Aphaenogaster phillipsi

Described from eleven workers from "Petra, Palestine" (now Jordan). These were found in the early morning eating portions of the bait with which small mammal traps had been baited.

Identification
Borowiec and Salata (2014) - A member of the Aphaenogaster cecconii group. Aphaenogaster phillipsi is easily distinguished from other species of the group by the pale, mostly yellow to partly rusty yellow body with only the first gastral tergite partly brown. Aphaenogaster equestris at first glance is the most similar species, especially because of its mostly rusty yellow coloration, but differs in the head being elongately oval, without a basal constriction and a flared collar, and the frons has a triangular brown spot with diffused borders. Aphaenogaster equestris is more distinctly microsculptured, with parts of the thorax and head more or less opaque, while A. phillipsi at first glance appears completely shiny.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Palaearctic Region: Israel, Jordan, Occupied Palestinian Territory.

Nomenclature

 *  phillipsi. Aphaenogaster (Deromyrma) phillipsi Wheeler, W.M. & Mann, 1916: 168, fig. 1 (w.) JORDAN.

Worker
Borowiec and Salata (2014) - (n = 1): HL: 1,630; HW: 0.995; TL: 0.8; GL: 0.525; CW: 0.190; FLW: 0.346: SL: 2.431; EL: 0.257; EW: 0.207; ML: 2.290; PSL: 0.234; SDL: 0.215; HTL: 2.250; PL: 0.654; PPL: 0.520; PH: 0.419; PPH: 0.369; PNW: 0.749; DPSB: 0.302; DPST: 0.285; PW: 0.268; PPW: 0.369; CI: 61; CL: 19.1; FLI: 54.9; SI1: 148.5; SI2: 243.3; PI1: 156.1; PI2: 65.7; PPI1: 140.9; PPI2: 37.1; SPI1: 23.5; SPI2: 108.8; HTI: 226.1; MI: 305.7; PSI: 122.2; TGI: 152.4.

Head and thorax yellow. Abdomen yellow, first tergite in posterior 2/3 length brown. Mandibles, antennae and legs yellow.

Head posterior to eyes with straight sides strongly narrowed posteriad, at base forming narrow neck margined by sharp, high collar, head width/neck width ratio 2.39, tempora length/genae length ratio 1.76. Anterior margin of clypeus straight. Eyes small, 0.41 times as long as length of tempora. Scapes elongate and slim, 2.22 times as long as width of head, at base 0.67 times as wide as in apex, gradually widened, straight, only apex slightly bent down without preapical constriction. Surface of scape shiny, covered with very short and sparse adherent setae, only on apex of scape pubescence slightly raised from the ground.

Promesonotum 2.1 times as long as wide, pronotum regularly convex in profile. Propodeum elongate, 1.41 times as long as wide, propodeal spines short, spiniform, runs obliquely upwards. Petiole elongate with long peduncle, its anterior face deeply concave, node rounded. Posterior face straight in anterior 3/4 length then shallowly concave. Ventral margin of petiole without spine or distinct angulation. In dorsal view, petiole almost parallel sided before petiolar node, then globular. Postpetiole in profile regularly rounded. In dorsal view postpetiole 1.5 times as long as wide with regularly rounded sides.

Mandibles elongate, with outer edges staright, dorsal surface with distinct striation and six setose punctures, shiny, inner margin with 8 small teeth. Clypeus only on sides with 2–3 thin oblique rugae, central part without sculpture, shiny. Frontal carinae short, not extending to the line connecting anterior margin of eyes, subparallel, interantennal area deeply impressed, smooth and shiny, frontal triangle with few, short, thin longitudinal rugae but shiny between rugosities. Frons only in dorsal part with thin longitudinal rugae, central part microreticulate but shiny. Gena, central part of head, tempora and base of head with indistinct microreticulation, shiny. Entire pronotum with diffused microreticulation, shiny, with 10 long setae. Mesonotum on top and sides slightly microgranulate, sides with few thin, oblique rugae, propodeum with slightly granulate sculpture, below spiracles with two short, thin, longitudinal rugae, top in anterior part with fine transverse wrinkles but surface of both mesonotum and propodeum appears slightly shiny. Top of mesosoma and propodeum each with a pair of short setae, slightly shorter than propodeal spines. Petiole and postpetiole on almost entire surface microreticulate but without wrinkles, appearing shiny, covered with several sparse, long setae. Gaster shiny, without microreticulation, tergites with sparse, long, erect setae 1.5 times as long as propodeal spines.

Legs very long, hind femora 1.25 times as long as thorax, hind tibiae 0.8 times as long as hind femora, hind tarsi 1.1 times as long as hind femora. Surface of legs shiny, fore tibiae only on ventral surface covered with very short and adherent pubescence, femora and mid- and hind tibiae completely without pubescence.

Type Material
Syntype worker: PETRA, Palestine 1914, W. M. Mann, Wm. M. Wheeler, M.C.Z,| CoType, 1–3, 20618. The type locality Petra is now placed in Jordan.

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. 2014. Review of Mediterranean members of the Aphaenogaster cecconii group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), with description of four new species. Zootaxa 3861 (1): 040060.
 * Kugler J. 1988. The zoogeography of Israel. 9. The zoogeography of social insects of Israel and Sinai. Monographiae biologicae 62: 251-275.
 * Mohamed, S., S. Zalat, H. Fadl, S.Gadalla and M. Sharaf. 2001. Taxonomy of ant species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) collected by pitfall traps from Sinai and Delta region, Egypt. Egyptian Journal of Natural History 3:40-61
 * Vonshak M., and A. Ionescu-Hirsch. 2009. A checklist of the ants of Israel (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Israel Journal of Entomology 39: 33-55.
 * Wheeler W. M., and W. M. Mann. 1916. The ants of the Phillips Expedition to Palestine during 1914. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 60: 167-174.