Cardiocondyla bulgarica

Cardiocondyla bulgarica seems to use a wider habitat spectrum than other species. It was found in xerothermous grasslands, a sandy salt marsh, a forest-covered stream course and in a woodland-steppe with Pinus (Seifert, 2023).

Identification
Seifert (2003) - A member of the Cardiocondyla bulgarica group. C. bulgarica has a very large CL/CW (1.231 ± 0.004), PoOc/CL (0.461 ± 0.004), and PEW/PPW (0.640 ± 0.009); cephalic and mesosomal microsculpture, and a warm yellowish mesosoma contrasting with a the darker head and gaster.

C. bulgarica is close to Cardiocondyla sahlbergi from which a perfect discrimination by the set of external characters considered here was not possible. Genetic evidence from mitochondrial DNA, however, indicates a heterospecifity of both taxa (Trindl and Heinze, pers. comm., October 2002).

Seifert (2023) - Medium-sized, CS 512 µm. Head much elongated, CL/CW 1.201. Postocular distance very large, PoOc/CL 0.451. Scape moderately long, SL/CS 0.809. Eye medium-sized, EYE/CS 0.240. Median third of hind margin of head straight or slightly concave. Frons broad (FRS/CS 0.260), frontal carinae immediately caudal of FRS level usually parallel, sometimes slightly diverging, rarely converging (FL/FR 1.007). Dorsal profile of promesonotum and of propodeum convex with a well-developed metanotal depression (Mgr/CS 3.32 %). Spines rather short (SP/CS 0.112), usually triangular in lateral view with the spine axis deviating 42° from longitudinal mesosomal axis; spine bases widely distant, SPBA/CS 0.279. Petiole very wide and as high as wide (PeW/CS 0.338, PeH/CS 0.337), its node wider than long, in profile with a moderately long peduncle that is about 1.6fold as long as high and with a rather steep anterior slope of the node (about 63° relative to ventral profile). Postpetiole relatively wide and high (PpW/CS 0.557, PpH/CS 0.311) but only 1.65fold as wide as petiole and not heart-shaped in dorsal view; postpetiolar sternite with weak anteromedian bulge. Clypeus rather smooth, weak lateral carinulae and suggestions of foveolae may be present. Frontal laminae, area posterior of frontal lobes and genae finely longitudinally carinulate-rugulose. vertex with shallow but well-demarcated foveolae of 17.0 µm mean diameter; interspaces about as wide as foveolae, glabrous and with fragments of very fine stickman like structures (Fig. 45). Mesosoma in overall impression more or less glabrous, only with very delicate reticular structures; promesonotum with scattered, shallow foveolae; meso- and metapleurae with suggestions of longitudinal carinulae. Waist segments smooth and shiny. First gaster tergite glabrous. Pubescence on gaster tergites short and dilute, PLg/CS 5.66 %, sqPDg 5.02. Head usually medium brown with a warm yellowish tinge, sometimes dark brown. Mesosoma and petiole varying between yellow and medium brown, but warm yellowish tinge even in darkest specimens always visible. Postpetiole yellowish brown to dark brown. gaster dark brown. Pigmentation contrast between dorsal head and mesosoma usually clearly expressed, PigCap/PigMes 1.38 ±0.24 [1.0,2.0].

On the nest sample level and without selection among all 17 available NUMOBAT characters, 40 samples of Cardiocondyla bulgarica are separable from 48 samples of the similar species Cardiocondyla sahlbergi and Cardiocondyla persiana by five exploratory data analyses with a mean error of 0.45% (Fig. 137). All type specimens of C. bulgarica and its junior synonym Cardiocondyla eleonorae were allocated by a LDA to the C. bulgarica cluster with p > 0.999.

Distribution
Cardiocondyla bulgarica is so far only known from a comparably small area in the S Balkans and Asia Minor but it is the most abundant Cardiocondyla species in this region. The findings range from the 21.7°E to 41.1°E, 36.2°N to 42.6°N and from sea level up to 1800 m. (Seifert, 2023).

