Messor himalayanus

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Oriental Region: India, Pakistan. Palaearctic Region: Afghanistan, Turkey.

Nomenclature

 * . Stenamma (Messor) barbarum r. himalayanum Forel, 1902c: 221 (s.w.q.m.) INDIA (Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand).
 * Type-material: syntype workers, syntype queens, syntype males (numbers not stated).
 * Type-localities: India: Dharmsala (Sage), Dharmsala (Fulton), Kashmir (Lobinière), Mussories (Rothney), Ton’s Valley, 3500 ft (Smythies), Panjah, 5000 ft (Sage).
 * Type-depository: MHNG.
 * [Stenamma (Messor) barbarum r. himalayanum Forel, 1901h: 61. Nomen nudum.]
 * [Misspelled as hymalayanus by Kuznetsov-Ugamsky, 1927a: 89, Kuznetsov-Ugamsky, 1929d: 15.]
 * Combination in Messor: Bingham, 1903: 279.
 * Subspecies of barbarus: Forel, 1903a: 695; Forel, 1904c: 25; Forel, 1904d: 175; Forel, 1906b: 86; Emery, 1908e: 454; Viehmeyer, 1914b: 40; Emery, 1921f: 70; Emery, 1922c: 95; Kuznetsov-Ugamsky, 1927a: 89 (in key); Kuznetsov-Ugamsky, 1929d: 15; Chapman & Capco, 1951: 136.
 * Subspecies of structor: Santschi, 1923f: 320 (in text).
 * Status as species: Bingham, 1903: 279; Stärcke, 1935: 261; Menozzi, 1939a: 297; Eidmann, 1942: 245; Collingwood, 1961a: 60; Pisarski, 1967: 383; Pisarski, 1970: 306; Arnol'di, 1977b: 1643 (in key); Bolton, 1995b: 254; Kiran & Karaman, 2012: 19; Bharti, Guénard, et al. 2016: 38; Rasheed, et al. 2019: 432.
 * Distribution: Afghanistan, India, Mongolia, Pakistan.

Description
Worker

Bodlah et al, (2019): Head somewhat shiny, rectangular, longer than width with emarginated frontal carina, without ocelli, and finely longitudinally striated. Eyes longer than broader placed in the middle of head. Clypeus finely longitudinally striated forming a triangular shape with distinct clypeal carina. Mandibles striated longitudinally and reddish brown. Scape of antennae shorter than top of head, flagellum slightly thickened toward apex. Pronotum broader than meso and metanotum, mesonotum slightly raised metanotum transversally striated and bidentate. Petiole slightly longer in length than width having reticulate striation. Gaster smooth, highly polished having yellowish erect hairs.

Coloration: Major. Whole body black and shiny. Mandibles brownish| Medial. Body is not black shinning| Minor. A little black, shining than medial.

Measurements (mm) worker: Total length 4.5-8.5 mm; Head length 1.4-2.0 mm; Head width 0.27-2.2 mm(including eyes in width); Eye length 0.2-0.4 mm; Eye width 0.17-0.27 mm; Prothorax width 0.8-1.2 mm; Thorax length 1.8-2.3 mm; Petiole length: 0.56-0.85 mm; Petiole height: 0.52-0.62; Petiole width: 0.4-0.6 mm; Post petiole length: 0.3-0.4 mm; Post petiole width: 0.3-0.5 mm; Post petiole height: 0.67-0.70 mm; Scape length: 1.1-1.5 mm; Cephalic index: 90.90-518; Scape index 1: 75-78.57; Scape index 2: 68.18-407.40; Petiole index: 107.69-137.0; Post petiole index: 44.77-57.14.

Bingham (1903):

Major: Black, shining, the mandibles reddish brown, the flagellum of the antennae and the legs castaneous. the scape fuscous brown. Head very finely longitudinally striate; thorax more coarsely and irregularly rugose striate; the mesonotum. apex of the metanotum. and the abdomen smooth and shining, the sides and base of the metanotum and the nodes of the pedicel coarsely transversely rugose. Pilosity abundant, setiform, of a clear yellowish white, very conspicuous. For the rest the characters of the genus.

