Myrmica curvithorax

Myrmica curvithorax
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmicinae
Tribe:	Myrmicini
Genus:	Myrmica
Species group:	specioides
Species:	M. curvithorax
Binomial name
Myrmica curvithorax Bondroit, 1920
Synonyms
Myrmica slovaca Sadil, 1952

M. slovaca is a rather thermophilous species that builds its nests directly into the soil. In central Europe it is frequently found in dry meadows but in the eastern part of its range, M. slovaca mainly inhabits intrazonal, relatively wet and often salted habitats in the steppe zone. Thus it could be a relict steppe species in central Europe. (Radchenko and Elmes 2010)

Identification

Radchenko and Elmes (2010) - A member of the specioides complex of the scabrinodis species group. It is easily distinguished from any other species from this group by its very narrow frons (worker PI ::; 0.30). However, the males have short standing hairs on the legs and scape and are hard to distinguish from males of Myrmica specioides and some other species.

Keys including this Species

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

Distribution

Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Slovenia, Belarus, Ukraine, southern part of European part of Russia (to the north up to Nizhniy Novgorod; see Zrianin and Zrianina, 2007), south of West Siberia, Kazakhstan, Altai Mts.; Spain

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 54.16° to 41.23444444°.

North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

• Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Palaearctic Region: Austria, Belarus, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Germany, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Spain (type locality), Switzerland, Ukraine.

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

Association with Other Organisms

 Explore: Show all Associate data or Search these data. See also a list of all data tables or learn how data is managed.

• This species is a host for the fungus Rickia wasmannii (a parasite) (Quevillon, 2018) (encounter mode primary; direct transmission; transmission within nest).
• This species is a host for the fungus Rickia wasmanniii (a pathogen) (Espadaler & Santamaria, 2012).

Castes

Images from AntWeb

Type of Myrmica curvithorax. Worker. Specimen code antweb1008447. Photographer Roland Schultz, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by IRSNB, Brussels, Belgium.

Specimen code casent0280823.jpg. .

Nomenclature

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

• curvithorax. Myrmica curvithorax Bondroit, 1920a: 148, fig. 1 (w.) SPAIN.
  • Synonym of slovaca: Radchenko & Elmes, 2010: 280.
  • [Note: Radchenko & Elmes give slovaca as senior synonym, but curvithorax has priority.]
  • Status as species: Bolton, 1995b: 278; Seifert, 2011: 170.
  • Senior synonym of slovaca: Seifert, 2011: 170 (in text).
• slovaca. Myrmica (Myrmica) slovaca Sadil, 1952: 259, figs. VI, 8-14; VIII, 35, 36; IX, 35; X, 10, XI, 13 (w.q.m.) CZECHOSLOVAKIA.
  • Status as species: Arnol'di, 1970b: 1837 (in key); Kutter, 1977c: 71; Arnol'di & Dlussky, 1978: 534 (in key); Agosti & Collingwood, 1987b: 268 (in key); Radchenko, 1994c: 144 (in key); Radchenko, 1994e: 80; Radchenko & Elmes, 2009c: 521; Radchenko & Elmes, 2010: 280; Czechowski, et al. 2012: 98; Czekes, et al. 2012: 43 (in key).
  • Junior synonym of salina: Seifert, 1988b: 25; Seifert, 1994: 13; Seifert, 2002a: 96; Radchenko & Elmes, 2004: 228.
  • Junior synonym of curvithorax: Seifert, 2011: 170 (in text).

Type Material

Bezděčková et al. (2017) - Myrmica slovaca: Altogether 11 syntypes are deposited in National Museum, Prague, Czech Republic (all dry-mounted, glued on rectangular card labels):

• SYNTYPES (4 workers glued on two labels (3 + 1) on one pin): ‘Chorovce / 1.6.48 / Slovakia / Novák [hw] // M. slovaca / Sadil (det. 1951) [hw] // Mus. Nat. Pragae Inv [p] / 3066 [hw]’.
• SYNTYPES (7 workers glued on one label with transversal yellow line and number 3108, hw): ‘Slov. Dol. Almáš / 1938, Záleský lg. [p] // Det. Dr. Záleský [p] / M. scabr. [worker symbol] / scabrin. [hw] // M. slovaca / Sadil (det. 1951) [hw] // Mus. Nat. Pragae Inv [p] / 3068 [hw]’.

Remarks: Because of the widespread use of M. slovaca and doubts about the origin of the holotype specimen of M. curvithorax, RADCHENKO & ELMES (2010: 281–282) stated that they would apply to the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature with the proposition to suppress the name M. curvithorax and consider M. slovaca the valid name (based on Articles 23.9.1.1, 23.9.1.2 and 23.9.2 of ICZN 1999). However, this application has not been done yet.

Taxonomic Notes

See Radchenko & Elmes (2009) for notes on type specimens.

