Camponotus dalmaticus

This species is distributed almost exclusively in southern Europe, although it can also be found in Switzerland, and occurs as far east as Asia Minor and the Near East (Radchenko 2007). It prefers warm habitats. (Marko et al., 2009)

Identification
Ionescu-Hirsch (2009) - According to Radchenko (1997c), C. dalmaticus belongs to the Camponotus piceus complex of the Camponotus lateralis species group, together with Camponotus abrahami and Camponotus piceus. C. dalmaticus differs from C. abrahami (studied specimens from Lebanon identified by C.A. Collingwood), by the clypeus being incised anteromedially, as opposed to entire, by the presence of a metanotal groove, as opposed to a lack of such, and by a red mesosoma (at least pronotum), as opposed to a completely black mesosoma. It differs from C. piceus by the presence of a single transverse row of erect setae on the junction of the propodeal dorsum with declivity, as opposed to the erect setae scattered all over the propodeal dorsum in the latter species (see also Emery, 1925a). C. dalmaticus has the clypeus incised anteriorly and the arrangement pattern of the propodeal setae similar to Camponotus lateralis and Camponotus rebeccae but it differs from these species in its black head and gaster, whereas C. lateralis and C. rebeccae have the head always paler than the gaster. It further differs from C. rebeccae by its deeply impressed, as opposed to shallow, metanotal groove; a difference especially marked in major workers, by its propodeal dorsum flat or concave posteriorly, as opposed to convex, and by a slightly broader petiolar scale: the ratio of maximum petiolar width to pronotum width = 0.47–0.60 (n = 33), as opposed to 0.41–0.53 (n = 47).

Seifert, 2019: See key. Two major workers are depicted in AntWeb.org under CASENT0179601 (the most frequent color morph) and CASENT0906110 (the rare, entirely black color morph).

Distribution
Ionescu-Hirsch (2009) - Mainly in southeastern Europe, although also found in Switzerland, Turkey (Asia Minor), and the Near East (Radchenko, 2007).

Marko et al. (2009) - In Romania this species is known from a single location: Mehadia (Mocsáry 1897) in Caraş-Severin County in southern Romania. The reference material could not be verified. C. dalmaticus has nonetheless clear morphological characters that could hardly allow its misidentification, and it is also present in neighbouring countries. We thus consider it as a likely species for Romania until further evidence is acquired.

Seifert, 2019: The range extends northwest over north Italy to south Switzerland. The northernmost site reported by Kutter (1977) is Ruvigliana near Lugano [46.00°N, 8.99° E, 400 m]. The species is unknown so far from Asia Minor.

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Palaearctic Region: Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, Montenegro, Republic of Macedonia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Turkey.

Nomenclature

 *  dalmaticus. Formica dalmatica Nylander, 1849: 37 (w.) YUGOSLAVIA. Forel, 1913d: 436 (q.m.). Combination in Camponotus: Mayr, 1863: 399; in C. (Orthonotomyrmex): Müller, 1923: 164; in C. (Myrmentoma): Menozzi, 1921: 32; Emery, 1925b: 120. Junior synonym of lateralis: Mayr, 1855: 322. Revived from synonymy as subspecies of lateralis: Forel, 1874: 40; Forel, 1892i: 306; Müller, 1923: 164; Emery, 1925a: 64. Revived status as species: Finzi, 1927b: 52; Finzi, 1930d: 318; Santschi, 1934d: 281; Kutter, 1977c: 207; Agosti & Collingwood, 1987a: 58; Atanassov & Dlussky, 1992: 224. See also: Radchenko, 2007: 37.

Type Material
Seifert, 2019: Investigated were two syntypes on different pins, a major and minor worker, labeled ‘Lagusta \ Zeller \ Coll.Nyldr \ Lagosta [handwritten]\ H:fors Spec. typ. No 50** Formica dalmatica Nyl’, FMNH Helsinki. The syntypes have identical labels except for ‘Spec. typ. No’ which are ‘5089’ and ‘5090’ respectively.

Taxonomic Notes
Seifert, 2019: The syntypes represent typical specimens in shape, structure and pigmentation. Running them as wildcards in a 5-class LDA, they were allocated with a mean posterior probability of p = 0.9996 to the 24 nest samples classified here as C. dalmaticus, whereas all other four species with completely blackish vertex and low RipD presented in Tab. 3 were clearly excluded (for Camponotus ebneri).

