0.730-0.799 (mean 0.764); ML: 1.50-1.54; MW: 0.89-0.94; HL/HW: 0.972-0,982 (mean 0.977); SL/HW: 0.885-0.899 (mean 0.890); ML/MW: 1.628-1.699 (mean 1.671).

Male

Absolute body size equal to Tapinoma madeirense, ML 1310-1630 μm. Anteromedian clypeal incision shallow, clearly wider than deep. With the genital in ventral view and the subgenital plate positioned in visual plane, stipal tips much less surpassing the caudal tips of the subgenital plate than in T. madeirense (dSPST 122-172 vs. 252-268 μm), the divergence of the caudal tips of the subgenital plate is much larger (SPdT 472-563 vs. 370-435 μm, compare also Figs. 3 and 4). As a result, the ratio SPdT / dSPST is much larger than in T. madeirense – 3.04-4.12 vs. 1.46-1.88. Due to extreme elongation and strong divergence of the tips of subgenital plate these are clearly visible also in dorsal aspect of the genital – there is no other Tapinoma species in Europe with a comparable morphology of the subgenital plate.

Type Material

Holotype male labelled “GER: 51.2294 °N, 11.7329°E, Weischütz-Kirche 1.7 km NE, limestone grassland, 215 m, Seifert 2002.06.14-542”, “Holotype Tapinoma subboreale Seifert}; five paratype males and five paratype workers with the same locality label and “Paratype Tapinoma subboreale Seifert” on a separate pin (1 male, 2 workers) and in ethanol (4 males, 3 workers); all material from the same nest sample; five paratype gynes labelled “GER: 50.879°N, 10.840°E, 300 m, Wanderlebener Gleiche, B. Seifert 1984.09.03” and “Paratype Tapinoma subboreale Seifert”; all material in Senckenberg Museum für Naturkunde Görlitz.

Etymology

The species epithet is an adjective derived from Latin, meaning "below northern" – referring to the fact that the most northern Scandinavian populations are found south of the boreal zone.

References

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References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

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