Monomorium creticum

Monomorium creticum
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmicinae
Tribe:	Solenopsidini
Genus:	Monomorium
Species:	M. creticum
Binomial name
Monomorium creticum Emery, 1895 Specimen Labels
Synonyms
Epixenus biroi Forel, 1910 Epixenus creticus Emery, 2908 Monomorium biroianum Bolton, 1995 Monomorium pseudoepixenus Özdikmen, 2010

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 35.5° to 35.05°.

North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

• Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Palaearctic Region: Greece (type locality).

Distribution based on AntMaps

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.

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.

Castes

Images from AntWeb

Queen (alate/dealate). Specimen code casent0281549. Photographer Estella Ortega, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by CAS, San Francisco, CA, USA.

Syntype of Monomorium abeillei creticum. Worker. Specimen code casent0904603. Photographer Will Ericson, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by MSNG, Genoa, Italy.

Nomenclature

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

• creticum. Monomorium abeillei var. creticum Emery, 1895b: 66 (w.) GREECE (Crete I.).
  • Type-material: holotype worker.
  • Type-locality: Greece: Crete, Catavotri (Cecconi).
  • Type-depository: MSNG.
  • Karavaiev, 1927b: 107 (q.).
  • Combination in M. (Xeromyrmex): Emery, 1922e: 178.
  • Subspecies of salomonis: Forel, 1910a: 23 (in text); Emery, 1922e: 178.
  • Status as species: Emery, 1908h: 679; Karavaiev, 1927b: 107; Ettershank, 1966: 88; Agosti & Collingwood, 1987a: 55; Agosti & Collingwood, 1987b: 273 (in key); Bolton, 1995b: 260; Petrov, 2006: 94 (in key); Legakis, 2011: 14; Borowiec, L. & Salata, 2012: 517; Borowiec, L. 2014: 117; Salata & Borowiec, 2018c: 47.
  • Senior synonym of biroianum: Legakis, 2011: 14.
  • Senior synonym of creticus Emery, 1908: Legakis, 2011: 14.
  • Senior synonym of pseudoepixenus: Legakis, 2011: 14.
  • Distribution: Greece.
• biroi. Epixenus biroi Forel, 1910a: 21 (q.) GREECE (Crete).
  • Type-material: syntype queens (number not stated).
  • Type-locality: Greece: Crete I. (L. Biró).
  • Type-depository: MHNG.
  • [Junior secondary homonym of Monomorium biroi Forel, 1907a: 19.]
  • Combination in Monomorium: Brown & Wilson, 1957b: 244.
  • Status as species: Emery, 1922e: 185; Bernard, 1955b: 282 (in key); Ettershank, 1966: 88; Kutter, 1968b: 203; Tohmé, H. & Tohmé, G. 1980a: 1105 (in key).
  • Replacement name: Monomorium biroianum Bolton, 1995b: 260.
• biroianum. Monomorium biroianum Bolton, 1995b: 260.
  • Replacement name for Epixenus biroi Forel, 1910a: 21. [Junior secondary homonym of Monomorium biroi Forel, 1907a: 19.]
  • Junior synonym of creticum: Legakis, 2011: 14.
• creticus. Epixenus creticus Emery, 1908f: 558, fig. 5 (m.) GREECE (Crete I.).
  • Type-material: holotype male.
  • Type-locality: Greece: Crete, Retimo (Cecconi).
  • Type-depository: MSNG.
  • [Junior secondary homonym of Monomorium abeillei creticum Emery, 1895b: 66 (Bolton, 1995b: 260).]
  • Combination in Monomorium: Brown & Wilson, 1957b: 245.
  • Status as species: Emery, 1922e: 185; Ettershank, 1966: 88; Kutter, 1968b: 203; Bolton, 1995b: 260.
  • Replacement name: Monomorium pseudoepixenus Özdikmen, 2010c: 991.
  • Junior synonym of creticum Emery, 1895b: Legakis, 2011: 14.
• pseudoepixenus. Monomorium pseudoepixenus Özdikmen, 2010c: 991.
  • Replacement name for Epixenus creticus Emery, 1908f: 558. [Junior secondary homonym of Monomorium abeillei creticum Emery, 1895b: 66.]
  • Junior synonym of creticum Emery, 1895b: Legakis, 2011: 14.

References

• 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., Lapeva-Gjonova, A., Salata, S. 2023. Second record of Monomorium exiguum Forel, 1894 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Europe. Annals of the Upper Silesian Museum in Bytom, Entomology 32 (online 007), 1-6 (doi:10.5281/ZENODO.10053329).
• Borowiec, L., Salata, S. 2022. A monographic review of ants of Greece (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Vol. 1. Introduction and review of all subfamilies except the subfamily Myrmicinae. Part 1: text. Natural History Monographs of the Upper Silesian Museum 1: 1-297.
• Brown, W. L., Jr.; Wilson, E. O. 1957b. A new parasitic ant of the genus Monomorium from Alabama, with a consideration of the status of genus Epixenus Emery. Entomol. News 68: 239-246 (page 245, Combination in Monomorium)
• Emery, C. 1895n. Sopra alcune formiche della fauna mediterranea. Mem. R. Accad. Sci. Ist. Bologna (5)5:59-75 (page 66, worker described)
• Emery, C. 1908g. Beiträge zur Monographie der Formiciden des paläarktischen Faunengebietes. (Hym.) Teil IV. Parasitische und Gast-Myrmicinen mit Ausnahme von Strongylognathus. Dtsch. Entomol. Z. 1908: 549-558 (page 558, fig. 5 male described [Unresolved junior secondary homonym of creticum Emery])
• Emery, C. 1922c. Hymenoptera. Fam. Formicidae. Subfam. Myrmicinae. [part]. Genera Insectorum 174B: 95-206 (page 178, Combination in M. (Xeromyrmex))
• Forel, A. 1910a. Glanures myrmécologiques. Ann. Soc. Entomol. Belg. 54: 6-32 (page 23, Subspecies of salomonis (in text))
• Karavaiev, V. 1927c [1926]. Myrmekologische Miszellen. Ezheg. Zool. Muz. 27: 104-112 (page 107, queen described)
• Karavaiev, V. 1927c [1926]. Myrmekologische Miszellen. Ezheg. Zool. Muz. 27: 104-112 (page 107, Raised to species)
• Salata, S., Borowiec, L., Trichas, A. 2020. Review of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Crete, with keys to species determination and zoogeographical remarks. Monographs of the Upper Silesian Museum No 12: 5–296 (doi:10.5281/ZENODO.3738001).

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
• 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.
• 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. "Beiträge zur Monographie der Formiciden des paläarktischen Faunengebietes. (Hym.) Teil V. Monomorium." Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift 1908 (1908): 663-686.
• Emery, C. "Sopra alcune formiche della fauna mediterranea." Memorie della Reale Accademia delle Scienze dell'Istituto di Bologna (5)5 (1895): 59-75 [pagination of separate: 291-307].
• Ettershank G. 1966. A generic revision of the world Myrmicinae related to Solenopsis and Pheidologeton (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Aust. J. Zool. 14: 73-171.
• Forel A. 1910. Glanures myrmécologiques. Ann. Soc. Entomol. Belg. 54: 6-32.
• Karavaiev V. 1927. Myrmekologische Miszellen. Ezheg. Zool. Muz. 27: 104-112.
• Salata S., L. Borowiec, and A.Trichas. 2018. Taxonomic Revision of the Cretan Fauna of the Genus Temnothorax Mayr, 1861 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), with Notes on the Endemism of Ant Fauna of Crete. Annales Zoologici (Warsaw) 68(4): 769-808.
• 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.