Worker
Ionescu-Hirsch (2009) - TL = 4.3–6.1, HL = 1.04–1.70, HW = 0.87–1.52, EL = 0.25–0.33, SL = 1.02–1.30, ML = 1.48–2.03, PW = 0.74–1.07, mTbL = 0.81–1.09, hTbL = 1.04–1.50 (n = 15).

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * Agosti, D. and C.A. Collingwood. 1987. A provisional list of the Balkan ants (Hym. Formicidae) and a key to the worker caste. I. Synonymic list. Mitteilungen der Schweizerischen Entomologischen Gesellschaft, 60: 51-62
 * Aktaç, N.. "Studies on the myrmecofauna of Turkey I. Ants of Siirt, Bodrum and Trabzon." Istanbul Universitesi Fen Fakultesi Mecmuasi. Seri B 41 (1977): 115-135.
 * Aldawood AS, Sharaf MR (2011) Monomorium dryhimi sp. n., a new ant species (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of the M. monomorium group from Saudi Arabia, with a key to the Arabian Monomorium monomorium-group. ZooKeys 106: 4754. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.106.139
 * Andoni V. 1977. Kontribut mbi Himenopteret e familjes Formicidae te vendit tone. Buletini I Shkencave te Natyres 31(2): 93-101.
 * Bezdecka P. 1996. The ants of Slovakia (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Entomofauna carpathica 8: 108-114.
 * 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. 2015. Pheidole symbioticaWasmann, 1909, an enigmatic supposed social parasite, is a nematodeinfested form of Pheidole pallidula(Nylander, 1849) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae). Sociobiology 62(2): 181-186.
 * Borowiec L., and S. Salata. 2017. Ants of the Peloponnese, Greece (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Polish Journal of Entomology 86: 193-236.
 * Bra?ko G. 2007. Checklist of the ants of Slovenia (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Natura Sloveniae 9: 15-24
 * Bracko G., H. C. Wagner, A. Schulz, E. Gioahim, J. Maticic, and A. Tratnik. 2014. New investigation and a revised checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the Republic of Macedonia. North-Western Journal of Zoology 10(1): 10-24.
 * Bracko G., K. Kiran, C. Karaman, S. Salata, and L. Borowiec. 2016. Survey of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the Greek Thrace. Biodiversity Data Journal 4: e7945. doi: 10.3897/BDJ.4.e7945
 * Bracko G., and L. Cesnik. 2016. Fist records of six ant species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) for Slovenia. Natura Sloveniae 18(2): 39-46.
 * Bracko, G. 2006. Review of the ant fauna (Hymenoptera:Formicidae) of Croatia. Acta Entomologica Slovenica 14(2): 131-156.
 * Bracko, G.. "Review of the ant fauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Croatia." Acta Entomologica Slovenica Vol 14 st (2006): 131-156.
 * Collingwood, C. A. 1993. A Comparitive Study of the Ant Fauna of Five Greek Islands. Biologia Gallo-hellenica. 20,1:191-197
 * Collingwood, C. A.. "A comparative study of the ant fauna of five Greek islands." Biologia Gallo-Hellenica 20 (1993): 191-197.
 * Csősz S. and Markó, B. 2005. European ant species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the ant collection of the Natural History Museum of Sibiu (Hermannstadt/Nagyszeben), Romania II. Subfamily Formicinae. Annales Historico-Naturales Musei Nationalis Hungarici 97: 225-240.
 * 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
 * Emery C. 1914. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Bearbeitung von O. Leonhard's Sammlungen. 5. Südeuropäische Ameisen (Hym.). Entomologische Mitteilungen. Berlin-Dahlem 3: 156-159.
 * Emery C. 1916. Fauna entomologica italiana. I. Hymenoptera.-Formicidae. Bullettino della Società Entomologica Italiana 47: 79-275.
 * Emery, C.. "Beiträge zur Kenntniss der palaearktischen Ameisen." Öfversigt af Finska Vetenskaps-Societetens Förhandlingar (Helsinki) 20 (1898): 124-151.
 * Forel, A.. "Fourmis de la faune méditerranéenne récoltées par MM. U. et J. Sahlberg." Revue Suisse de Zoologie 21 (1913): 427-438.