References

• Bezděčková, K., Bezděčka, P., Macek, J., Malenovský, I. 2017. Catalogue of type specimens of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) deposited in Czech museums. Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 57(1): 295-308 (doi:10.1515/aemnp-2017-0076).
• Bondroit, J. 1920a [1919]. Notes diverses sur des fourmis d'Europe. Ann. Soc. Entomol. Belg. 59: 143-158 (page 148, fig. 1 worker described)
• Borowiec, L. 2014. Catalogue of ants of Europe, the Mediterranean Basin and adjacent regions (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Genus (Wroclaw) 25(1-2): 1-340.
• Bracko, G., Wagner, H.C., Schulz, A., Gioahin, E., Maticic, J., Trantnik, A. 2014. New investigation and a revised checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the Republic of Macedonia. North-Western Journal of Zoology 10: 10-24.
• Csősz, S., Báthori, F., Gallé, L., Lőrinczi, G., Maák, I., Tartally, A., Kovács, É., Somogyi, A.Á., Markó, B. 2021. The myrmecofauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Hungary: Survey of ant species with an annotated synonymic inventory. Insects 16;12(1):78 (doi:10.3390/insects12010078).
• Ebsen, J.R., Boomsma, J.J. & Nash, D.R. 2019. Phylogeography and cryptic speciation in the Myrmica scabrinodis Nylander, 1846 species complex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), and their conservation implications. Insect Conservation and Diversity 12: 467-480 (doi:10.1111/icad.12366).
• Espadaler, X., Santamaria, S. 2012. Ecto- and Endoparasitic Fungi on Ants from the Holarctic Region. Psyche Article ID 168478, 10 pages (doi:10.1155/2012/168478).
• 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).
• Lapeva-Gjonova, A., Antonova, V., Ljubomirov, T. 2021. Ants (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of Sarnena Sredna Gora Mountains (Bulgaria). Fauna of Sarnena Sredna Gora Mts, Part 2 ZooNotes, Supplement 10: 18-27.
• Radchenko, A., Elmes, G.W. 2009. Important alterations in the taxonomy of the ant genus Myrmica (Hymenoptera, Formicidae), based on the investigation of the M. Ruzsky's type specimens, preserved in the Museo Civico di Storia Naturale "Giacomo Doria" in Genoa. Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale Giacomo Doria (Genova) 100: 501-525.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

• Antarea (at www.antarea.fr on June 11th 2017)
• Bondroit, J. "Notes diverses sur des fourmis d'Europe." Annales de la Société Entomologique de Belgique 59 (1920): 143-158.
• Borowiec L. 2014. Catalogue of ants of Europe, the Mediterranean Basin and adjacent regions (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Genus (Wroclaw) 25(1-2): 1-340.
• Bracko G., H. C. Wagner, A. Schulz, E. Gioahim, J. Maticic, and A. Tratnik. 2014. New investigation and a revised checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the Republic of Macedonia. North-Western Journal of Zoology 10(1): 10-24.
• 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
• Czechowski, W. "Myrmica slovaca Sadil and Myrmica deplanata Emery rather than M. salina Ruzsky and M. lacustris Ruzsky (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Poland." Polish Journal of Entomology 78 (2009): 315-317.
• Czekes Z., Radchenko, A. G., Csősz, S. Szász-Len, A., Tăuşan, I., Benedek, K., and Markó, B. 2013. The genus Myrmica Latreille, 1804 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Romania: distribution of species and key for their identification. Entomologica Romanica 17: 29-50.
• 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.
• Ebsen J. R., J. J. Boomsma, and D. R. Nash. 2019. Phylogeography and cryptic speciation in the Myrmica scabrinodis Nylander, 1846 species complex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), and their conservation implications. Insect Conservation and Diversity doi: 10.1111/icad.12366
• GRETIA. 2017. Bilan annuel de l'enquete sur la repartition des fourmis armoricaines. 23 pages.
• Lorinczi G. 2011. Lasius (Chthonolasius) nitidigaster Seifert, 1996 -a new ant species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) for the Hungarian fauna. Natura Somogyiensis 19: 223-228.
• Pech P. 2013. Myrmica curvithorax (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the Czech Republic: a contribution to the knowledge of its distribution and biology. Klapalekiana 49: 197–204.
• 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.
• Sadil J. V. 1952. A revision of the Czechoslovak forms of the genus Myrmica Latr. (Hym.). Sb. Entomol. Oddel. Nár. Mus. Praze 27: 233-278.
• Tausan I., M. M. Jerpel, I. R. Puscasu, C. Sadeanu, R. E. Brutatu, L. A. Radutiu, and V. Giurescu. 2012. Ant fauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Sibiu County (Transylvania, Romania). Brukenthal. Acta Musei 7(3): 499-520.