Crematogaster laestrygon

This species was the only ant found right at the peak of Arabia's highest mountain, Djebel an-Nabi Shuaib, at 3750 m (Collingwood and Agosti 1996)

Identification
Collingwood and Agosti (1996) - This highland species varies in colour from totally dark to various shades of grey sometimes with a reddish tinge but can always be recognised by the strongly developed mesonotal keel and the very short dentate propodeal spines.

Distribution
Sharaf et al. (2019): This species is originally described from Italy and widespread in southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East (Borowiec 2014; Guénard et al. 2017; Janicki et al. 2017). The Arabian records are from the KSA and Yemen (Borowiec 2014; Collingwood 1985, Collingwood and Agosti 1996).

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Afrotropical Region: Saudi Arabia, Yemen. Palaearctic Region: Balearic Islands, Canary Islands, Georgia, Iberian Peninsula, Malta, Morocco, Spain, Turkey.

Nomenclature

 * . Crematogaster laestrygon Emery, 1869a: 135 (w.) ITALY (Sicily) (attributed to Haliday).
 * Type-material: syntype workers (number not stated).
 * Type-locality: Italy: Sicily, sea coast from Catina to Pachynum promontory (= Cape Passaro) (A.H. Haliday ?), and Monti Rossi, Mt Etna (A.H. Haliday ?).
 * Type-depository: MSNG.
 * [Misspelled as laestrigon by De Stefani, 1889: 145, Santschi, 1910a: 43, Karavaiev, 1927b: 104, and others.]
 * De Stefani, 1889: 145 (q.); Baroni Urbani, 1964b: 43 (q.).
 * Combination in C. (Acrocoelia): Emery, 1922e: 142;
 * combination in C. (Crematogaster): Bolton, 1995b: 166.
 * Subspecies of scutellaris: Emery & Forel, 1879: 464; Emery, 1881b: 535; André, 1883b: 393; De Stefani, 1889: 145.
 * Subspecies of schmidti: Emery, 1891b: 15; Dalla Torre, 1893: 85; Emery, 1893c: 82.
 * Subspecies of auberti: Forel, 1894d: 25; Forel, 1902a: 154; Ruzsky, 1902d: 31; Forel, 1904c: 5; Forel, 1905b: 174; Ruzsky, 1905b: 495; Forel, 1911d: 341 (in text); Karavaiev, 1912a: 11; Emery, 1912e: 658; Emery, 1916b: 156; Stitz, 1917: 341; Santschi, 1921d: 70; Emery, 1922e: 142; Karavaiev, 1927b: 104; Kutter, 1927: 99; Santschi, 1929e: 148; Santschi, 1934f: 167.
 * Status as species: Emery, 1878b: 59; Emery, 1880: 398; André, 1881b: 77; Forel, 1909c: 104; Santschi, 1910a: 43; Santschi, 1915a: 59; Emery, 1926: 2; Wheeler, W.M. 1927g: 106; Grandi, 1935: 100; Santschi, 1936c: 201; Santschi, 1937e: 305; Santschi, 1939d: 73; Finzi, 1940: 160; Bernard, 1945: 133; Bernard, 1956b: 258; Ceballos, 1956: 303; Baroni Urbani, 1964b: 43; Cagniant, 1964: 88; Cagniant, 1968a: 143; Collingwood & Yarrow, 1969: 66; Cagniant, 1970a: 417; Baroni Urbani, 1971c: 78; Baroni Urbani, 1976: 211; Aktaç, 1977: 121; Collingwood, 1978: 82 (in key); Collingwood, 1985: 262; Agosti & Collingwood, 1987a: 54; Agosti & Collingwood, 1987b: 272 (in key); Hohmann, et al. 1993: 148; Bolton, 1995b: 155; Mei, 1995: 762; Poldi, et al. 1995: 4; Collingwood & Agosti, 1996: 331; Espadaler, 1997b: 29; Cagniant, 2005: 11; Cagniant, 2006a: 198; Petrov, 2006: 93 (in key); Karaman, M.G. 2008: 20 (in key); Gratiashvili & Barjadze, 2008: 138; Kiran & Karaman, 2012: 18; Borowiec, L. 2014: 66 (see note in bibliography); Lebas, et al. 2016: 270; Sharaf, Aldawood & Hita Garcia, 2019: 64.
 * Senior synonym of vaucheri: Collingwood, 1978: 69; Bolton, 1995b: 155; Sharaf, Aldawood & Hita Garcia, 2019: 64.
 * Distribution: Algeria, Egypt, Georgia, Italy (+ Sicily), Libya, Malta, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Spain (+ Balearics, Canary Is), Tunisia, Turkey, Yemen.
 * Current subspecies: nominal plus airensis, atlantis, canariensis, diminuta, granulata, maura, submaura, surcoufi, theryi, vivax.
 * vaucheri. Crematogaster laestrygon subsp. vaucheri Emery, 1926: 2.
 * Type-material: holotype (?) worker.
 * [Note: no indication of number of specimens is given.]
 * Type-locality: Morocco: Mazagan (Vaucher).
 * Type-depository: NHMB.
 * [First available use of Crematogaster auberti st. laestrygon var. vaucheri Santschi, 1921d: 71 (w.) MOROCCO; unavailable (infrasubspecific) name.]
 * Subspecies of laestrygon: Santschi, 1937e: 308; Ceballos, 1956: 303.
 * Junior synonym of laestrygon: Collingwood, 1978: 69; Bolton, 1995b: 165; Sharaf, Aldawood & Hita Garcia, 2019: 64.

Taxonomic Notes
Sharaf et al. (2019): This is a good example of a Crematogaster species with a complex and uncertain taxonomic situation. It is relatively widespread in the Mediterranean and Middle East and currently has nine subspecies. It is doubtful that they are conspecific and it is possible that this is a species complex.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

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