Aphaenogaster sardoa

Identification
Jessen (2020) - Queen BL 7-12. Head longer than wide. Teeth are all about the same size, apical tooth can be slightly bigger. Alitrunk high and arched. Propodeal spines present. Wing venation with closed cells mcu, 1+2r, and a distinct cell rm.

Vein 2r-rs short. Vein 5RS is in reduction. At its distal end, sclerotization becomes extremely weak. It is a matter of interpretation, if cell 3r is seen as open or closed. The distal section of vein M does not branch off from vein RS near the junction 2r-rs/RS, but much further proximal. Thus, the free distal ends of M and RS do not branch off from a common node. With the exception of a well-developed cell rm, the venation pattern is similar to the one described for the morphogenus Paraphaenogaster (Radchenko and Perkovsky 2016; Perfilieva et al. 2017). Vein M3 and the proximal part of vein M4 show an intervening lumen; it is lacking in the distal part of M4. The latter part seems to be just a stronger sclerotized line to possibly improve the wings stability, without having any supply function. This also applies for the distal part of vein Cu. Petiole pedunculate with distinct node. Postpetiole shorter than petiole.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Palaearctic Region: Algeria, Italy, Morocco.

Morphology
Jessen (2020) - The fact that in Aphaenogaster the proximal part of the (wing) vein section M4 is also equipped with a pronounced lumen shows that the lumen is developed according to functional needs. The presence or absence of a lumen does not necessarily correspond to the vein sections M3 and M4.

Nomenclature

 * . Aphaenogaster sardous Mayr, 1853b: 107 (w) ITALY (Sardinia).
 * André, 1883b: 369 (q.); Santschi, 1911i: 284 (m.).
 * Junior synonym of testaceopilosa: Mayr, 1861: 66 (in key); Mayr, 1863: 397; Roger, 1863b: 29; André, 1874: 204 (in list).
 * Status as species: Mayr, 1855: 468 (footnote); Mayr, 1865: 88 (redescription); Dours, 1873: 167; Emery, 1878b: 55; Emery & Forel, 1879: 463; Emery, 1880: 392; André, 1883b: 360 (in key); Emery, 1884a: 381; Saunders, E. 1890: 205; Emery, 1891b: 9; Dalla Torre, 1893: 104; Emery, 1908c: 323; Santschi, 1911i: 284; Karavaiev, 1912a: 4; Krausse, 1912b: 163; Emery, 1916b: 131; Stitz, 1917: 341; Bondroit, 1918: 161; Emery, 1921f: 62; Menozzi, 1925b: 368; Kutter, 1927: 98; Santschi, 1929e: 140; Finzi, 1930a: 156; Grandi, 1935: 99; Santschi, 1936c: 199; Ceballos, 1956: 298; Cagniant, 1964: 86; Cagniant, 1968a: 142; Cagniant, 1996a: 76; Cagniant, 1970a: 415; Baroni Urbani, 1971c: 41; Collingwood, 1978: 79 (in key); De Haro & Collingwood, 1994: 100; Bolton, 1995b: 72; Mei, 1995: 760; Poldi, et al. 1995: 3; Cagniant, 1996a: 75; Borowiec, L. 2014: 17 (see note in bibliography); Lebas, et al. 2016: 252.
 * Senior synonym of longispina: Finzi, 1930a: 156; Bolton, 1995b: 72.
 * Current subspecies: nominal plus anoemica.
 * longispina. Aphaenogaster sardoa var. longispina Wolf, 1915: 42, fig. 4 (w.) ALGERIA.
 * Junior synonym of sardoa: Finzi, 1930a: 156; Bolton, 1995b: 70.

