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Temnothorax kykkos
| Temnothorax kykkos | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Myrmicinae |
| Tribe: | Crematogastrini |
| Genus: | Temnothorax |
| Species group: | angustulus |
| Species: | T. kykkos |
| Binomial name | |
| Temnothorax kykkos Satala, Demetriou, Georgiadis & Borowiec, 2024 | |
Less thermophilous. Workers were observed on trunks and stems of Robinia pseudoacacia in rest area close to stream and shaken off into the entomological umbrella from Pistacia and leguminose bushes located inside pine forests. The holotype was collected on a low wall surrounding the courtyard of Kykkos Monastery. Nests could not be found, probably as in the Greek representatives of the Temnothorax angustulus group, they can nest inside the dry stems of shrubs and large herbs.
Photo Gallery
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Identification
Temnothorax kykkos and Temnothorax apolloni are the only Cypriot members of the T. angustulus group (for characteristics see T. apolloni). Temnothorax kykkos differs from T. apolloni in an almost uniformly brown body with mesosoma not or insignificantly paler brown than head and gaster. Temnothorax kykkos has a shorter petiole with mean PI 1.306 with a petiolar node in profile triangular and sharply angulate. Body sculpture in T. kykkos is finer than in T. apolloni, with the head predominantly smooth and shiny and sculpture present predominantly on lateral frons and gena. Also, T. kykkos has shorter propodeal spines with a mean length 0.127 and PSLI index 0.215. Geographically, the closest member of the T. angustulus group outside of Cyprus is Temnothorax dessyi (known from Greece and Western Türkiye). It is very similar but differs in stronger microreticulate and rugose head sculpture covering almost the whole surface except for the central frons, and in strong microreticulate or/and longitudinal sculpture dorsal pronotum. None of the species of the T. angustulus group distributed in the western part of the Mediterranean basin and recently reviewed by Galkowski & Cagniant (2017) have head surfaces so largely smooth and shiny as in T. kykkos and none of them have top of pronotum with partly diffused sculpture or with a shiny background.
Keys including this Species
Distribution
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Latitudinal Distribution Pattern
Latitudinal Range: 34.99° 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.
- kykkos. Temnothorax kykkos Satala et al., 2024: 19, figs. 13-15, 61 (w.) CYPRUS.
Type Material
- Holotype worker (pin): “CYPRUS, Nicosia, 1130 m | Kykkos Monastery | 34.98375 / 32.74145 | 22 IV 2022, L. Borowiec” (MNHW).
- Paratypes (26 workers, pin): 13w “CYPRUS, Limassol | Trooditissa loc. 1, 1344 m | 34.91365 / 32.84265 | 22 IV 2022, L. Borowiec [+ J. Demetriou, C. Georgiadis & S. Salata]” (MNHW); 1w “CYPRUS, Paphos, 368 m | rd. F612 loc. 1 | 34.73358 / 32.64293 | 28 IV 2022, L. Borowiec” (MNHW); 1w “CYPRUS, Nicosia, 680 m | Kapedes | 34.9669 / 33.2404 | 24 IV 2022, L. Borowiec” (MNHW); 3w “CYPRUS, Nicosia, 181 m | Machairas Forest | 34.8533 / 33.36188 | 23 IV 2022, J.D. & C.G. [J. Demetriou & C. Georgiadis]” (MNHW); 1w “CYPRUS, Paphos Prov., | Peyia Forest loc. 3, 390 m | 34.889366 / 32.3739 | 18.04.2022, S. Salata” (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–CY00155” (MNHW); 6w “CYPRUS, Paphos distr. 374 m | Pegeia Forest n. Pegeia | 34.89754 / 32.36743 | 7 V 2012, L. Borowiec || Collection L. Borowiec | Formicidae | LBC–CY00182” (MNHW).