Cataglyphis argentata

AntWiki: The Ants --- Online
Cataglyphis argentata
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Formicinae
Tribe: Formicini
Genus: Cataglyphis
Species group: albicans
Species complex: livida
Species: C. argentata
Binomial name
Cataglyphis argentata
(Radoszkowsky, 1876)

Identification

Salata et al. (2021) - Whole body yellow, only gaster sometimes with indistinctly infuscated apex; mesosoma, body covered with a layer of silvery hair.

Distribution

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Palaearctic Region: Egypt (type locality).

Distribution based on AntMaps

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Distribution based on AntWeb specimens

Check data from AntWeb

Countries Occupied

Number of countries occupied by this species based on AntWiki Regional Taxon Lists. In general, fewer countries occupied indicates a narrower range, while more countries indicates a more widespread species.
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Estimated Abundance

Relative abundance based on number of AntMaps records per species (this species within the purple bar). Fewer records (to the left) indicates a less abundant/encountered species while more records (to the right) indicates more abundant/encountered species.
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Biology

Castes

Nomenclature

The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.

  • argentata. Camponotus argentata Radoszkowsky, 1876: 140 (w.) EGYPT.
    • Junior synonym of bombycina: Dalla Torre, 1893: 217; Emery, 1925b: 267.
    • Status as species: Agosti, 1990b: 1492; Bolton, 1995b: 134; Borowiec, L. 2014: 52.

Taxonomic Notes

Salata et al. (2021) - Type specimens of this species are considered lost and, as suggested by Agosti (1990), due to ambiguous description of this species, its assignation to the livida complex is tentative. The silvery hair mentioned in the description can suggest an affiliation of C. argentata with the bombycina or laevior complexes. If C. argentata is a member of the livida complex, then its description could indicate that it is probably conspecific with two other North African taxa: Cataglyphis arenaria and Cataglyphis aurata. If this assumption is correct, then the name C. argentata has priority over C. arenaria and C. aurata.

Description

References

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.