Myrmica martini

Found in submontane to subalpine grassland or grassy woodland clearings of the Pyrenees and French Alps. Nests are under stones or in grass tussocks.

Identification
This species was separated from its closest congener, Myrmica scabrinodis, using detailed imaging, measurements and statistical analysis (as per the paper that includes the species description). Conventional linear morphometrics was suggested to be the faster method for species determination, requiring recording 19 measurements and about 50 minutes per worker, but was not as accurate as a second method. Geometric morphometrics (GM) was deemed more accurate for discriminating this species from scabrinodis but required 165 minutes of processing time per worker. "This means more than a threefold processing time, summing up to eight hours for a standard sample of three workers, and prevents the present application of GM in routine investigations of thousands of samples. However, 165 minutes required from specimen preparation to the final computation result is very little compared to the complete processing time of other advanced methods in taxonomy such as microtomography or Next Generation Sequencing." (Seifert, Bagherian and Schultz 2014)

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Palaearctic Region: Andorra, France, Spain.

Images from AntWeb
Known only from the worker caste.

Nomenclature

 *  martini. Myrmica martini Seifert, Yazdi & Schultz, 2014: 174, figs. 1-6 (w.) FRANCE.

Worker
All morpho-metric ratios given in the following verbal description are arithmetic nest sample means of primary data – i.e., without removal of allometric variance: Myrmica martini seems to lack any exposed morphological character and is most similar to Myrmica scabrinodis. Medium-sized (CS 1089 µm). Head with a straight posterior margin and strongly convex sides and not elongated (CL / CW 1.023), postocular dis-tance rather low (PoOc / CL 0.420). Frontal lobes mode-rately diverging (FL / CS 0.426) and frontal width com-parably large (FR / CS 0.331) in terms of related species, frontal carinae reaching caudad only to level of eyes. Eyes with few microsetae and medium-sized (EYE / CS 0.200). Anterior clypeal margin in dorsofrontal view not or only feebly emarginated (ClyEX / CS 0.71%). Scape mode-rately long (SL / CS 0.781), with a clearly developed dor-sal and caudal carina at base – the plane demarcated by these carinae form a caudoventral slope by an angle of more or less 44° (tan α 0.949) and is not very wide (SW / SL 0.140), scape base in caudal view varying from curved (Fig. 3a) to almost angular. The convexity of dorsal meso-somal profile is interrupted by a rather deep metanotal de-pression. Propodeal spines acute, moderately long (SP / CS 0.372), their axes in dorsal view only diverging by 30 - 34°, in lateral view weakly erected, deviating from longi-tudinal mesosomal axis by 25 - 30°. Central height of pro-podeal lobe clearly larger than equal-level height of sub-spinal excavation (MetL / CS 0.237, MetSp 0.159). Peti-ole in lateral view with almost straight dorsal profile that slopes caudad with only a suggested step, dorsal and fron-tal profile of petiole node form an angle of 90°. Petiole in dorsal view with weakly convex sides, its width about 67% of postpetiolar width. Setae are present on all dorsal parts of body, those on dorsum of postpetiole are moderately long (PPHL / CS 0.180). Head including clypeus and meso-soma with rather strong longitudinal rugosity, about 12 - 14 rather linear rugae are found between the most approx- imated parts of frontal carinae. Whole body usually rather uniformly medium brown with a weak yellowish component and sometimes with a lighter mesosoma.

Type Material
Holotype worker labeled "FRA: 44.1002° N, 7.2332° E St.-Martin-Vésubie-3.8NNW 1629 m, Larix-Pinus, clearing, Schultz 2002.05.15 – 126" and "Holotype Myrmica martini Seifert & al."; 8 worker para-types on three other pins and 120 worker paratypes in etha-nol with identical locality labels and "Paratype Myrmica martini Seifert & al."; all material stored in Senckenberg Museum of Natural History Görlitz.

Etymology
Named after the titular Saint of the locality Saint Martin Vésubie situated close to the locus typicus.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Antarea (at www.antarea.fr on June 11th 2017)
 * Borowiec L. 2014. Catalogue of ants of Europe, the Mediterranean Basin and adjacent regions (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Genus (Wroclaw) 25(1-2): 1-340.
 * Colindre L. 2017. Richess et utilite du cortege de fourmis en foret d'Ermenonville, Oise, Region Hauts-de-France. Association des Entomologistes de Picardie. 19 pages.
 * GRETIA. 2017. Bilan annuel de l'enquete sur la repartition des fourmis armoricaines. 23 pages.
 * Gouraud C. 2015. Bilan de l’année 2014 : Atlas des fourmis de Loire-Atlantique (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Atlas des Formicidae de Loire-Atlantique, compte rendu de la première année d’étude (2014)
 * Seifert B., A. Bagherian Yazdi, and R. Schultz. 2014. Myrmica martini sp. n. - a cryptic species of the Myrmica scabrinodis species complex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) revealed by geometric morphometrics and nest-centroid clustering. Myrmecological News 19: 171-183.