Messor semirufus

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Oriental Region: India. Palaearctic Region: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Turkey.

Nomenclature

 * . Aphaenogaster barbara var. semirufa André, 1883b: 355 (w.q.) “margins of the Caspian Sea”, SYRIA, IRAN, ETHIOPIA.
 * Type-material: syntype workers, syntype queens (numbers not stated).
 * Type-localities: “Bords de la mer Caspienne, Syrie, Perse (= Iran), Abyssinie (= Ethiopia)”.
 * [Note: countries bordering the Caspian Sea include Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan.]
 * Type-depositories: MHNG, MNHN.
 * Combination in Messor: Emery, 1908e: 447.
 * As unavailable (infrasubspecific) name: Emery, 1891b: 12; Forel, 1904c: 15; Ruzsky, 1905b: 750; Forel, 1906c: 190; Kuznetsov-Ugamsky, 1923: 257; Kuznetsov-Ugamsky, 1929d: 22.
 * Junior synonym of caducus: Dalla Torre, 1893: 100.
 * Subspecies of barbarus: Forel, 1886d: 247; Emery, 1908e: 447 (redescription); Forel, 1910a: 9; Forel, 1910c: 250; Forel, 1911d: 346; Karavaiev, 1911: 3; Forel, 1913d: 427; Santschi, 1914b: 75; Emery, 1915h: 1; Wheeler, W.M. & Mann, 1916: 170; Santschi, 1917e: 91; Crawley, 1920a: 164; Santschi, 1921a: 110; Emery, 1921f: 72; Emery, 1922c: 96; Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 803; Emery, 1922c: 97; Viehmeyer, 1923: 87; Donisthorpe, 1950e: 1060; Chapman & Capco, 1951: 137; Weber, 1952c: 7.
 * Subspecies of instabilis: Santschi, 1923f: 325 (in text); Santschi, 1926f: 287.
 * Status as species: Santschi, 1927c: 227; Finzi, 1929: 82; Finzi, 1930b: 15; Finzi, 1930c: 22; Finzi, 1933: 163; Menozzi, 1933b: 52; Finzi, 1936: 159; Finzi, 1939c: 155; Santschi, 1939c: 6; Finzi, 1940: 158; Collingwood, 1961a: 60; Baroni Urbani, 1964a: 1; Bernard, 1967: 147 (redescription); Baroni Urbani, 1971c: 65; Baroni Urbani, 1974: 226; Aktaç, 1977: 120; Tohmé, G. & Tohmé, H. 1981: 142; Collingwood, 1985: 252; Kugler, J. 1988: 257; Baroni Urbani, Aktaç & Camiltepe, 1989: 300; Bolton, 1995b: 257; Paknia, et al. 2008: 155; Vonshak, et al. 2009: 43; Kiran & Karaman, 2012: 20; Borowiec, L. 2014: 111 (see note in bibliography) ; Tohmé, G. & Tohmé, 2014: 134; Bharti, Guénard, et al. 2016: 38; Borowiec, L. & Salata, 2020: 11; Barech, et al. 2020: 15.
 * Senior synonym of kutteri: Baroni Urbani, 1974: 227; Bolton, 1995b: 257.
 * Senior synonym of nigricans: Baroni Urbani, 1974: 227; Bolton, 1995b: 257.
 * Material of the unavailable name obscurior referred here by Baroni Urbani, 1974: 227; Bolton, 1995b: 257.
 * Distribution: Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, France (Corsica), Greece, India, Iraq, Israel, Italy (+ Sardinia), Jordan, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Libya, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Yemen.
 * [Note: this distribution list is merely a compilation from the literature which certainly does not reflect taxonomic reality.]
 * Current subspecies: nominal plus emeryi, phasianicus.
 * denticulatus. Messor minor st. denticulatus Santschi, 1927d: 247 (date of publication 10.xi.1927).
 * Type-material: syntype workers (number not stated).
 * Type-localities: Turkmenistan: localities cited include Merv, Dushak, Bajram-ali, Karabata, Babadurmaz, Utsch-Adshi, Ashgabat, Geok Tepe (no collector’s names, probably Kuznetsov-Ugamsky), Kyrgyzstan: localities cited include Bishkek (= Frunze), Osh, Suzak, Baliktschy (no collector’s name, probably Kuznetsov-Ugamsky), Tajikistan: Konibodom (no collector’s name, probably Kuznetsov-Ugamsky), Uzbekistan: localities cited include Namangan, Andishan, Machram, Samarkand, Tashkent, Zaamin, Dshizak, Katta-Kurgan, Iskandar (no collector’s names, probably Kuznetsov-Ugamsky), Kazakhstan: localities cited include Dshilga, Kasykurt, Tulkibas, Ikan, Shymkent, Bala Bugun, Ikansu (no collector’s name, probably Kuznetsov-Ugamsky).
 * Type-depository: ZMUM.
 * [First available use of Messor barbarus subsp. meridionalis var. denticulatus Kuznetsov-Ugamsky, 1927a: 90 (in key) (w.) KAZAKHSTAN, KYRGYZSTAN, TAJIKISTAN, TURKMENISTAN, UZBEKISTAN (date of publication (30).iv.1927); unavailable (infrasubspecific) name.]
