Salata, S., Borowiec, L. 2018. Redescription of Aphaenogaster
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ASIAN MYRMECOLOGY Volume 10, e010002, 2018 ISSN 1985-1944 | eISSN: 2462-2362 © Sebastian Salata and Lech Borowiec DOI: 10.20362/am.010002 Redescription of Aphaenogaster muschtaidica Emery, 1908 with a key to gibbosa species group Sebastian Salata1* and Lech Borowiec2 1,2Department of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Taxonomy, University of Wrocław, Przybyszewskiego 65, 51-148 Wrocław, Poland [email protected] *Corresponding author: [email protected] ABSTRACT. Aphaenogaster muschtaidica Emery, 1908 n. st. is redescribed based on new material collected from Georgia. A neotype of this species is designated. Its sexual forms are described for the first time. Features defining members of A. gibbosa group are redefined and a status of Aphaenogaster subterranea fiorii Emery, 1915 n. comb. is recombined. A key to worker caste of species belonging to gibbosa group is given. Keywords: Caucasus, new status, key, Stenammini, Aphaenogaster gibbosa group INTRODUCTION mauritanica Dalla Torre, 1893, A. striativentris Forel, 1895, A. muschtaidica Emery, 1908, A. Aphaenogaster Mayr, 1853 is a widely distributed fiorii Emery, 1915, A. italica Bondroit, 1918, A. genus, which includes more than 200 species and nadigi Santschi 1923, A. theryi Santschi, 1923, subspecies. Among them, 97 species are known A. chorassanica Arnol’di, 1968. Almost all taxa from the Palearctic Region (AntWiki 2017). mentioned by Schulz have valid species status. In recent years some of them, based on their Only Aphaenogaster muschtaidica, A. choras- morphology, were divided into species groups sanica and A. laevior are considered as junior (Schulz 1994). This work can be considered as a synonyms of A. gibbosa. base for more advanced research, which resulted After thorough examination of types in describing new species, redefining few groups of A. laevior Forel, 1892 (not A. laevior Em- and creating new ones (Kiran et al. 2008, Boer ery, 1887) we have no doubts that this taxon is 2013, Borowiec & Salata 2014). conspecific with A. gibbosa (Latreille, 1798). According to Schulz’s (1994) paper A. Therefore, there is no need to replace it with a muschtaidica Emery, 1908 is a member of A. new name and it should remain unavailable for gibbosa group. This group was characterized nomenclature. The status of A. gibbosa choras- by the following features: dark body coloura- sanica Arnol’di, 1968 remains unclear. Accord- tion, delicate but visible head and mesosoma ing to characters noted in the original description sculpture, with dull surface between rugosities, (Arnol’di 1968) it seems to be a distinct species. scape reaching well beyond the occipital margin Unfortunately, we had no possibility to study the of head, slightly striped base of gaster and post- types of this taxon and at the moment we propose petiole, funicular segments from 1.5 to 2 times keeping its status as a synonym of A. gibbosa. longer than wide. The following taxa were listed During a field trip to Georgia by the se- as members of gibbosa group: A. gibbosa (La- nior author, specimens belonging to the gibbosa treille, 1798), A. strioloides Forel, 1890, A. lae- group were collected. Their morphology and biol- vior Forel, 1892 (not A. laevior Emery, 1887), A. ogy matched with data provided in the description 2 Sebastian Salata & Lech Borowiec of A. muschtaidica (Ruzsky 