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Temnothorax evagorae
| Temnothorax evagorae | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Myrmicinae |
| Tribe: | Crematogastrini |
| Genus: | Temnothorax |
| Species group: | graecus |
| Species: | T. evagorae |
| Binomial name | |
| Temnothorax evagorae Satala, Demetriou, Georgiadis & Borowiec, 2024 | |
The commonest Cypriot species of the genus Temnothorax, noted from numerous lowland and highland sites from seashore to an altitude of 838 m. Most specimens were shaken off to the entomological umbrella from bushes and small trees growing by the streams, roadsides, on the outskirts of pine forests, and also from deciduous trees inside shadow sub-mountain forests and young pine trees in tree nurseries. It is the most ubiquitous species from Cypriot members of the genus Temnothorax, collected both in warm and sunny places and in shady mountain valleys, along streams, and on the edges of dam lakes. Only one nest sample was collected under moss on a rocky wall inside a mountain valley close to a stream, but probably as in the Greek representatives of the Temnothorax graecus group, they can nest inside the dry stems of shrubs and large herbs, especially in dry sites.
Photo Gallery
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Identification
Temnothorax evagorae is a member of the T. graecus group, very variable in size, morphological details, and body color. It has uniformly yellow antennae or its antennal club might be only slightly darker yellow than the funicle, and this character is similar to Temnothorax cerastarum and Temnothorax oreades. While T. aeolius well differs in antennal club partly brown to black. Pale specimens of T. evagorae are very similar to T. cerastarum but this species differs in the less sculptured head with a great part of the frontal and occipital area smooth and shiny (in T. evagorae smooth area is restricted to a narrow frontal stripe); longer, needle-shaped propodeal spines with mean PSLI 0.297 (in T. evagorae 0.258), and longer antennal scapus with mean SI1 0.933 and SI2 0.785 (in T. evagorae 0.849 and 0.700 respectively). The pale form of T. oreades is very similar to T. evagorae in sculpture and shape of the petiole, and the best distinguishing characteristic is the length of mesosomal erect setae. In T. oreades, these setae are longer, with the longest seta/eye diameter ratio 0.571–0.645 (mean 0.604), while in T. evagorae the ratio is 0.500–0.582 (mean 0.530). Both species are separated ecologically, T. evagorae is a lowland and highland species recorded from the sea coast to an altitude of 838 m, while T. oreades was collected only in mountain habitats from 1100 to 1928 m with only one locality below 1100 m at an altitude 842 m but placed in very shadow and wet site. The last yellow Cypriot species: Temnothorax akrotiriensis which was collected in one site with T. evagorae differs in its more sculptured head with a distinctly microreticulate background between the large reticulation and rugae thus frontal part of the head looks slightly dull, while in T. evagorae this background microreticulate sculpture is diffused or absent thus frontal part of head looks shiny. Temnothorax evagorae has slightly shorter antennae with a mean SI1 0.849 (in T. akrotiriensis 0.917), but the range of variability overlaps in both species. Temnothorax akrotiriensis has a very narrow band at the end of the first gastral tergite that occupies at most ¼ posterior surface of the tergite, while in T. evagorae this band always occupies more than ⅓ or very often more than half length of the tergite.
Keys including this Species
Distribution
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Latitudinal Distribution Pattern
Latitudinal Range: 35.1° to 34.5°.
| North Temperate |
North Subtropical |
Tropical | South Subtropical |
South Temperate |
- Source: Salata et al., 2024
Distribution based on type material
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. |
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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.
- evagorae. Temnothorax evagorae Satala et al., 2024: 41, figs. 35-41, 64 (w.q.) CYPRUS.
Type Material
- Holotype: worker (pin) “CYPRUS, Paphos, 387 m | rd. F612 loc. 2 | 34.74385 / 32.6722 | 28 IV 2022, S. Salata” (MNHW).
