Cardiocondyla nigra

One databased worker specimen was collected from a thorn bush. Nothing else is know about the biology of .

Identification
Seifert (2003) - A member of the Cardiocondyla batesii group. Differs from Cardiocondyla batesii by the steeper, more acute, and in lateral view more narrow based spines and the lower SPBA/CS with 0.257 ± 0.009 [0.242, 0.271] in C. batesii and 0.231 ± 0.013 [0.199, 0.257] in nigra. The pigmentation contrast between head and mesosoma is significantly larger in C. batesii, but is no reliable discriminator because of the occasional occurrence of homogeneously dark specimens.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Palaearctic Region: Algeria, Bulgaria, China, Egypt, Greece, Iberian Peninsula, Israel, Malta, Morocco, Portugal, Republic of Macedonia, Spain, Tunisia, Turkey.

Nomenclature

 * . Cardiocondyla batesii var. nigra Forel, 1905b: 174 (w.q.) TUNISIA.
 * Type-material: syntype worker, syntype queen (numbers not stated).
 * [Note: Seifert, 2003b: 240, records 5 syntype workers and 5 syntype queens.]
 * Type-locality: Tunisia: Kairouan (F. Santschi).
 * Type-depository: MHNG.
 * Santschi, 1907: 324 (m. ergatoid m. gynandromorph).
 * Subspecies of batesii: Emery, 1909a: 23; Forel, 1909e: 381; Karavaiev, 1912a: 4; Emery, 1922e: 125; Kugler, J. 1984: 12.
 * Junior synonym of batesii: Radchenko, 1995b: 451.
 * Status as species: Schembri & Collingwood, 1981: 428; Agosti & Collingwood, 1987a: 56; Agosti & Collingwood, 1987b: 276 (in key); Kugler, J. 1988: 258; Bolton, 1995b: 132; Schembri & Collingwood, 1995: 154; Seifert, 2003a: 240 (redescription); Petrov, 2006: 99 (in key); Vonshak, et al. 2009: 41; Lapeva-Gjonova, et al. 2010: 27; Legakis, 2011: 16; Borowiec, L. & Salata, 2012: 485; Guénard & Dunn, 2012: 40; Kiran & Karaman, 2012: 17; Borowiec, L. 2014: 47; Lebas, et al. 2016: 266; Salata & Borowiec, 2018c: 44.
 * Senior synonym of torretassoi: Seifert, 2003a: 240.
 * Distribution: Algeria, Bulgaria, Cape Verde, Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, Israel, Malta, Morocco, Portugal, Tunisia, Turkey.
 * torretassoi. Cardiocondyla elegans var. torretassoi Finzi, 1936: 167 (w.) EGYPT.
 * Type-material: lectotype worker (by designation of Seifert, 2003a: 240), 3 paralectotype workers.
 * Type-locality: lectotype Egypt: Wadi Hoff, 8.iii.1933 (Koch); paralectotypes with same data.
 * [Note: other original syntype localities: Egypt: Tor (Sinai), 25.ii.1935, and Egypt: Wadi Garrawi, 24.iii.1935 (no collectors’ names given but expedition members were A. Schatzmayr, K. Koch, and W. Wittmer.]
 * Type-depository: MCZC.
 * Subspecies of elegans: Menozzi, 1940: 268; Bolton, 1995b: 133.
 * Status as species: Kugler, J. 1988: 258; Radchenko, 1995b: 451.
 * Junior synonym of nigra: Seifert, 2003a: 240.

Worker
Seifert (2003) - Head of medium length, CL/CW 1.172. Postocular distance very small, PoOc/CL 0.366. Occipital margin slightly excavated. Eyes large, EYE 0.266. Frontal carinae immediately posterior of FRS level converging. Lateral clypeus longitudinally carinulate. Dorsal area of head almost without longitudinal sculpture; weak longitudinal carinulae present on and posterior of frontal laminae. Vertex with very shallow and simple foveolae of 14 - 19 mm diameter, their internal surface micro-corrugated; foveolar interspaces wider than foveolar diameter, moderately shining, and with fine cross-branched or semi-reticulate microstructures. Dorsum of mesosoma and waist moderately shining and finely microreticulate. Propodeal spines rather short, steep, and acute. Petiole profile with relatively long peduncle and relatively small node, which is in dorsal view about as long as wide. Postpetiolar sternites without any flat bulge. Whole body usually concolorous dark to blackish brown, specimens with distinctly lighter mesosoma occasionally occur.

