Tapinoma nigerrimum

A west-Mediterranean ant, relatively common in the warmest areas. In Italy it occurs mostly in central and southern regions (Rigato & Toni, 2011).

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Palaearctic Region: Algeria, Balearic Islands, Belgium, France, Gibraltar, Greece, Italy, Montenegro, Morocco, Spain, Turkey.

Biology
This ant was observed on larvae of Lampides boeticus that were feeding on Erophaca baetica in Sierra Morena, southern Spain. T. nigerrimum has also been associated with the butterflies  Tomares ballus and  Leptotes pirithous (Obregon et al. 2015).

Nomenclature

 *  nigerrima. Formica nigerrima Nylander, 1856b: 71 (w.) FRANCE. [Unresolved junior primary homonym of Formica nigerrima Christ, 1791: 513 (now in Lasius) (Bolton, 1995b: 401).] Emery, 1869b: 10 (q.m.); Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1951: 199 (l.). Combination in Tapinoma: Mayr, 1861: 41. Junior synonym of erraticum: Mayr, 1865: 62. Revived from synonymy as subspecies of erraticum: Emery & Forel, 1879: 454. Subspecies of erraticum: André, 1882b: 224; Forel, 1902a: 154; Forel, 1904b: 376; Ruzsky, 1905b: 478; Emery, 1916b: 215; Finzi, 1924a: 14; Kutter, 1928: 65. Status as species: Ruzsky, 1902d: 20; Bondroit, 1918: 89; Emery, 1925d: 46; Finzi, 1930d: 316; Santschi, 1931a: 10; Bernard, 1967: 258; Kutter, 1977c: 181. Senior synonym of magnum: Forel, 1876: 61; of ibericum: Collingwood, 1978: 71. Junior synonym of erraticum: Dlussky, Soyunov & Zabelin, 1990: 169; Atanassov & Dlussky, 1992: 192.]; Bolton, 1995b: 401. Revived from synonymy: Shattuck, 1994: 150; Casevitz-Weulersse & Galkowski, 2009: 478; Seifert, 2012a: 145.

Type Material


Seifert et al. (2017) - As types are not present in the Nylander collection in Helsinki, a neotype was fixed. The descriptive statements in the original description allow to conclude on a Tapinoma nigerrimum complex species but not which of the four cryptic species Nylander could have seen. Yet, the type locality "Locus aridis prope Monspelium" (Dry locality near Montpellier) gives an indication. Accordingly, we fixed a neotype in the species accounting for any of the nine Tapinoma nigerrimum complex colonies found within a radius of less than 20 km around Montpellier under exclusion of the immediate shore line.