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.
 * Cagniant H. 1996. Les Aphaenogaster du Maroc (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): clé et catalogue des espèces. Ann. Soc. Entomol. Fr. (N.S.) 32: 67-85.
 * Cagniant H., and A. Ledoux. 1974. Nouvelle description d'Aphaenogaster senilis sur des exemplaires de la région de Banyuls-sur-Mer (P.-O.), France. Vie et Milieu. Série C. Biologie Terrestre 24: 97-110.
 * Cagniant, H. 1968. Liste preliminaire de fourmis forestieres d'Algerie. Resultats obtenus de 1963 a 1964. Bulletin de la Société d'Histoire Naturelle de Toulouse 104: 138-147
 * Cagniant, H. "Étude de quelques fourmis marocaines. Statistique provisoire des Formicidae du Maroc." Bulletin de la Société d' Histoire naturelle de l' Afrique du Nord 53 (1964): 83-118.
 * Cagniant, H. Les peuplements de fourmis des forêts algériennes: écologie, biocénotique, essai biologique. Universite de Toulouse, 1973.
 * De Stefani T. 1889. Miscellanea imenotterologica sicula. Nat. Sicil. 8: 140-145.
 * Emery C. 1916. Fauna entomologica italiana. I. Hymenoptera.-Formicidae. Bullettino della Società Entomologica Italiana 47: 79-275.
 * Emery, C. "Catalogo delle formiche esistenti nelle collezioni del Museo Civico di Genova. Parte seconda. Formiche dell'Europa e delle regioni limitrofe in Africa e in Asia." Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale 12 (1878): 43-59.
 * Emery, C. "Crociera del Violante, comandato dal capitano armatore Enrico d'Albertis, durante l'anno 1877. Formiche." Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale 15 (1880): 389-398.
 * Finzi B. 1930. Contributo allo studio degli Aphaenogaster paleartici (Formicidae-Myrmicinae). Bollettino della Società Entomologica Italiana 62: 151-156.
 * Forel, A. "Fourmis de Tunisie et de l'Algerie orientale recoltees et decrites par Auguste Forel." Annales de la Société Entomologique de Belgique 34 (1890): lxi-lxxvi.
 * Grandi G. 1935. Contributi alla conoscenza degli Imenotteri Aculeati. XV. Boll. R. Ist. Entomol. Univ. Studi Bologna 8: 27-121.
 * Hauschteck-Jungen E., and H. Jungen. 1983. Ant chromosomes. II. Karyotypes of western palearctic species. Insectes Soc. 30: 149-164.
 * IZIKO South Africa Museum Collection
 * Karavaiev V. 1912. Ameisen aus Tunesien und Algerien, nebst einigen unterwegs in Italien gesammelten Arten. Rus. Entomol. Obozr. 12: 1-22.
 * Krausse, A. H. "Ueber sardische Ameisen." Archiv für Naturgeschichte, Berlin A 78(7) (1912): 162-166.
 * Lorite P., J. A. Carrillo, M. F. García, and T. Palomeque. 2000. Chromosome numbers in Spanish Formicidae. III. Subfamily Myrmicinae (Hymenoptera). Sociobiology 36: 555-570.
 * Mei M. 1995. Arthropoda di Lampedusa, Linosa e Pantelleria (Canale di Sicilia, Mar Mediterraneo). Hymenoptera Formicidae (con diagnosi di due nuove specie). Il Naturalista Siciliano (4)19(suppl.): 753-772.
 * Menozzi C. 1925. Qualche formica nuova od interessante del Deutsch. Ent. Institut di Dahlem (Form.). Entomologische Mitteilungen. Berlin-Dahlem. 14: 368-371.
 * Poldi B., M. Mei, and F. Rigato. 1995. Hymenoptera, Formicidae. Vol 102. Checklist delle specie della fauna Italiana: 1-10.
 * Santschi, F. 1911. Formicides de diverses provenances. Annales de la Société Entomologique de Belgique 55: 278-287
 * Santschi, F. "Formicides de diverses provenances." Annales de la Société Entomologique de Belgique 55 (1911): 278-287.
 * Santschi, F. "Fourmis du Maroc, d'Algérie et de Tunisie." Bulletin et Annales de la Société Entomologique de Belgique (Bruxelles) 69 (1929): 138-165.
 * Scupola I. 2009. Le formiche delle Isole Egadi (Sicilia) (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Bollettino del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Verona Botanica Zoologia 33: 97-103
 * Stitz, H. "Ameisen aus dem westlichen Mittelmeergebiet und von den Kanarischen Inseln." Mitteilungen aus den Zoologischen Museum in Berlin 8 (1917): 333-353.
 * Taheri A., and J. L. Reyes-Lopez. 2015. Five new records of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Morocco. Journal of Insect Science 15(37): DOI: 10.1093/jisesa/iev022
 * de Haro, Andrés, and C. A. Collingwood. "Prospección mirmecológica por el litoral mediterráneo de Marruecos (Cabo Negro, Martil, Oued Lau) y su comparación con la zona meridional ibérica." Orsis 9 (1994): 97-104.
 * de Haro, Andrés, and C. A. Collingwood. "Prospección mirmecológica por la península Tingitana al norte del Rif (Marruecos)." Orsis (Organismes i Sistemes) 12 (1997): 93-99.