Plagiolepis perperamus

This species is associated with humid areas overgrown by macchia or forests. Nests in soil, most often below rocks. Workers have been observed in the material collected by beating sheet from blackberry bushes. Colonies polygynous. It is uncommon but widespread in Greece, where it prefers warm habitats and is often collected in anthropogenic habitats in tourist resorts and cities. In Achaia and Aetolia-Acarnania, its nests were observed in urban park, pine forest, pasture with mediterranean oaks and stream valley with plane trees (Borowiec & Salata, 2021).

Distribution
This is an uncommon species but known from all Greek provinces (Borowiec et al., 2022).

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Palaearctic Region: Azerbaijan, Greece, Iran, Turkey.

Nomenclature

 * . Plagiolepis perperamus Salata, Borowiec & Radchenko, 2018: 816, figs. 12-15 (w.) GREECE (Crete I., Lesbos I., Naxos I., Karpathos I., Kos I., Korfu I., Greek mainland), TURKEY, IRAN.
 * Junior synonym of atlantis: Seifert, 2020: 189.
 * Status as species: Salata & Borowiec, 2018c: 48; Khalili-Moghadam et al., 2019: 171; Borowiec, Lebas et al., 2022: 8; Borowiec & Salata, 2022: 248 (redescription).

Taxonomic Notes
Borowiec & Salata (2022): Seifert (2020), in his revision of Plagiolepis schmitzi group, synonymized P. perperamus with Plagiolepis atlantis based on subtle morphometric analysis. However, the author ignored observed differences revealed based on ecological niche modelling and the large geographical disjunction separating North African populations hitherto named as P. atlantis and Balkan populations described as P. perperamus. In his analysis, populations from Greece form a distinct cluster separated from African populations but this separation was not considered as strong. We do not rule out the possibility that P. perperamus may be a junior synonym of P. atlantis. However, in our opinion such taxonomic decision has to be supported with more roboust and comprehensive data. As long as genetic studies do not confirm the conspecificity of the populations from the North-West Africa and the Balkans, we treat the Balkans population as P. perperamus.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Khalili-Moghadam A., L. Borowiec, and A. Nemati. 2019. New records of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from the Chaharmahal va Bakhtiari Province of Iran with taxonomic comments. Polish Journal of Entomology 88 (2): 163–182.
 * Salata S., L. Borowiec, and A. G. Radchenko. 2018. Description of Plagiolepis perperamus, a New Species from East Mediterranean and Redescription of Plagiolepis pallescens Forel, 1889 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Annales Zoologici (Warsaw) 68(4): 809-824.
 * 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.