Messor hellenius

This species is known from Greece, the western coast of Anatolia and the European part of Turkey (Salata and Borowiec 2019a, Kiran and Karaman 2020). Borowiec and Salata (2018) suggested that the previous records of Messor capitatus from eastern parts of the Balkan Peninsula concern M. hellenius. In this regard, it is very likely that the data on M. capitatus from the northern Black Sea coast (Markó and Csősz 2002) refer to M. hellenius. Specimens from the vicinity of the Medenbuk and Golyam Dervent villages have intermediate characteristics between Messor mcarthuri and M. hellenius, which may indicate a possible hybridisation between these species (Lapeva-Gjonova & Borowiec, 2022). It is common in mainland Greece, rare on islands but known from all provinces except Ionian Islands, and is thermophilous, occurring in areas with mediterranean shrubs and pastures with limestone rocks (Borowiec & Salata, 2021).

Distribution
Known from almost all Greek provinces except the Ionian Islands, common in mainland, rare on islands (Borowiec et al., 2022).

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Palaearctic Region: Bulgaria, Greece.

Nomenclature

 * . Messor hellenius Agosti & Collingwood, 1987a: 54.
 * Type-material: 1 syntype worker, 4 syntype queens.
 * Type-locality: Greece: Gulf of Corinth, Itea (Provatelle).
 * Type-depositories: MNHN, NHMB.
 * [First available use of Messor barbarus st. varrialei var. hellenis Santschi, 1926f: 290 (w.q.) GREECE; unavailable (infrasubspecific) name.]
 * [Note: Santschi, 1926f: 286 (in list) spells the name as hellenius, but in the taxon caption (p. 290) it is spelled as hellenis. Misspelled as helensis by Baroni Urbani, 1971c: 66.]
 * As unavailable (infrasubspecific) name: Finzi, 1928c: 788; Finzi, 1939c: 154; Baroni Urbani, 1971c: 66.
 * Status as species: Bolton, 1995b: 254; Legakis, 2011: 10; Borowiec, L. & Salata, 2012: 514; Borowiec, L. 2014: 106; Lebas, et al. 2016: 298; Borowiec, L. & Salata, 2018: 6; Salata & Borowiec, 2018c: 46; Salata & Borowiec, 2019a: 66; Kiran & Karaman, 2020: 307.
 * Distribution: Greece, Turkey.

Type Material
Salata & Borowiec (2019): syntype (w.): v. hellenius | Santschi || [red label] || type || Messor | structor Lat. | varrialei Em || MUSEUM PARIS | SALONIQUE | D’RIVET 1918 || NOVEMBRE || Sammlung | Dr. F. Santschi | Kairouan || ANTWEB | CASENT0913186 (NHMB).

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Borowiec L. 2014. Catalogue of ants of Europe, the Mediterranean Basin and adjacent regions (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Genus (Wroclaw) 25(1-2): 1-340.
 * Borowiec L., and S. Salata. 2012. Ants of Greece - Checklist, comments and new faunistic data (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Genus 23(4): 461-563.
 * Borowiec L., and S. Salata. 2017. Ants of the Peloponnese, Greece (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Polish Journal of Entomology 86: 193-236.
 * Borowiec L., and S. Salata. 2018. Notes on ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Samos Island, Greece. Annals of the Upper Silesian Museum in Bytom Entomology 27: 1-13.
 * Bracko G., K. Kiran, C. Karaman, S. Salata, and L. Borowiec. 2016. Survey of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the Greek Thrace. Biodiversity Data Journal 4: e7945. doi: 10.3897/BDJ.4.e7945
 * Czechowski W., A. Radchenko, W. Czechowska and K. Vepsäläinen. 2012. The ants of Poland with reference to the myrmecofauna of Europe. Fauna Poloniae 4. Warsaw: Natura Optima Dux Foundation, 1-496 pp
 * Salata S., L. Borowiec, and A.Trichas. 2018. Taxonomic Revision of the Cretan Fauna of the Genus Temnothorax Mayr, 1861 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), with Notes on the Endemism of Ant Fauna of Crete. Annales Zoologici (Warsaw) 68(4): 769-808.
 * Salata S., and L Borowiec. 2017. Species of Tetramorium semilaeve complex from Balkans and western Turkey, with description of two new species of (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae). Annales Zoologici (Warsaw) 62:279–313.
 * 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 contributions toward a revision of Greek Messor Forel, 1890 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Turkish Journal of Zoology 43: 52-67.
 * 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.
 * Santschi F. 1926. Travaux scientifiques de l'Armée d'Orient (1916-1918). Fourmis. Bulletin du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle 32: 286-293.