- Paratypes (1 gyne, 102 workers, pin): 5w, the same data as for holotype; 1w “CYPRUS, Akrotiri UK SBA, 0 m | Limassol Salt Lake loc. 2 | 34.60987 / 32.94685 | 20 IV 2022, L. Borowiec” (MNHW); 2w “CYPRUS, Limassol, 129 m | Apollo Temple a. Kourion | 34.67399 / 32.86412 | 20 IV 2022, L. Borowiec” (MNHW); 1w “CYPRUS, Nicosia, Selladi | Tis Foinoklis, 807 m | 35.06773 / 32.61516 | 23 IV 2022, S. Salata” (MNHW); 1g, 12w “CYPRUS, Paphos, Tzelefos | Bridge, 463 m | 34.89093 / 32.7462 | 19 IV 2022 | L. Borowiec” (MNHW); 12w “CYPRUS, Paphos, Tzelefos | Bridge, 453 m | 34.88989 / 32.7462 | 19 IV 2022 | S. Salata” (MNHW); 3w “CYPRUS, Paphos, 172 m | Evretou Dam | 34.96165 / 32.47749 | 21 IV 2022, L. Borowiec” (MNHW); 3w “CYPRUS, Paphos, 424 m | Agios Neofytou Mon. | 34.84602 / 32.44784 | 29 IV 2022, L. Borowiec” (MNHW); 2w “CYPRUS, Paphos, 397 m | rd. F612 loc. 2 | 34.74329 / 32.67197 | 28 IV 2022, L. Borowiec” (MNHW); 5w “CYPRUS, Paphos, 361 m | road F612 ad Ag. Konstantinos | 34.73397 / 32.64312 | 28 IV 2022, S. Salata” (MNHW); 2w “CYPRUS, Paphos, Avakas | Gorge, 38 m | 34.91832 / 32.3331 | 18 IV 2022, L. Borowiec” (MNHW); 2w “CYPRUS, Limassol, 129 m | Apollo Temple a. Kourion | 34.67399 / 32.86412 | 20 IV 2022, L. Borowiec” (MNHW); 5w “CYPRUS, Paphos, 433 m | Tzionoues Pic. Ar. | 35.07501 / 32.56583 | 28 IV 2022, S. Salata” (MNHW); 4w “CYPRUS, Paphos, Diarizos | riv., Chasampoulion, 272 | m, 34.79656/ 32.70236 |19 IV 2022, 23w (EtOH), S. Salata” (MNHW); 4w “CYPRUS, Paphos distr., 264 m | Diarizos riv. south of Kidasi | 34°47.865 N / 32°42.305 E | 6 V 2012, L. Borowiec || Collection L. Borowiec | Formicidae | LBC–CY00161” (MNHW); 13w “CYPRUS, Paphos distr., 264 m | Diarizos riv. south of Kidasi | 34°47.865 N / 32°42.305 E | 6 V 2012, L. Borowiec || Collection L. Borowiec | Formicidae | LBC–CY00166” (MNHW); 1w “CYPRUS, Paphos distr., 59 m | Kato Paphos, Limnaria Riv. | 34.764438 / 32.440221 | 4–13 VII 2019, G. Hebda || Collection L. Borowiec | Formicidae | LBC–CY00215” (MNHW); 1w “CYPRUS, Paphos distr., 51 m | Avakas Pen., Aphrodite’s Baths | 35°03.403 N / 32°20.660 E | 4 V 2012, L. Borowiec || Collection L. Borowiec | Formicidae | LBC–CY00161” (MNHW); 13w “CYPRUS, Paphos distr., 51 m | Akamas Pen., Aphrodite’s Baths | 35°03.403 N / 32°20.660 E | 4 V 2012, L. Borowiec || Collection L. Borowiec | Formicidae | LBC–CY00163” (MNHW); 2w “CYPRUS, Paphos distr., 117 m | Akamas Pen., Avakas Gorge | 34°55.451 N / 32°20.740 E | 3 V 2012, L. Borowiec || Collection L. Borowiec | Formicidae | LBC–CY00164” (MNHW); 1w “CYPRUS, Paphos distr., 363 m | Pegeia Forest n. Pegeia | 34°53.853 N / 32°22.046 E | 4 V 2012, L. Borowiec || Collection L. Borowiec | Formicidae | LBC–CY00159” (MNHW); 6w “CYPRUS, Paphos distr., 398 m | Agiou Neofytou church n. Tala | 34°50.672 N / 32°26.686 E | 7 V 2012, L. Borowiec || Collection L. Borowiec | Formicidae | LBC–CY00159” (MNHW).