Medial: Closely resembles the major worker, but differs in being smaller, and in the sculpture of the head and thorax, but especially of the latter, being much finer and closer, giving the whole insect a much more opaque appearance; the metaanotal spines or teeth are smaller and feebler.

Minor: Resembles the medial worker. but is considerably smaller and a little more shining, the very fine striation of the head seems almost obsolete in certain lights. Thorax subopaque, metanotum transversely striate, metanotal teeth obsolete.

Length: 4 - 10 mm

Queen

Bingham (1903): Of very large size, larger than the major worker. but resembling it. Head finely longitudinally striate on the front, the striae strongly divergent outwards above the vertex; the head above and the occiput covered with large shallow punctures over the striae; mandibles coarsely longitudinally striate and pubescent; antennae pubescent. Thorax: the pronotum transversely striate: the mesonotum. scutellum and abdomen smooth, polished, shining, with a few scattered punctures; metanotum and nodes of pedicel coarsely transversely rugose; legs very slender; wings brownish hyaline. For the rest the characters of the genus.

Length: 14 mm

Male

Bingham (1903): Head anteriorly irregularly sculptured and opaque, posteriorly smooth and shining, with a few vague irregular striae and punctures; thorax on the sides, the metanotum and the nodes of the pedicel more or less irregularly rugose, the remainder of the thorax and abdomen smooth, polished and shining. Legs long and slender, wings as in the queen. For the rest the characters of the genus.

Length: 10 mm

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Bharti H., B. Guénard, M. Bharti, & E. P. Economo. 2015. An updated checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of India with their specific distributions in Indian states. Zookeys
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 * Bodlah I., M. T. Rasheed, X. Huang, A. Gull-E-Fareen, J. A. Siddiqui, and M. A. Bodlah. 2019. First records of two species of genus Messor Forel, 1890 (Formicidae: Myrmicinae) along with trophic associations with aphids from Pothwar Region, Pakistan. The J. Anim. Plant Sci. 29(4): 7 pages.
 * Chhotani O. B., and K. K. Ray. 1976. Fauna of Rajasthan, India, Hymenoptera. Records of the Zoological Survey of India 71: 13-49.
 * Collingwood C. A. 1961. The third Danish Expedition to Central Asia. Zoological Results 27. Formicidae (Insecta) from Afghanistan. Videnskabelige Meddelelser fra Dansk Naturhistorisk Forening 123: 51-79.
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 * Forel A. 1902. Myrmicinae nouveaux de l'Inde et de Ceylan. Rev. Suisse Zool. 10: 165-249.
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 * Pajni H. R., and R. K. Suri. 1978. First report on the Formicid fauna (Hymenoptera) of Chandigarh. Res. Bull. (Science) Punjab University 29: 5-12.
 * Pisarski B. 1967. Fourmis (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) d'Afghanistan récoltées par M. Dr. K. Lindberg. Annales Zoologici (Warsaw) 24: 375-425.
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 * Rasheed M. T., I. Bodlah, A. G. Fareen, A. A. Wachkoo, X. Huang, and S. A. Akbar. 2019. A checklist of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Pakistan. Sociobiology 66(3): 426-439.
 * Tak N. 1995. Studies on ants (Formicidae) of Rajasthan - 1 Jodhpur. Hexapoda 7(1): 17-28.
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 * Tak N., and N. S. Rathore. 1996. Ant (Formicidae) fauna of the Thar Desert. Pp. 271-276 in: Ghosh, A. K.; Baqri, Q. H.; Prakash, I. (eds.) 1996. Faunal diversity in the Thar Desert: gaps in research. Jodhpur: Scientific Publishers, xi + 410 pp.
 * Tak N., and N. S. Rathore. 2004. Insecta: Hymenoptera. Rathore, N.S. Fauna of Desert National Park Rajasthan (proposed biosphere reserve). Conservation Area Series 19,Zool. Surv. India. 1-135. Chapter pagination: 81-84.
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