Queen
Seifert (2003) - Head of medium length, CL/CW 1.170. Postocular index very small, PoOc/CL 0.376. Occipital margin straight or weakly concave. Dorsal area of head almost without longitudinal sculpture; very weak longitudinal carinulae present on and posterior of frontal laminae. Vertex with very shallow and simple foveolae of 16 - 18 mm diameter; interspaces as wide as foveolar diameter, shining, with fine cross-branched microstructures. Dorsal area of mesosoma foveolate; interspaces between foveolae shining, wider than foveolar diameter and with fine cross-branched microstructures. Lateral area of mesosoma shining, finely reticulate-carinulate, lateral metapleuron longitudinally rugulose. Propodeal spines rather short. Petiole node in dorsal view as wide as long, usually circular; dorsal and lateral petiole shape frequently as depicted for the type of Cardiocondyla nigra, but conditions similar to that of the Cardiocondyla batesii type do occur. Whole body concolorous dark brown. Gynes from Tunisia: Lac Kelbia- 1935.03 brachypterous, with forewing length 1350 - 1400 mm.

Type Material
Tunisia [types investigated]. Cardiocondyla nigra: 5 syntype workers and 5 syntype gynes labelled “C. Batesii For. var. nigra, Kairouan (Santschi) 159”,.

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
 * Barech G., M. Khaldi, S. Ziane, A. Zedam, S. Doumadji, M. Sharaf, and X. Espadaler. 2016. A first checklist and diversity of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the saline dry lake Chott El Hodna in Algeria, a Ramsar Conservation Wetland. African Entomology 24(1): 143–152.
 * 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.
 * Cagniant, H.. "Liste actualisee des fourmis du Maroc (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)." Myrmecologische Nachrichten 8 (2006): 193-200.
 * Finzi, B.. "Risultati scientifici della spedizione di S. A. S. il Principe Alessandro della Torre e Tasso nell'Egitto e peninsola del Sinai. XI. Formiche." Bulletin de la Société Entomologique d'Egypte 20 (1936): 155-210.
 * Forel A. 1905. Miscellanea myrmécologiques II (1905). Ann. Soc. Entomol. Belg. 49: 155-185.
 * Forel A. 1909. Études myrmécologiques en 1909. Fourmis de Barbarie et de Ceylan. Nidification des Polyrhachis. Bull. Soc. Vaudoise Sci. Nat. 45: 369-407.
 * Forel, A.. "Miscellanea myrmécologiques II (1905)." Annales de la Société Entomologique de Belgique 49 (1905): 155-185.
 * Gomez K. 2017. Two species of exotic ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) new to Malta. Boletin de la Sociedad Entomologica Aragonesa (S.E.A.) 61: 233-235.
 * Guénard B., and R. R. Dunn. 2012. A checklist of the ants of China. Zootaxa 3558: 1-77.
 * Karavaiev V. 1912. Ameisen aus Tunesien und Algerien, nebst einigen unterwegs in Italien gesammelten Arten. Rus. Entomol. Obozr. 12: 1-22.
 * Kiran K., and C. Karaman. 2012. First annotated checklist of the ant fauna of Turkey (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zootaxa 3548: 1-38.
 * Kugler J. 1984. The males of Cardiocondyla Emery (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) with the description of the winged male of Cardiocondyla wroughtoni (Forel). Israel Journal of Entomology 17: 1-21.
 * Kugler J. 1988. The zoogeography of Israel. 9. The zoogeography of social insects of Israel and Sinai. Monographiae biologicae 62: 251-275.
 * Legakis Collection Database
 * Radchenko A. G. 1996. Palaearctic ants of the genus Cardiocondyla Emery (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Entomological Review (Washington) 75(7): 99-109.
 * Radchenko A. G. 1996. Palaearctic ants of the genus Cardiocondyla Emery (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Entomological Review (Washington). 75(7): 99-109.
 * 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.
 * Santschi, F.. "Fourmis de Tunisie capturées en 1906." Revue Suisse de Zoologie 15 (1907): 305-334.
 * Santschi, F. 1907. Fourmis de Tunisie capturées en 1906. Revue Suisse de Zoologie 15: 305-334.
 * Schembri, Stephen P. and Cedric A. Collingwood. A Revision of the Myrmecofauna of the Maltese Islands. 417-442.
 * Seifert B. 2003. The ant genus Cardiocondyla (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae) - a taxonomic revision of the C. elegans, C. bulgarica, C. batesii, C. nuda, C. shuckardi, C. stambuloffii, C. wroughtonii, C. emeryi, and C. minutior species groups. Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums in Wien. B, Botanik, Zoologie 104: 203-338.
 * Seifert, B.. "The ant genus Cardiocondyla (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae) - a taxonomic revision of the C. elegans, C. bulgarica. C. batesii, C. nuda, C. shuckardi, C. stambuloffii, C. wroughtonii, C. emeryi, and C. minutior species groups." Ann. Naturhist. Mus. Wien 104B (2003): 203-338.
 * Vonshak M., and A. Ionescu-Hirsch. 2009. A checklist of the ants of Israel (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Israel Journal of Entomology 39: 33-55.
 * Wheeler W. M. 1914. Gynandromorphous ants described during the decade 1903-1913. American Naturalist 48: 49-56.