Cardiocondyla sahlbergi

Pashaei Rad et al. (2018) found this species in Iran in a pitfall trap at edge of grassland in a moderate rainfall montane area.

Identification
Seifert (2003) - A member of the Cardiocondyla bulgarica group. The lectotype gyne of C. sahlbergi differs from the Cardiocondyla ulianini gyne by much stronger foveolae on head, mesosoma and waist, and much larger CL/CW, PoOc/CL, and PEW ICS (Tab. 15).

Distribution
Seifert (2003) - Cardiocondyla sahlbergi is so far not known from Europe. The known range extends from NW Asia Minor (29° E) east to Kazakhstan (77° E, Nikolayevka in the premountain semidesert of the Zailijsky Alatau) and from the Caucasus (43° N) south to Israel and Iran (29 ON). The very poor collecting activity in Egypt and Libya does not allow to conclude an isolated position of the sample from Tunisia (10° E, 33° N).

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Palaearctic Region: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iran, Israel, Kazakhstan, Russian Federation, Tunisia, Turkey, Uzbekistan.

Nomenclature

 * . Cardiocondyla elegans var. sahlbergi Forel, 1913d: 429 (q.) JORDAN.
 * Type-material: holotype queen.
 * Type-locality: Jordan: “Jourdain (Palestine)” (U. Sahlberg).
 * [Note: Seifert, 2003a: 235, designated as lectotype a queen from Caucasus, “Aralokaspigebiet” (Ruzsky) (probably now Azerbaijan). It seems from the original description that the single queen from Jordan was intended as the type-material because that was the one described, and because Forel dismisses the Caucasus specimen with, “J’ai reçu dans le temps cette variété, peu importante du reste, de M. Ruzsky, du Caucase”.]
 * Type-depository: MHNG.
 * Finzi, 1936: 166 (w.).
 * Subspecies of elegans: Emery, 1922e: 125; Finzi, 1936: 166; Menozzi, 1933b: 93.
 * Junior synonym of bogdanovi: Radchenko, 1995b: 450.
 * Status as species: Agosti & Collingwood, 1987a: 56; Agosti & Collingwood, 1987b: 276 (in key); Bolton, 1995b: 133; Gallé, et al. 1998: 215; Seifert, 2003a: 235 (redescription); Petrov, 2006: 99 (in key); Gratiashvili & Barjadze, 2008: 138; Paknia, et al. 2008: 153; Vonshak, et al. 2009: 41; Kiran & Karaman, 2012: 17; Borowiec, L. 2014: 48; Bračko, 2019: 170.
 * Distribution: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Egypt, Georgia, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Tunisia, Turkey, Uzbekistan.

Worker
Seifert (2003) - Head relatively long, CL/CW 1.189. Postocular distance large, PoOc/CL 0.446. Eyes of medium size, EYE 0.233 ± 0.006. Vertex with shallow, but well-demarcated, simple or bicoronate foveolae; interspaces usually narrower than foveolar diameter and glabrous, with only weak carinulae. Frontal lobes and area posterior of frontal lobes shining but weakly longitudinally carinulate-rugulose. Frontal carinae immediately posterior of FRS level frequently slightly converging sometimes parallel. Clypeus mainly smooth. Mesosoma in overall impression shining. Dorsal area of promesonotum foveolate, interspaces shining, wider than foveolar diameter, and with very weak cross-branched microcarinulae. Mesosoma laterally shining and with very weak microreticulum. Metapleurae with weak longitudinal rugosity. Postpetiolar sternite with weak anteromedian bulge. Head, mesosoma, and gaster usually concolorous dark brown; lighter-coloured specimens usually differing from Cardiocondyla bulgarica by dirty yellowish tinge and weak pigmentation contrast between dorsal head and mesosoma. PigCap/PigMes 1.081 ± 0.096 [1.00, 1.43].