Seifert (2023) - One fully typical worker specimen of Cardiocondyla bulgarica was placed by Cedric Collingwood together with 2 workers of Cardiocondyla nigra into a tube labelled “30 km S of Medenine / Tunisia”. Whereas the occurrence of C. nigra at this locality is certainly a matter of fact, it appears impossible that a Balkan-Turkish ant, not showing any tramp species properties, might occur in small village in the Sahara Desert. The most probable reason for this disturbing observation is that Collingwood transferred the C. bulgarica worker after side-by-side stereomicroscopic comparison with unmounted specimens from other localities into a wrong tube.

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

Nomenclature

 * . Cardiocondyla elegans var. bulgarica Forel, 1892i: 312, pl. 5, fig. 4 (w.q.) BULGARIA.
 * Type-material: syntype workers, syntype queens (numbers not stated).
 * Type-localities: Bulgaria: Anchialo, and Sozopolis, 15-16.viii.1891 (A. Forel).
 * Type-depositories: MHNG, NHMB, NHMW, ZISP.
 * [Cardiocondyla elegans var. bulgarica Forel, 1892h: 461 (in text). Nomen nudum.]
 * As unavailable (infrasubspecific) name: Emery, 1909a: 22.
 * Subspecies of elegans: Dalla Torre, 1893: 70; Emery, 1922e: 125.
 * Junior synonym of elegans: Radchenko, 1995b: 449.
 * Status as species: Agosti & Collingwood, 1987a: 56; Agosti & Collingwood, 1987b: 276 (in key); Atanassov & Dlussky, 1992: 174; Bolton, 1995b: 132; Seifert, 2003a: 233 (redescription); Petrov, 2006: 99 (in key); Lapeva-Gjonova, et al. 2010: 26; Legakis, 2011: 15; Borowiec, L. & Salata, 2012: 484; Kiran & Karaman, 2012: 17; Borowiec, L. 2014: 46; Bračko, et al. 2014: 13; Lebas, et al. 2016: 266; Salata & Borowiec, 2018c: 44.
 * Senior synonym of eleonorae: Seifert, 2003a: 233; Legakis, 2011: 16; Kiran & Karaman, 2012: 17.
 * Distribution: Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Turkey.
 * eleonorae. Cardiocondyla elegans var. eleonorae Forel, 1911d: 337 (w.) TURKEY.
 * Type-material: syntype workers (number not stated).
 * Type-locality: Turkey: Coccarinali beach, nr Smyrna (= Izmir), iv.-v.1910 (A. Forel).
 * Type-depository: MHNG.
 * Subspecies of elegans: Emery, 1922e: 125; Santschi, 1934d: 277; Menozzi, 1936d: 283; Bolton, 1995b: 132.
 * Junior synonym of elegans: Radchenko, 1995b: 449.
 * Junior synonym of bulgarica: Seifert, 2003a: 233; Legakis, 2011: 16; Kiran & Karaman, 2012: 17.

Type Material
'Cardiocondyla elegans'' var. bulgarica''' [types investigated by Seifert (2023)]
 * 4 worker syntypes, labelled “C.elegans var. bulgarica Forel, 16 VIII, Anchialo (Bulgarien)”,
 * one worker syntype, labelled “Anchialo”, {{NHMW}
 * five worker syntypes, labelled “Sozopolis 15 vIII, type bulgarica“,

'Cardiocondyla elegans'' var. eleonorae''' [types investigated by Seifert (2023)]
 * This taxon has been described from Smyrna (Izmir) in Turkey. Investigated were four worker syntypes, labelled “C.e. var. eleonorae Forel, type, Plage de Cocarimali pr. Smyrne”,.

Seifert (2003) - Cardiocondyla elegans var. bulgarica: 4 syntype workers and 2 syntype gynes, labelled “C. elegans var. bulgarica Forel, 16 VIII, Anchialo (Bulgarien)”, Geneve. 1 worker and 1 syntype gyne, labelled “Anchialo”, Wien. 5 syntype workers, labelled “Sozopolis 15 VIII, type bulgarica”,.