 * Subspecies of barbarus: Kuznetsov-Ugamsky, 1929d: 18.
 * Synonym of laboriosus: Santschi, 1927d: 247; Kuznetsov-Ugamsky, 1929d: 18; Arnol’di, 1977b: 1641 (in key); Dlussky, Soyunov & Zabelin, 1990: 220.
 * [Note: Santschi, Kuznetsov-Ugamsky, Arnol’di, and Dlussky, et al., all give denticulatus as senior synonym, but laboriosus has priority.]
 * Status as species: Tarbinsky, 1976: 61 (redescription); Arnol'di, 1977b: 1641 (in key); Arnol'di & Dlussky, 1978: 537 (in key); Dlussky, 1981a: 17; Agosti & Collingwood, 1987a: 54; Agosti & Collingwood, 1987b: 271 (in key); Dlussky, Soyunov & Zabelin, 1990: 219; Collingwood, 1993b: 194; Bolton, 1995b: 253; Petrov, 2006: 92 (in key); Schultz, R. et al. 2006: 206; Paknia, et al. 2008: 155; Borowiec, M.L. et al. 2009: 378; Lush, 2009: 114; Vonshak, et al. 2009: 42; Karaman, M.G. 2011b: 37; Legakis, 2011: 10; Borowiec, L. & Salata, 2012: 513; Guénard & Dunn, 2012: 45; Kiran & Karaman, 2012: 19; Borowiec, L. 2014: 105.
 * Material of the unavailable name glabriusculus referred here by Dlussky, Soyunov & Zabelin, 1990: 220; Bolton, 1995b: 253.
 * dentiscapus. Messor barbarus var. dentiscapus Finzi, 1930b: 15.
 * Type-material: syntype workers (number not stated, “several”).
 * Type-locality: Algeria: Hammam Maskhoutine, 27.iii.1909 (A. Forel).
 * Type-depository: MHNG.
 * [First available use of Messor barbarus subsp. capitatus var. dentiscapa Forel, 1909e: 371 (w.) ALGERIA; unavailable (infrasubspecific) name.]
 * As unavailable (infrasubspecific) name: Emery, 1921f: 72; Emery, 1922c: 97; Santschi, 1925g: 342 (in key); Santschi, 1931a: 4.
 * Material referred to politus by Emery, 1922c: 97, Santschi, 1925g: 342 (in key); hence dentiscapus junior synonym of politus as the latter has priority (Bolton, 1995b: 253).
 * kutteri. Messor semirufus var. kutteri Santschi, 1934d: 275 (w.) ITALY (Lipari Is).
 * Type-material: 6 syntype workers.
 * Type-locality: Italy: Lipari Is (H. Kutter).
 * Type-depository: NHMB.
 * Subspecies of semirufus: Baroni Urbani, 1971c: 65.
 * Junior synonym of meridionalis: Poldi, et al. 1995: 3.
 * Junior synonym of semirufus: Baroni Urbani, 1974: 227; Bolton, 1995b: 255.
 * nigriceps. Messor semirufus var. nigriceps Santschi, 1929e: 144 (w.) ISRAEL.
 * Type-material: holotype (?) worker.
 * [Note: no indication of number of specimens is given.]
 * Type-locality: Israel: Jerusalem (no collector’s name).
 * Type-depository: BMNH.
 * [Junior primary homonym of Messor barbarus var. nigriceps Santschi, 1925g: 341.]
 * Replacement name: Messor semirufus var. nigricans Santschi, 1932f: 517.
 * nigricans. Messor semirufus var. nigricans Santschi, 1932f: 517 (footnote).
 * Replacement name for Messor semirufus var. nigriceps Santschi, 1929e: 144. [Junior primary homonym of Messor barbarus var. nigriceps Santschi, 1925g: 341.]
 * [Unresolved junior primary homonym of Messor barbarus var. nigricans Santschi, 1929e: 142 (Bolton, 1995b: 255).]
 * Junior synonym of semirufus: Baroni Urbani, 1974: 227; Bolton, 1995b: 255.

Type Material
Salata & Borowiec (2019): Messor semirufus: syntype (w.): barbarus | v. | semirufus | Andre || Cotypus || ANTWEB | CASENT0907730 || Syria | 1899 | Morice || Coll. | A. Forel (MHNG).

Taxonomic Notes
Borowiec & Salata (2020): Jordanian specimens have frontal face of the head with more or less developed dark patch of diffused borders and belong to the form described as Messor maculifrons. Messor semirufus was recorded from several localities in Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East, Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Afghanistan and Kashmir but most records based probably on misidentification. The Messor semirufus group needs comprehensive revision. It is highly possible that the type series of this taxon consists a group of specimens belonging to more than one species. Thus, until a designation of lectotype of M. semirufus we use this name for all populations from the Middle East.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

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