Temnothorax tauricus

Temnothorax tauricus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmicinae
Tribe:	Crematogastrini
Genus:	Temnothorax
Species:	T. tauricus
Binomial name
Temnothorax tauricus (Ruzsky, 1902) Specimen Labels
Synonyms
Leptothorax pithyusae Arnol'di, 1977 Leptothorax pithyusae babuganicus Arnol'di, 1977

Status of this species in Greece is still under discussion (Borowiec & SaLata 2019a), as it can be only a dark form of Temnothorax turcicus. It was noted from the Ionian Islands and Macedonia, and now form the Peloponnese. Nests were observed in cracked rocks inside mixed and fir forests. (Borowiec & Salata, 2021)

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 42.596228° to 39.82632°.

North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

• Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Palaearctic Region: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Greece, Russian Federation, Ukraine (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.

Nomenclature

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

• tauricus. Leptothorax unifasciatus var. tauricus Ruzsky, 1902d: 22 (w.) UKRAINE. Karavaiev, 1927a: 292 (q.); Radchenko, 1995c: 16 (m.). Combination in Temnothorax: Bolton, 2003: 271. Subspecies of unifasciatus: Arnol'di, 1977a: 202. Raised to species and senior synonym of pithyusae: Radchenko, 1994d: 157 (in key); Radchenko, 1995c: 16; senior synonym of babuganicus: Radchenko, 1995c: 16.
• babuganicus. Leptothorax pithyusae subsp. babuganicus Arnol'di, 1977a: 201 (w.) UKRAINE. Junior synonym of tauricus: Radchenko, 1995c: 16.
• pithyusae. Leptothorax pithyusae Arnol'di, 1977a: 201 (w.q.) RUSSIA. Junior synonym of tauricus: Radchenko, 1994d: 157 (in key); Radchenko, 1995c: 16.

References

• Arnol'di, K. V. 1977a. New and little known ant species of the genus Leptothorax Mayr (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in the European USSR and the Caucasus. Entomol. Obozr. 56: 198-204. (page 202, Subspecies of unifasciatus)
• Beibl, J., Buschinger, A., Foitzik, S., Heinze, J. 2007. Phylogeny and phylogeography of the Mediterranean species of the parasitic ant genus Chalepoxenus and its Temnothorax hosts. Insectes Sociaux 54, 189-199 (doi:10.1007/s00040-007-0932-y).
• Bolton, B. 2003. Synopsis and Classification of Formicidae. Mem. Am. Entomol. Inst. 71: 370pp (page 271, Combination in Temnothorax)
• 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., Salata, S. 2021. Notes on ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Western Greece. Annals of the Upper Silesian Museum in Bytom Entomology 30: 1-23 (doi:10.5281/ZENODO.5571258).
• Borowiec, L., Salata, S. 2022. Notes on ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Thassos Island, Greece. Annals of the Upper Silesian Museum in Bytom, Entomology 31 (online 2): 1-15 (doi:10.5281/ZENODO.6123287).
• Bračko, G. 2019. New data on the ant fauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Azerbaijan. Caucasian Entomological Bulletin 15, 165–175 (doi:10.23885/181433262019151-165175).
• Dubovikoff, D.A., Yusupov, Z.M. 2017. Family Formicidae - Ants. In Belokobylskij S. A. and A. S. Lelej: Annotated catalogue of the Hymenoptera of Russia. Proceedingss of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences 6: 197-210.
• Karavaiev, V. 1927a [1926]. Übersicht der Ameisenfauna der Krim nebst einigen Neubeschreibungen. Konowia 5: 281-303 (page 292, queen described)
• Lapeva-Gjonova, A., Antonova, V. 2022. An updated checklist of ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of Bulgaria, after 130 years of research. Biodiversity Data Journal 10, e95599 (doi:10.3897/bdj.10.e95599).
• Radchenko, A. G. 1994e. Identification table for ants of the genus Leptothorax (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from central and eastern Palearctic. Zool. Zh. 73(7-8 8: 146-158 (page 157, Raised to species, and senior synonym of pithyusae (in key))
• Radchenko, A. G. 1995c. A review of the ant genus Leptothorax (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of the central and eastern Palearctic. Communication 2. Groups tuberum, corticalis, affinis, clypeatus, alinae and singularis. Vestn. Zool. 2-3: 14-21 (page 16, male described)
• Radchenko, A. G. 1995c. A review of the ant genus Leptothorax (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of the central and eastern Palearctic. Communication 2. Groups tuberum, corticalis, affinis, clypeatus, alinae and singularis. Vestn. Zool. 2-3: 14-21 (page 16, Raised to species, and senior synonym of pithyusae)
• Radchenko, A. G. 1995c. A review of the ant genus Leptothorax (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of the central and eastern Palearctic. Communication 2. Groups tuberum, corticalis, affinis, clypeatus, alinae and singularis. Vestn. Zool. 2-3: 14-21 (page 16, Senior synonym of babuganicus)
• Ruzsky, M. 1902d. Material on the ant fauna of the Caucasus and the Crimea. Protok. Obshch. Estestvoispyt. Imp. Kazan. Univ. 206(su suppl: 1-33 (page 22, worker described)

• Snegovaya, N., Shigayev, C. 2021. A checklist of the ants (Insecta, Formicidae) of Azerbaijan Republic. Iranian Journal of Animal Biosystematics 17(2): 179-207 (doi:10.22067/ijab.2022.67343.1000).

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

• Arnol'di K. V. 1977. New and little known species of the genus Leptothorax Mayr (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in the European regions of the USSR and the Caucasus. Entomol. Rev. (Wash.) 56: 148-153.
• Borowiec L. 2014. Catalogue of ants of Europe, the Mediterranean Basin and adjacent regions (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Genus (Wroclaw) 25(1-2): 1-340.
• Dubovikoff D. A., and Z. M. Yusupov. 2018. Family Formicidae - Ants. In Belokobylskij S. A. and A. S. Lelej: Annotated catalogue of the Hymenoptera of Russia. Proceedingss of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences 6: 197-210.
• Ivanov S. P., A. V. Fateryga, and V. Yu Zhidkov. 2019. Aculeate Hymenoptera (Hymenoptera, Aculeata) inhabiting trap nests in Crimea. Entomological Review 99(2): 163–179.
• Karavaiev V. 1927. Übersicht der Ameisenfauna der Krim nebst einigen Neubeschreibungen. Konowia 5: 281-303.
• 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.