 * Forel, A.. "Nouvelles fourmis de Grèce récoltées par M. E. von Oertzen." Annales de la Société Entomologique de Belgique 30 (1886): clix-clxviii.
 * 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.
 * Karaman M. G. 2009. An introduction to the ant fauna of Macedonia (Balkan Peninsula), a check list (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Natura Montenegrina 8(3): 151-162.
 * Karaman M. G. 2011. A catalogue of the ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of Montenegro. Podgorica: Catalogues 3, Volume 2, Montenegrin Academy of Sciences and Arts, 140 pp.
 * Kiran K., and C. Karaman. 2012. First annotated checklist of the ant fauna of Turkey (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zootaxa 3548: 1-38.
 * Kiran K., and N. Aktac. 2006. The vertical distribution of the ant fauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the Samanh Mountains, Turkey. Linzer Biol. Beitr. 38(2): 1105-1122.
 * Korlevic, A.. "Prilozi fauni hrvatskih opnokrilaca." Glasn. Hrv. Narav. Dr. 5 (1890): 189-250.
 * Kutter H. 1963. Miscellanea myrmecologica I. Mitteilungen der Schweizerischen Entomologischen Gesellschaft 35: 129-137.
 * Markó B., A. Ionescu-Hirsch, and A. Szász-Len. 2009. Genus Camponotus Mayr, 1861 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Romania: distribution and identification key to the worker caste. Entomologica Romanica 14: 29-41.
 * Markó B., B. Sipos, S. Csősz, K. Kiss, I. Boros, and L. Gallé. 2006. A comprehensive list of the ants of Romania (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Myrmecologische Nachrichten 9: 65-76.
 * Medina, M.. "Catálogo provisional de las hormigas de Andalucía." Actas de la Sociedad Española de Historia Natural 20 (1891): 95-104.
 * Müller, G.. "Le formiche della Venezia Guilia e della Dalmazia." Bollettino della Società Adriatica di Scienze Naturali in Trieste 28 (1923): 11-180.
 * Petrov I. Z., and C. A. Collingwood. 1992. Survey of the myrmecofauna (Formicidae, Hymenoptera) of Yugoslavia. Archives of Biological Sciences (Belgrade) 44: 79-91.
 * Radchenko A. G. 2007. The ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in the collection of William Nylander. Fragmenta Faunistica (Warsaw) 50: 27-41.
 * 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.
 * Santschi, F.. "Fourmis d'une croisière." Bulletin et Annales de la Société Entomologique de Belgique (Bruxelles) 74 (1934): 273-282.
 * Seifert B. 2019. A taxonomic revision of the members of the Camponotus lateralis species group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Europe, Asia Minor and Caucasia. Soil Organisms 91:7–32.
 * Steiner F. M., S. Schödl, and B. C. Schlick-Steiner. 2002. Liste der Ameisen Österreichs (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), Stand Oktober 2002. Beiträge zur Entomofaunistik 3: 17-25.
 * Tausan I. 2016. First record of Camponotus lateralis (Olivier, 1792)(Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Dobrogea (Romania). Brukenthal. Acta Musei, 11: 443-446.
 * Tohme G. 1996. Formicidae. Etude de la diversité biologique n° 4 . Ministère de lAgriculture à Beyrouth (Eds.). P85-87.
 * Tohme G., and H. Tohme. 2014. Nouvelles liste des especes de fourmis du Liban (Hymenoptera, Formicoidea). Lebanese Science Journal 15(1): 133-141.
 * Vesni? A. 2011: Revidirani sistematski prijegled mrava Bosne i Hercegovine. Unutar : S. Lelo (urednik),  Fauna  Bosne  i  Hercegovine    Biosistematski  pregledi.  7.  izmijenjeno  i popravljeno interno izdanje Udruenja za inventarizaciju i zatitu  ivotinja, Ilija, Kanton Sarajevo, pp: 205-207.
 * Vogrin, V.. "Prilog fauni Hymenoptera - Aculeata Jugoslavije." Zast. Bilja 31(suppl.) (1955): 1-74.
 * Vonshak M., and A. Ionescu-Hirsch. 2009. A checklist of the ants of Israel (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Israel Journal of Entomology 39: 33-55.
 * Zimmermann, S.. "Beitrag zur Kenntnis der Ameisenfauna Süddalmatiens." Verhandlungen der Zoologisch-Botanisch Gesellschaft in Wien 84 (1935): 1-65.