Temnothorax graecus

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Temnothorax graecus
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Tribe: Crematogastrini
Genus: Temnothorax
Species group: graecus
Species: T. graecus
Binomial name
Temnothorax graecus
(Forel, 1911)

Temnothorax graecus P casent0906172.jpg

Temnothorax graecus D casent0906172.jpg

Specimen Label

This species is associated mostly with moderately humid to arid deciduous forests or mediterranean bushes and has been collected on rocks and stones (Salata & Borowiec, 2019). It prefers warm habitats with limestone rocks, but was noted also from urban parks, pine forests, mixed forest, limestone quarries, and roadsides with mediterranean shrubs and limestone stones (Borowiec & Salata, 2021).

Identification

Temnothorax graecus differs from all remaining members of the graecus species-group by a combination of the following characters (Salata et al., 2023):

  • moderately high petiolar node with dorsum convex and acute
  • low and elongated mesosoma
  • brown antennal club and sometimes femora with brownish diffusion
  • medial frons and vertex predominantly smooth and shiny with sparse to dense and thin costulae
  • propodeal spines short to moderately long, in form of thin spines and rarely with wider base
  • pronotum laterally with dense and thick costulae and smooth to indistinctly rugulate interspaces, dorsally costulate to rugocostulate with smooth interspaces
  • mesonotum and propodeum rugocostulate with finer sculpture on their dorsal surfaces

Temnothorax graecus differs from Temnothorax aeolius and Temnothorax smyrnensis in presence of moderately high petiolar node with convex and acute dorsum, and short to moderately long propodeal spines in form of thin spines; from Temnothorax phaetoni and Temnothorax mytilenes in presence of moderately high petiolar node and always brown antennal club.

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Temnothorax graecus is known in Greece from the mainland regions (Achaia and Peloponnese), Euboea, Ionian Islands and Cyclades (Salata et al., 2023). Additionally, its presence was confirmed from Bulgaria (Lapeva-Gjonova & Borowiec 2022) and the Republic of North Macedonia (Bračko et al. 2014). The historical records from Serbia (Petrov & Collingwood 1992), Türkiye (Kiran & Karaman 2020), Croatia (Müller 1923) and Italy (Müller 1921) need verification.

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 42.596228° to 35.234715°.

 
North
Temperate 		North
Subtropical 		Tropical South
Subtropical 		South
Temperate
  • Source: AntMaps, Salata et al., 2023

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Palaearctic Region: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece (type locality), North Macedonia.

Distribution based on AntMaps

AntMapLegend.png

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.
pChart

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.
pChart

Biology

Salata et al. (2023) report this species from lowland and highland sites at an altitude 3–725 m in Greece. Workers were shaken off from Mediterranean shrubs in area with limestone rocks, in stream valleys with plane trees, from bushes at roadsides in cypress forest, and shrubs around olive plantations. Foraging workers were observed on limestone rocks in quarries and hills and marble walls in urban parks. Nest were observed in limestone rock crevice in hill inside urban park.

Castes

Worker

  • Salata et al. (2023), Figures 4–5. Worker of Temnothorax graecus, typical form. (4) – dorsal, (5) – lateral. Scales bar = 0.5 mm.
  • Salata et al. (2023), Figures 6–7. Worker of Temnothorax graecus. (6) – lateral (pale form), (7) – head. Scale bars = 0.5 mm.

Nomenclature

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

  • graecus. Leptothorax bulgaricus subsp. graecus Forel, 1911d: 336 (w.q.) GREECE. Combination in Temnothorax: Bolton, 2003: 271. Raised to species: Agosti & Collingwood, 1987a: 55.

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

Description

Worker

Salata, Środoń, and Borowiec (2023) - (n=10): CL: 0.66 ± 0.03 (0.64–0.75); CWb: 0.55 ± 0.03 (0.52–0.62); SL: 0.48 ± 0.05 (0.41–0.58); EL: 0.16 ± 0.01 (0.15–0.18); ML: 0.79 ± 0.06 (0.68–0.92); SPST: 0.14 ± 0.02 (0.1–0.17); PEH: 0.2 ± 0.02 (0.17–0.23); PEL: 0.31 ± 0.02 (0.28–0.33); PPH: 0.2 ± 0.02 (0.17–0.23); PPL: 0.18 ± 0.03 (0.13–0.23); MW: 0.38 ± 0.03 (0.36–0.45); PEW: 0.17 ± 0.01 (0.15–0.19); PPW: 0.23 ± 0.02 (0.21–0.25); CS: 0.6 ± 0.03 (0.58–0.69); CS/SL: 1.27 ± 0.11 (1.15–1.49); CS/ML: 0.77 ± 0.05 (0.72–0.9); CS/SPST: 4.41 ± 0.7 (3.53–5.8).

