Camponotus kurdistanicus

Identification
Ionescu-Hirsch (2009) - C. kurdistanicus belongs to the Camponotus gestroi complex of the Camponotus lateralis species group (Radchenko, 1997c). It is morphologically similar to Camponotus vogti and to Camponotus abrahami, from which it differs only in color: C. kurdistanicus and C. vogti have the mesosoma lighter than the coxae and femora, while C. abrahami has the mesosoma darker than the legs; C. kurdistanicus and C. abrahami have a black head and gaster, while C. vogti’s head is paler (red to brown) than the gaster. C. kurdistanicus, C. vogti, and C. abrahami differ from Camponotus dalmaticus, Camponotus lateralis, and Camponotus rebeccae by having the clypeus with anterior margin truncated, medially entire, as opposed to rounded anteriorly and incised medially, by a lack of metanotal groove, as opposed to a metanotal groove generally present, and by a distinctly narrower head when comparing specimens with equal pronotum width: for specimens with PW > 1 mm, HW/PW ranges 1.15–1.36 (n = 10), as opposed to 1.36–1.58 (n = 24). C. kurdistanicus, C. vogti and C. abrahami further differ from C. rebeccae by a distinctly broader petiolar scale: the ratio of maximum petiolar width to pronotum width equals 0.54–0.60 (n = 14), as opposed to 0.41–0.53 (n = 47).

Israeli specimens of C. vogti and C. kurdistanicus may be color varieties of a single species.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Palaearctic Region: China, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Russian Federation, Turkey.

Nomenclature

 *  kurdistanicus. Camponotus gestroi subsp. kurdistanicus Emery, 1898c: 151 (w.q.) RUSSIA. Combination in C. (Myrmentoma): Emery, 1920b: 257. Raised to species: Emery, 1920b: 257; Emery, 1920c: 25. See also: Emery, 1925a: 70.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

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 * Emery C. 1920. Studi sui Camponotus. Bullettino della Società Entomologica Italiana 52: 3-48.
 * Guénard B., and R. R. Dunn. 2012. A checklist of the ants of China. Zootaxa 3558: 1-77.
 * Ionescu-Hirsch A. 2009. An annotated list of Camponotus of Israel (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), with a key and descriptions of new species. ISRAEL JOURNAL OF ENTOMOLOGY 39: 5798.
 * Kiran K., and C. Karaman. 2012. First annotated checklist of the ant fauna of Turkey (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zootaxa 3548: 1-38.
 * Pisarski B. 1971. Les fourmis du genre Camponotus Mayr (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) d'Iraq. Bulletin de l'Académie Polonaise des Sciences. Série des Sciences Biologiques. 19: 727-731.
 * Ran H., and S. Y. Zhou. 2011. Checklist of Chinese Ants: the Formicomorph Subfamilies (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) (I). Journal of Guangxi Normal University: Natural Science Edition. 29(3): 65-73.
 * Vonshak M., and A. Ionescu-Hirsch. 2009. A checklist of the ants of Israel (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Israel Journal of Entomology 39: 33-55.