Myrmica caucasicola

Myrmica caucasicola
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmicinae
Tribe:	Myrmicini
Genus:	Myrmica
Species:	M. caucasicola
Binomial name
	Myrmica caucasicola; Arnol'di, 1934 Specimen Label

Inhabits mainly dry mountain forests at an altitude 700-1600 m.

Identification

Radchenko and Elmes (2010) – A member of the schencki group. It most resembles Myrmica schencki. Workers and queens differ from the latter mainly by their somewhat wider frons and by a much smaller lobe at the scape bend. Males of M. caucasicola have very long, erect hairs on the tibiae and tarsi and are hardly distinguishable from those of Myrmica ravasinii. On the other hand, this feature well discriminates males of both species from all other species of the schencki-group.

Keys including this Species

Key to Myrmica of East Europe, West Siberia, northern Kazakhstan, Caucasus, Asia Minor, Turkmenistan and Iran

Distribution

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Palaearctic Region: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Türkiye.

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.

Biology

Castes

Nomenclature

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

caucasicola. Myrmica schencki nat. caucasicola Arnol'di, 1934: 172, fig. 38-40 (w.m.) ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN. Radchenko, Elmes & Alicata, 2006: 519 (q.). Raised to species: Arakelian, 1994: 24; Radchenko, 1994a: 44; Radchenko, 1994c: 140 (in key); Radchenko, 1994f: 79. See also: Seifert, 2003b: 147; Radchenko & Elmes, 2010: 109.

Unless otherwise noted the text for the remainder of this section is reported from the publication that includes the original description.

Description

Worker

Seifert (2003) - Head as long as broad. Clypeus on entire surface longitudinally rugulose-carinate. Frontal triangle longitudinally carinulate. Frontal carinae less narrowing than in Myrmica schencki. Longitudinal macrorugae on vertex ± linear, weakly wrinkled; on central vertex, their interspaces are perfectly smooth. On lateral and posterior vertex, the macrorugae are connected by few macroanastomosae, giving a semi-reticulate macrosculpture; their interspaces reflecting but with a weak microreticulum. Scape in principal architecture similar to Myrmica lobicornis; its flange much smaller than in schencki. Propodeal spines shorter and thinner than in schencki; their axis in lateral view deviating by 25-40° from the mesosomal longitudinal axis. Mesopropodeal depression absent or weak. Mesosomal macrorugae clearly wrinkled and moderately strong (the strongest on pronotum are 15-16 mm high); their dorsal interspaces smooth. Dorsal centre of postpetiolar node ± smooth, very weakly microreticulate. Petiolar and postpetiolar shape similar to schencki but petiolar proflie more angulate. Setae on whole body relatively longer than in average schencki.

Queen

Radchenko, Elmes and Alicata (2006) - This description is based on single queen with the label: “137, USSR, Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Tallish Mts., Lerik, 1200 m, xerophitous canyon, 8.X.83, Golovatsch” (ZMMU).

Generally like workers in shape of head and scape, colour and pilosity of the body, except it has coarser sculpture on the head and alitrunk, and propodeal spines that are wider at their base and shorter.

Type Material

Seifert (2003) - Type Material Seen: One specimen from a syntype series of Arnoldi was washed off, cleaned, remounted, and designated as lectotype (by present designation); it is labelled "AZERBAIJDSHAN·Talysh Mountains, Nodus-galasi, 14.07.1929, leg. K.Arnoldi No A 4286"; depository SMN Goerlitz. 8 worker paralectotypes collected by K.Arnoldi in the Talysh mountains in July 1929, sample numbers A4237, A4286, A4294, A4282; ZMLSU Moskva. 2 paralectotype workers from Talysh, July 1929, leg K.Arnoldi, MZ Lausanne.

Etymology

Radchenko and Elmes (2010) - from the name Caucasus with the Latin suffixincola = inhabitant of, to indicate that this is a species of the Caucasus region that includes the type localities.

References

Arakelian, G. R. 1994. Fauna of the Republic of Armenia. Hymenopterous insects. Ants (Formicidae). Erevan: Gitutium, 153 pp. (page 24, Raised to species)
Arnol'di, K. V. 1934. Studien über die Systematik der Ameisen. VIII. Vorläufige Ergebnisse einer biometrischen Untersuchung einiger Myrmica-Arten aus dem europäischen Teile der USSR. Folia Zool. Hydrobiol. 6: 151-174 (page 172, fig. 38-40 worker, male described)
Borowiec, L. 2014. Catalogue of ants of Europe, the Mediterranean Basin and adjacent regions (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Genus (Wroclaw) 25(1-2): 1-340.
Bračko, G. 2019. New data on the ant fauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Azerbaijan. Caucasian Entomological Bulletin 15, 165–175 (doi:10.23885/181433262019151-165175).
Kiran, K., Karaman, C. 2020. Additions to the ant fauna of Turkey (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Zoosystema 42(18), 285-329 (doi:10.5252/zoosystema2020v42a18).
Kiran, K., Karaman, C., Heinze, J. 2021. First record of the inquiline ant Leptothorax kutteri Buschinger, 1965 from Turkey. Sociobiology 68, e7224 (doi:10.13102/sociobiology.v68i3.7224).
Radchenko, A. G. 1994a. Taxonomic structure of the ant genus Myrmica (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of Eurasia. Report 1. Zool. Zh. 73(6 6: 39-51 (page 44, Raised to species)
Radchenko, A. G. 1994d. Identification table for ants of the genus Myrmica (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from central and eastern Palearctic. Zool. Zh. 73(7-8 8: 130-145 (page 140, Raised to species in key)
Radchenko, A.G. & Elmes, G.W. & Alicata, A. 2006. Taxonomic revision of the schencki-group of the ant genus Myrmica from the Palaearctic region. Annales Zoologici (Warszawa) 56: 499-538.
Radchenko, A.G. & Elmes, G.W. 2010. Myrmica ants of the Old World. Fauna Mundi 3: 1-789.
Seifert, B. 2003b. The Palaearctic members of the Myrmica schencki group with description of a new species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Beitr. Entomol. 53: 141-159 PDF
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

Borowiec L. 2014. Catalogue of ants of Europe, the Mediterranean Basin and adjacent regions (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Genus (Wroclaw) 25(1-2): 1-340.
Gratiashvili N., Barjadze S. 2008. Checklist of the ants (Formicidae Latreille, 1809) of Georgia. Proceedings of the Institute of Zoology (Tbilisi) 23: 130-146.
Radchenko A. G., and G. W. Elmes. 2010. Myrmica ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the Old World. Fauna Mundi 3. Warsaw: Natura Optima Dux Foundation, 790 pp.
Radchenko A.G., G. W. Elmes, and A. Alicata. 2006. Taxonomic revision of the schencki-group of the ant genus Myrmica from the Palaearctic region. Annales Zoologici (Warszawa) 56: 499-538.
Seifert B. 2003. The Palaearctic members of the Myrmica schencki group with description of a new species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Beiträge zur Entomologie 53: 141-159.
Seifert, B. "The Paleartic members of the Myrmica schenki group with description of a new species." Beitr. Entomol. 53 (1) (2003): 141-159.