Camponotus boghossiani

A ground-nesting species.

Identification
Salata et al. (2019) - A member of the Camponotus kiesenwetteri species group. Head, mesosoma, and gaster uniformly black; metanotal groove present, shallow; propodeum without or with indistinct bulge-like protrusions; body densely punctate, appears dull; base of scape without extension; whole body bears long, thick, pale, dense and erect setae, and short appressed microsetae; petiolar scale thick.

Density of sculpture slightly differs within this species and populations from Peloponnese and Aegean Islands are slightly more sculptured than populations from western Turkey.

Camponotus boghossiani is most similar to Camponotus nitidescens and Camponotus schulzi and differs from them in the stronger sculpture of the mesosoma and gaster which, at first glance, appears very dull. While in both relatives the sculpture is slightly diffused and the surface is at least partly shiny. Camponotus kiesenwetteri has a similarly sculptured body surface but differs in having the posterior margin of the propodeum more or less excavate and forming well-developed, lateral dentate protrusions while in C. boghossiani the posterior margin of the propodeum is straight, without protrusions. Isolated specimens of C. kiesenwetteri, with posterior margin of propodeum very shallowly excavate, at first glance look very similar to specimens of C. boghossiani but can be easily be separated by having an antennal scape with a distinct basal extension, while in C. boghossiani the base of the antennal scape has no extension.

Distribution
Salata et al. (2019) - Greece: North Aegean Islands, Crete (Heraklion), South Aegean Islands (Cyclades, Dodecanese), Peloponnese (Messinia); Turkey: Antalya, Balıkesir, Çanakkale, Denizli, Karaman, Kütahya, Muğla, and Uşak.

Niche modeling, with precipitation of the wettest quarter as the most influential variable, indicates there are additional highly suitable areas for C. boghossiani, especially along the coast of Turkey, Cyprus and Crete.

This is an eastern and southern species known from the Aegean Islands, Crete, Cyclades, the Dodecanese and Peloponnese. Record from Thasos is first for Macedonia and the most northwestern in the Balkan region (Borowiec et al., 2022).

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

Biology
See the Camponotus kiesenwetteri species group page for information about the biology of C. boghossiani.

Nomenclature

 * . Camponotus boghossiani Forel, 1911d: 357 (s.w.) TURKEY.
 * Combination in C. (Orthonotomyrmex): Forel, 1914a: 273;
 * combination in C. (Myrmentoma): Emery, 1925b: 121.
 * Status as species: Emery, 1925b: 121; Bolton, 1995b: 89; Radchenko, 1996b: 1197 (in key); Radchenko, 1997b: 705; Karaman, C. et al. 2011: 185; Borowiec, L. & Salata, 2012: 472; Kiran & Karaman, 2012: 6; Karaman, C. & Aktaç, 2013: 50 (in key); Borowiec, L. 2014: 27 (see note in bibliography); Lebas, et al. 2016: 136; Borowiec, L. & Salata, 2018: 4; Salata & Borowiec, 2018c: 7; Salata, Loss, et al. 2019: 91.
 * Senior synonym of stenotica: Salata & Borowiec, 2018c: 7; Salata, Loss, et al. 2019: 91.
 * angustatus. Camponotus kiesenwetteri r. angustatus Forel, 1889: 261 (w.) GREECE.
 * [Junior secondary homonym of Formica angustata Latreille, 1798: 34.]
 * Subspecies of kiesenwetteri: Emery, 1896d 376 (in list).
 * Replacement name: Camponotus boghossiani var. stenotica Emery, 1915h: 7.
 * stenotica. Camponotus boghossiani var. stenotica Emery, 1915h: 7 (in text).
 * Replacement name for Camponotus kiesenwetteri angustatus Forel, 1889: 261. [Junior secondary homonym of Formica angustata Latreille, 1798: 34.]
 * Subspecies of boghossiani: Emery, 1925b: 121; Bolton, 1995b: 125; Legakis, 2011: 33.
 * Junior synonym of boghossiani: Salata & Borowiec, 2018c: 7; Salata, Loss, et al. 2019: 91.

Type Material
Syntypes: Lesbos, Greece, 2 workers: Presqu'ile d'Aivaly, pres Mitylène, dans bois, Coll. A. Forel. Antweb: CASENT0910435 and CASENT0910436.

Taxonomic Notes
Camponotus kiesenwetteri angustatus: The taxon has been described from Samos. There are no types in the Forel collection in and the original description does not allow an identification to the species level (Seifert, 2019).

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.
 * Borowiec L., and S. Salata. 2012. Ants of Greece - Checklist, comments and new faunistic data (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Genus 23(4): 461-563.
 * Borowiec L., and S. Salata. 2017. Ants of the Peloponnese, Greece (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Polish Journal of Entomology 86: 193-236.
 * Borowiec L., and S. Salata. 2018. Notes on ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Samos Island, Greece. Annals of the Upper Silesian Museum in Bytom Entomology 27: 1-13.
 * 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.
 * Karaman C., N. Aktac, and K. Kiran. 2009. Ants of the genus CamponotusMayr, 1861 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the Kaz Mountains, Turkey, with descriptions of sexuals of Camponotus candiotes Emery, 1894 and Camponotus ionius Emery, 1920. Tubitak 35(2): 183-197.
 * Salata S., A. C. Loss, C. Karaman, K. Kiran, and L. Borowiec. 2019. Review of the Camponotus kiesenwetteri group (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in the Aegean with the description of a new species. ZooKeys 899: 85-107.
 * Salata S., and L Borowiec. 2017. Species of Tetramorium semilaeve complex from Balkans and western Turkey, with description of two new species of (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae). Annales Zoologici (Warsaw) 62:279–313.
 * 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.
 * Salata S., and L. Borowiec. 2019. Preliminary division of not socially parasitic Greek Temnothorax Mayr, 1861 (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) with a description of three new species. ZooKeys 877: 81-131.