Worker
Seifert (2003) - Head elongated, CL/CW 1.203. Postocular distance large, PoOc/CL 0.451. Eyes of medium size, EYE 0.241. Vertex with shallow but well-demarcated foveolae; interspaces about as wide as foveolae and glabrous. Frontal lobes and area posterior of frontal lobes finely longitudinally carinulate-rugulose. Frontal carinae immediately posterior of the FRS level almost parallel. Clypeus rather smooth, in some specimens with weak lateral carinulae and suggestions of foveolae. Mesosoma in overall impression, more or less glabrous; promesonotum with scattered, shallow foveolae; meso- and metapleurae with suggestions of longitudinal carinulae. Petiole wide, PEW/PPW 0.619. Postpetiolar sternite with weak anteromedian bulge. Head usually medium brown with warm yellowish tinge, sometimes dark brown. Mesosoma and petiole varying between yellow and medium brown, but warm yellowish tinge even in darkest specimens always visible. Postpetiole yellowish brown to dark brown. Gaster dark brown. Pigmentation contrast between dorsal head and mesosoma always expressed PigCap/PigMes 1.492 ± 0.250 [1.14, 2.00].

Queen
Seifert (2003) - Head elongated, CL/CW 1.185. Postocular index large, PoOC/CL 0.444. Vertex with shallow but well-demarcated foveolae of 17 - 19 mm diameter, interspaces frequently smaller than foveolar diameter and shining, almost without microstructures. Frontal carinae immediately posterior of FRS level parallel or slightly diverging. Frontal lobes and vertex posterior of frontal lobes shining but weakly longitudinally carinulate-rugulose. Clypeus more or less smooth. Mesosoma in overall impression smooth and shining; mesonotum with scattered, praescutellum and scutellum with more numerous, shallow foveolae of 10 - 15 mm diameter and glabrous interspaces; lateral area of metapleuron longitudinally carinulate-rugulose. Petiole in profile with caudomediodorsal corner, wider than in related species: PEW/PPW 0.735. Postpetiole in dorsal view with deeply concave anterior margin, its sternite with conspicuous anteromedian corner. Head and postpetiole medium to dark brown. Mesosoma and petiole yellow to darker yellowish brown, warm yellowish tinge even in darkest specimens well-expressed. Gaster dark to blackish brown. Brightness contrast between dorsal head and lateral area of mesosoma notable, PigCap/PigMes 1.50 ± 0.25 [1.25, 2.00].

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Agosti, D. and C.A. Collingwood. 1987. A provisional list of the Balkan ants (Hym. Formicidae) and a key to the worker caste. I. Synonymic list. Mitteilungen der Schweizerischen Entomologischen Gesellschaft, 60: 51-62
 * 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.
 * Bracko G., H. C. Wagner, A. Schulz, E. Gioahim, J. Maticic, and A. Tratnik. 2014. New investigation and a revised checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the Republic of Macedonia. North-Western Journal of Zoology 10(1): 10-24.
 * 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
 * Forel A. 1911. Fourmis nouvelles ou intéressantes. Bull. Soc. Vaudoise Sci. Nat. 47: 331-400.
 * Lapeva-Gjonova, L., V. Antonova, A. G. Radchenko, and M. Atanasova. "Catalogue of the ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of Bulgaria." ZooKeys 62 (2010): 1-124.
 * 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.
 * Seifert B. 2003. The ant genus Cardiocondyla (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae) - a taxonomic revision of the C. elegans, C. bulgarica, C. batesii, C. nuda, C. shuckardi, C. stambuloffii, C. wroughtonii, C. emeryi, and C. minutior species groups. Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums in Wien. B, Botanik, Zoologie 104: 203-338.
 * Seifert, B.. "The ant genus Cardiocondyla (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae) - a taxonomic revision of the C. elegans, C. bulgarica. C. batesii, C. nuda, C. shuckardi, C. stambuloffii, C. wroughtonii, C. emeryi, and C. minutior species groups." Ann. Naturhist. Mus. Wien 104B (2003): 203-338.