Colour. Body dark yellow to brownish orange; antennal club and sides posterolateral from eyes brown; first gastral tergite with wide brown band posteriorly; sometimes femora with brownish diffusion. Head. Subrectangular, sides below eyes straight, sides above eyes slightly rounded, occipital corners regularly rounded, occipital margin of head straight or slightly concave. Anterior margin of clypeus distinctly convex, medial notch absent. Eyes moderate and oval. Antennal scape short, in lateral view slightly curved, gradually widening posteriorly, funiculus long, club 3-segmented. Scape with short and sparse costae, shiny, covered with thin, dense, decumbent to suberect setae. Mandibles rounded with thick and sparse striae, shiny. Clypeus shiny and predominantly smooth with sparse and short costulae. Frontal carinae short, slightly extending beyond frontal lobes. Antennal fossa deep and rugulose with additional costulae that arch posterolaterally. Frontal lobes narrow, smooth. Medial frons and vertex predominantly smooth and shiny with sparse to dense and thin costulae. Frons laterally and genae with dense and thin costulae with smooth to indistinctly rugulose interspaces. Sides posterolateral from eyes with thick and sparse rugocostulae and smooth interspaces. Sides of head with very short and sparse adpressed pubescence, sides of frons, vertex and occipital area with erect, pale, short and thick setae. Mesosoma. Elongated and low, distinctly arched in profile. Metanotal groove absent. Pronotum convex on sides. Propodeal spines short to moderately long, in form of thin spines. Lateral sides of pronotum with dense and thick costulae, interspaces smooth to indistinctly rugulate; dorsal pronotum costulate to rugocostulate with smooth interspaces; mesonotum and propodeum rugocostulate, their dorsal surfaces with finer sculpture and sometimes only costulate with indistinctly rugulate interspaces. Entire mesosoma with erect, pale, moderately long and thick setae. Petiole. In lateral view moderately high, with moderately elongate peduncle, node moderately high with dorsum convex and acute, whole surface rugoreticulate. Dorsal surface with sparse, short, erect setae. Postpetiole. In lateral view regularly convex, sides rounded on the whole surface reticulocostulate, surface appears slightly less rugose than surface of petiole. Dorsal surface with sparse, moderately long, erect setae. Gaster. Smooth and shiny, with erect, thin, pale setae. Legs. Moderately elongate, femora swollen in the middle, tibiae widened from base to 3/4 length, surface of legs covered with sparse, adpressed to decumbent hairs.

Type Material

Salata et al. (2023): Temnothorax graecus (Forel, 1911), lectotype worker designated: L. bulgaricus | For. | r. graecus | type Forel | Patras … | … (Forel) || Lectotype | Leptothorax graecus | Forel, 1911 top specimen | det. A. Schulz & M. Verhaagh 1999 || Typus || r. d. graecus | Forel || Coll. | A. Forel || ANTWEB | CASENT0909017 (MHNG), examined; paralectotype (w.): the same pin as lectotype, bottom specimen (MHNG), examined; paralectotypes (2w.): Typus || L. bulgaricus | For. | r. graecus | Forel | type | Amaroussia | p. Athenes (Forel) || coll. | A. Forel (MHNG), examined.

The type locality is Greece: Patras (Peloponnese). The original description lists also syntypes (now paralectotypes) collected from Amaroussia nr Athens (Attica) and Corfu (Ionian Islands) but after the lectotype designation these localities should not be considered as locus typicus. The specimen designated as lectotype already has been chosen by Schulz & M. Verhaagh and bears label “Lectotype | Leptothorax graecus | Forel, 1911 Top specimen | det. A. Schulz & M. Verhaagh 1999” but the designation of this lectotype has never been published. Thus, Salata et al. (2023) confirm the proposed designation.

References

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

  • Agosti, D. and C.A. Collingwood. 1987. A provisional list of the Balkan ants (Hym. Formicidae) and a key to the worker caste. I. Synonymic list. Mitteilungen der Schweizerischen Entomologischen Gesellschaft, 60: 51-62
  • 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., and S. Salata. 2012. Ants of Greece - Checklist, comments and new faunistic data (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Genus 23(4): 461-563.
  • Borowiec L., and S. Salata. 2017. Ants of the Peloponnese, Greece (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Polish Journal of Entomology 86: 193-236.
  • Bracko G., H. C. Wagner, A. Schulz, E. Gioahim, J. Maticic, and A. Tratnik. 2014. New investigation and a revised checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the Republic of Macedonia. North-Western Journal of Zoology 10(1): 10-24.
  • Bracko, G. 2006. Review of the ant fauna (Hymenoptera:Formicidae) of Croatia. Acta Entomologica Slovenica 14(2): 131-156.
  • Collingwood, C. A. 1993. A Comparitive Study of the Ant Fauna of Five Greek Islands. Biologia Gallo-hellenica. 20,1:191-197
  • Collingwood, C. A. "A comparative study of the ant fauna of five Greek islands." Biologia Gallo-Hellenica 20 (1993): 191-197.
  • Czechowski W., A. Radchenko, W. Czechowska and K. Vepsäläinen. 2012. The ants of Poland with reference to the myrmecofauna of Europe. Fauna Poloniae 4. Warsaw: Natura Optima Dux Foundation, 1-496 pp
  • Emery C. 1916. Fauna entomologica italiana. I. Hymenoptera.-Formicidae. Bullettino della Società Entomologica Italiana 47: 79-275.
  • Forel A. 1911. Fourmis nouvelles ou intéressantes. Bull. Soc. Vaudoise Sci. Nat. 47: 331-400.
  • Kiran K., and C. Karaman. 2012. First annotated checklist of the ant fauna of Turkey (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zootaxa 3548: 1-38.
  • Legakis Collection Database
  • Müller G. 1921. Due nuove formiche della regione Adriatica. Boll. Soc. Adriat. Sci. Nat. Trieste 27(2): 46-49.
  • Petrov I. Z., and C. A. Collingwood. 1992. Survey of the myrmecofauna (Formicidae, Hymenoptera) of Yugoslavia. Archives of Biological Sciences (Belgrade) 44: 79-91.
  • Salata S., and L. Borowiec. 2018. Taxonomic and faunistic notes on Greek ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Annals of the Upper Silesian Museum in Bytom Entomology 27: 1-51.
  • Salata S., and L. Borowiec. 2019. Preliminary division of not socially parasitic Greek Temnothorax Mayr, 1861 (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) with a description of three new species. ZooKeys 877: 81-131.
  • Santschi F. 1930. Trois notes myrmécologiques. Bulletin et Annales de la Société Entomologique de Belgique. 70: 263-270.
Retrieved from "https://antwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Temnothorax_graecus&oldid=711006"