1905). Moreover, the DBET – Department of Biodiversity and Evo- material was collected only few kilometers from lutionary Taxonomy, University of the type locality of A. muschtaidica (Mushthaid Wrocław, Poland; Garden, Tbilisi). Aphaenogaster muschtaidica was de- MHNG – Museum d’Histoire Naturelle,Geneva, scribed by Ruzsky (1905) under an unavailable Switzerland; quadrinominal name. For the first time its name was validated as trinomen by Emery (1908). He MNHW – Museum of Natural History, Univer- mentioned also features distinguishing A. mus- sity of Wrocław, Poland; chtaidica from other subspecies of A. gibbosa. Afterwards A. muschtaidica was raised to spe- MSNG – Museo Civico di Storia Naturale, cies level (Collingwood 1985) and five years Genova, Italy; later recognized as a junior synonym of A. gib- bosa (Dlussky et al. 1990). The authors of the NHMB – Naturhistorisches Museum, Basel, last publication stated that they could not find any Switzerland. features allowing to separate A. gibbosa from A. muschtaidica and A. chorassanica. Unfortunate- The degree of inclination of pilosity follows ly, they did not list studied material. Therefore, Hölldobler & Wilson (1990) as follows: ad- we cannot be certain if they investigated material pressed (0–5°) hairs run parallel, or nearly par- of what we consider genuine A. muschtaidica. allel to the body surface; decumbent hairs stand Below we redescribe the worker caste 10–15°; subdecumbent hair stands 30°; suberect of A. muschtaidica and describe its sexual forms hairs stand 35–45°; and erect hairs stand more for the first time. In the discussion chapter, we than 45° from the body surface. redefine the gibbosa group, reinvestigate a list of species belonging to it and provide a key to their identification. Measurements, Indices and Comparative Material: Measurements MATERIAL AND METHODS HL – head length; in full-face view, mea- Specimens were compared using standard meth- sured in straight line from mid-point of ods of comparative morphology. Photos were tak- anterior clypeal margin to mid-point of en using a Nikon SMZ 1500 stereomicroscope, posterior margin; Nikon D5200 photo camera and Helicon Focus software. All given label data are in original HW – head width; measured in full-face spelling; a vertical bar (|) separates data on dif- view directly above the eyes; ferent rows and double vertical bars (||) separate labels. Additional information about the labels EL – eye length; measured along the maxi- or explanatory notes is given in square brackets. mum diameter of eye; The images of type and non-type specimens, with assigned CASENT number, are available at Ant- SL – scape length; maximum straight-line Web (https://www.antweb.org). Examined speci- length of the scape; mens are housed in the following collections: PNW – pronotum width; maximum width of BMNH – Natural History Museum, London, UK; pronotum, in dorsal view; CASC – California Academy of Sciences, San ML – mesosoma length; measured as diago- Francisco, California, USA; nal length from the anterior end of the neck shield to the posterior margin of the propodeal lobe; Redescription of Aphaenogaster muschtaidica Emery 3 PL – petiole length; maximum length of (MSNG); petiole in lateral view; Aphaenogaster gibbosa ssp. fioriiEmery, 1915: 1 PW – petiole width; maximum width of peti- lectotype worker, Aph. | gibbosa | fiorii Emery || ole in dorsal view; LECTOTYPUS || ANTWEB | CASENT0904175 || Coll. C. Emery | Museo Genova (MSNG); PPL – postpetiole length; maximum length of postpetiole in lateral view; Aphaenogaster gibbosa var. homonyma Emery, 1921: 1 syntype worker, Striola | subterrane- PPW – postpetiole width; maximum width of oides | Forel | (...) | Tunisia | Forel || ANTWEB | postpetiole in dorsal view; CASENT0904172 (MSNG); PSL – propodeal spines length; distance Aphaenogaster gibbosa var. nadigi Santschi, measured from the middle of propodeal 1923: 1 syntype worker, Aphaenogaster | gibbosa spiracle to the top of propodeal spine Latr. | v. nadigi Sant. || Marrakech | 7. 4. 23 | Dr. measured in lateral view. Ad. Nadig || Type || 84 || Sammlung | Dr. F. Sants- chi | Kairouan || ANTWEB | CASENT0913117 Indices (NHMB); HI cephalic index; HW\HL x 100; Aphaenogaster theryi Santschi, 1923: 1 syntype SI scape index; SL\HL x 100; worker, Aphaenogaster | Attomyrma | theryi Sant. MI mesosoma index; ML\PNW x 100; | Santschi det. 1921 || type || Sale | Maroc | Coll. PSI propodeal spines index; PSL\HL x 100. THERY || Sammlung | Dr. F. Santschi | Kairouan || ANTWEB | CASENT0913135 (NHMB); All lengths are in mm. Aphaenogaster aktaci Kiran & Tezcan, 2008: 1 Specimens of Aphaenogaster muschtaidica were paratype worker, Aphaenogaster | aktaci n. sp. compared with type or non-type specimens of | PARATYPUS | des. Kiran & Tezcan, 2008 || other taxa from the A. gibbosa group mentioned TURKEY, Izmir Prov. 1160 m | Odemis-Boz- below: dag-Golcuk Village | 06.06.2001, 38°30’29” N/ 28°04’35” E | leg. S. Tezcan (DBET). Type material Aphaenogaster subterranea var. strioloides Forel, 1890: 2 syntype workers, A. subterranea | Latr. Non-type material | variet | montagne | pres Souk Ahras | Algerie; Aphaenogaster gibbosa (Latreille, 1798): 19 trone | 1390 m / Forel ||Typus || v. strioloides Forel workers: SPAIN, Andalucia, Malaga | Pr. road || Coll. Forel || ANTWEB | CASENT0907685 Ojén-Refugio de | Juanar, 6 V 2014, 554 m, | (MSNG), aphaenogaster | subterranea | strioloi- 36,59358 N/4,85621 W | L. Borowiec; 1 worker: des | Forel | montagne pres | Souk Ahras | 1400 | m SPAIN, Catalonia, 700 m | Garrotxa, Volca Santa | Forel || ANTWEB | CASENT0904174 (MSNG); Mar- | garida n. Olot, 42°08/2°32 | 31 VIII 2011, L. Borowiec (DBET); 2 workers: PORTUGAL, Aphaenogaster striola var. laevior Forel, 1892: 1 Alentejo 146 m | Barragem de Santa Clara | syntype worker: Typus || A. gibbosa (...) | v. levior 37,50889 N/-8,43632 W | 7 V 2016, L. Borowiec Forel | Cardova (…) || v. levior Forel || Coll. Forel (DBET); 1 worker: PORTUGAL, Algarve | 6 km || ANTWEB | CASENT0907684 (MHNG); N of Silves, 138 m | 37,24327 N / -8,44363 W | 3 V 2016, L. Borowiec (DBET); 1 worker: POR- Aphaenogaster striola var. mauritanica Dalla TUGAL, Algarve 410 m | 2.3 km SW of Mon- Torre, 1893: 1 syntype worker, aphaenogaster | chique | 37,3011 N / -8,57203 W | 6 V 2016, L. gibbosa Lat | subsp. mauritanica | Emery || Tlem- Borowiec (DBET); 1 worker: PORTUGAL, Al- cen | Leveille || ANTWEB | CASENT0904173 garve | n. Barao de S. Joao, 260 m | 37,14122 N 4 Sebastian Salata & Lech Borowiec / -8,78826 W | 4 V 2016, L. Borowiec (DBET); PPL: 0.363 ± 0.03 (0.296-0.428); PNW: 0.635 1 worker, 1 gyne and 1 male: Aphaenogaster ± 0.06 (0.527-0.708); PW: 0.226 ± 0.02 (0.181- gibbosa | det. Gómez, K. 05/2006 | KG01850 || 0.255); PPW: 0.321 ± 0.03 (0.263-0.37); HI: 74.9 SPAIN Salamanca | residencia de ancianos (Bé- ± 0.6 (73.8-75.7); SI: 107.7 ± 2.3 (100.7-111.4); jar) | 40°23,35’N 5° 46,47’N 749m | K.