Queen
Seifert (2003) - lectotype: CL 646, ML 866, MW 454, CL/CW 1.172, SL/CS 0.753, PoOc/CL 0.439, dFOV 17, FRS/CS 0.277, SPBA/CS 0.361, SP/CS 0.175, PEW/CS 0.518, PPW/CS 0.754, PEW/PPW 0.687, PEH/CS 0.468, PPH/CS 0.358, sqrtPDG 3.59, PLG/CS 10.36 %, PigCap 10, PigMes 10.

Head relatively long, CL/CW 1.172. Postocular index rather large, PoOc/CL 0.435. Vertex with well-demarcated, bicoronate foveolae of 17 - 18 mm diameter, interspaces smaller than foveolar diameter and shining, with weak cross-branched microstructures. Lateral and caudal area of clypeus, frontal lobes, and area posterior of frontal lobes longitudinally carinulate-rugulose. Mesonotum, praescutellum, and scutellum with well-developed foveolae of 18 - 20 mm diameter. Propodeum brilliantly shining. Lateral area of metapleuron longitudinally rugulose. Petiole with a caudomediodorsal corner. Postpetiole with conspicuous anteromedioventral corner, its anterior margin in dorsal view concave. 1st tergite pubescence in the type semierect (30 - 45°). Head, mesosoma, waist, and gaster rather concolourous medium brown.

Type Material
Cardiocondyla elegans var. sahlbergi Forel, 1913; Palestine and Caucasus [type investigated].

1 lectotype gyne labelled “C.elegans var. sahlbergi Forel, queen type, Caucase (Ruszky)” and on a second label “Aralokaspigebict”,. If both labels are true, the terra typical should be the eastern Caucasus (present Azerbaijdzan).

In his original description of Cardiocondyla sahlbergi, Forel explicitly referred only to a gyne from “Palestine (Sahlberg)” and a gyne from “Caucase (Ruzsky)”. The first specimen could not be discovered during a search in the collections of Forel in Lausanne, Geneve, and Basel but the latter gyne was found in the MHNG collection bearing the labelling “C.elegans var. sahlbergi Forel, type, Caucase (Ruszky)” and “Aralokaspigebiet”. It was fixed by present designation as the lectotype of Cardiocondyla sahlbergi. A series of three workers, mounted on another pin, and with equal labelling is not conspecific with the lectotype. These workers are indistinguishable from the lecto- and paralectotypes of Cardiocondyla ulianini. They cannot be considered as Syntypes of C. sahlbergi since the original description does not mention workers.

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.
 * Dubovikoff D. A., and Z. M. Yusupov. 2018. Family Formicidae - Ants. In Belokobylskij S. A. and A. S. Lelej: Annotated catalogue of the Hymenoptera of Russia. Proceedingss of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences 6: 197-210.
 * 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.. "Fourmis de la faune méditerranéenne récoltées par MM. U. et J. Sahlberg." Revue Suisse de Zoologie 21 (1913): 427-438.
 * Gallé L., B. Markó, K. Kiss, E. Kovács, H. Dürgő, K. Kőváry, and S. Csősz. 2005. Ant fauna of Tisza river basin (Hymenoptera: Formicidae).  In: Gallé, L. (szerk.): Vegetation and Fauna of Tisza River Basin I. Tiscia Monograph Series 7; Szeged, pp. 149-197.
 * Gratiashvili N., Barjadze S. 2008. Checklist of the ants (Formicidae Latreille, 1809) of Georgia. Proceedings of the Institute of Zoology (Tbilisi) 23: 130-146.
 * Kiran K., and C. Karaman. 2012. First annotated checklist of the ant fauna of Turkey (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zootaxa 3548: 1-38.
 * Paknia O., A. Radchenko, H. Alipanah, and M. Pfeiffer. 2008. A preliminary checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Iran. Myrmecological News 11: 151-159.
 * Pashaei Rad S., B. Taylor, R. Torabi, E. Aram, G. Abolfathi, R. Afshari, F. Borjali, M. Ghatei, F. Hediary, F. Jazini, V. Heidary Kiah, Z. Mahmoudi, F. Safariyan, and M. Seiri. 2018. Further records of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Iran. Zoology in the Middle East 64(2): 145-159.
 * 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.