Crematogaster acaciae

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Crematogaster acaciae
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Tribe: Crematogastrini
Genus: Crematogaster
Species: C. acaciae
Binomial name
Crematogaster acaciae
Forel, 1892

Crematogaster acaciae casent0902081 p 1 high.jpg

Crematogaster acaciae casent0902081 d 1 high.jpg

Specimen Labels

Subspecies

Identification

Keys including this Species

Distribution

Sharaf et al. (2019): Crematogaster acaciae was originally described from Ethiopia but is also known from Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, South Africa, and Zambia (Guénard et al. 2017; Janicki et al. 2017). For the Arabian Peninsula, it was previously only known from Oman (Collingwood 1985; Collingwood and Agosti 1996; Borowiec 2014; Sharaf et al. 2018; Monks et al. 2019) (Fig. 6). In this study, we provide the first records for the KSA and Yemen.

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 27.79175° to -23.2306°.

   
North
Temperate
North
Subtropical
Tropical South
Subtropical
South
Temperate

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Afrotropical Region: Ethiopia (type locality), Namibia, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, United Republic of Tanzania, Yemen, Zimbabwe.
Palaearctic Region: Oman.

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

Worker

Images from AntWeb

Crematogaster acaciae casent0902082 h 1 high.jpgCrematogaster acaciae casent0902082 p 1 high.jpgCrematogaster acaciae casent0902082 d 1 high.jpgCrematogaster acaciae casent0902082 l 1 high.jpg
Syntype of Crematogaster acaciae victoriosaWorker. Specimen code casent0902082. Photographer Will Ericson, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by NHMUK, London, UK.
Crematogaster acaciae casent0908494 h 1 high.jpgCrematogaster acaciae casent0908494 p 1 high.jpgCrematogaster acaciae casent0908494 d 1 high.jpgCrematogaster acaciae casent0908494 l 1 high.jpg
Syntype of Crematogaster acaciaeWorker. Specimen code casent0908494. Photographer Z. Lieberman, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by MHNG, Geneva, Switzerland.
Crematogaster acaciae casent0912632 h 1 high.jpgCrematogaster acaciae casent0912632 p 1 high.jpgCrematogaster acaciae casent0912632 d 1 high.jpgCrematogaster acaciae casent0912632 l 1 high.jpg
Syntype of Crematogaster acaciae generosaWorker. Specimen code casent0912632. Photographer Z. Lieberman, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by NHMB, Basel, Switzerland.
Crematogaster acaciae casent0912633 h 1 high.jpgCrematogaster acaciae casent0912633 p 1 high.jpgCrematogaster acaciae casent0912633 d 1 high.jpgCrematogaster acaciae casent0912633 l 1 high.jpg
Syntype of Crematogaster acaciae gloriosaWorker. Specimen code casent0912633. Photographer Z. Lieberman, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by NHMB, Basel, Switzerland.
Crematogaster acaciae casent0912634 h 1 high.jpgCrematogaster acaciae casent0912634 p 1 high.jpgCrematogaster acaciae casent0912634 d 1 high.jpgCrematogaster acaciae casent0912634 l 1 high.jpg
Syntype of Crematogaster acaciae victoriosaWorker. Specimen code casent0912634. Photographer Z. Lieberman, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences. Owned by NHMB, Basel, Switzerland.

Nomenclature

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

  • acaciae. Crematogaster acaciae Forel, 1892b: 141 (w.) SOMALIA.
    • Type-material: syntype workers (number not stated).
    • Type-locality: Somalia: Faf, in acacia galls (C. Keller).
    • Type-depository: MHNG.
    • Combination in C. (Acrocoelia): Emery, 1922e: 144;
    • combination in C. (Crematogaster): Bolton, 1995b: 166.
    • Subspecies of brunneipennis: Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 152, 829.
    • Status as species: Forel, 1892e: 353; Dalla Torre, 1893: 79; Arnold, 1920a: 500; Emery, 1922e: 144; Arnold, 1926: 288; Collingwood, 1985: 260; Bolton, 1995b: 146; Collingwood & Agosti, 1996: 329; Borowiec, L. 2014: 63 (see note in bibliography); Sharaf, Aldawood & Hita Garcia, 2019: 39.
    • Distribution: Namibia, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Tanzania, Yemen, Zambia.
    • Current subspecies: nominal plus generosa, gloriosa, victoriosa.

Taxonomic Notes

Sharaf et al. (2019): This species represents a typical problematic taxon within the genus. The known distribution of C. acaciae and its three subspecies in the Afrotropics is patchy and there are some notable morphological differences between the infraspecific taxa. At present, it is likely that the taxonomic status of the involved taxa will change within the frame of a comprehensive revision of the Afrotropical fauna.

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.
  • Collingwood C. A. 1985. Hymenoptera: Fam. Formicidae of Saudi Arabia. Fauna of Saudi Arabia 7: 230-302.
  • Collingwood, C. A. and D. Agosti. 1996. Formicidae (Insects: Hymenoptera) of Saudi Arabia (Part 2) Fauna of Saudi Arabia 15: 300-385.
  • Collingwood, C. A., and Donat Agosti. "Formicidae (Insecta: Hymenoptera) of Saudi Arabia (Part 2)." Fauna of Saudi Arabia 15 (1996): 300-385.
  • Forel A. 1892. Liste der aus dem Somaliland von Hrn. Prof. Dr. Conr. Keller aus der Expedition des Prinzen Ruspoli im August und September 1891 zurückgebrachten Ameisen. Mitteilungen der Schweizerischen Entomologischen Gesellschaft 8: 349-354.
  • Monks J., S. Ross, M. Geiser, J. De Prins, M. Sharaf, N. Wyatt, S. Al Rijeibi, and A. Polaszek. 2019. A preliminary survey of the insect fauna of the Hajar Mountain Range, Oman. Journal of Natural History 53(15-16): 939-963.
  • Sharaf M. R., B. L. Fisher, H. M. Al Dhafer, A. Polaszek, and A. S. Aldawood. 2018. Additions to the ant fauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Oman: an updated list, new records and a description of two new species. Asian Myrmecology 10: e010004
  • Sharaf M. R., S. A. Aldawood, and F. Hita Garcia. 2019. Review of the Arabian Crematogaster Lund (Hymenoptera, Formicidae), synoptic list, distribution, and description of two new species from Oman and Saudi Arabia. ZooKeys 898: 27-81
  • Soulié J., and L. D. Dicko. 1965. La répartition des genres de fourmis de la tribu des "Cremastogastrini" dans la faune éthiopienne et malgache. Hymenoptera - Formicoidea - Myrmicidae. Ann. Univ. Abidjan Sér. Sci. 1: 85-106.
  • Wheeler W. M. 1922. Ants of the American Museum Congo expedition. A contribution to the myrmecology of Africa. II. The ants collected by the American Museum Congo Expedition. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 45: 39-269.
  • Wheeler W. M. 1922. Ants of the American Museum Congo expedition. A contribution to the myrmecology of Africa. VIII. A synonymic list of the ants of the Ethiopian region. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 45: 711-1004