Temnothorax spinosus

Temnothorax spinosus
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmicinae
Tribe:	Crematogastrini
Genus:	Temnothorax
Species:	T. spinosus
Binomial name
	Temnothorax spinosus; (Forel, 1909) Specimen Labels
Synonyms
	Leptothorax maurus Santschi, 1921;

Identification

Distribution

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 36.883333° to 32.249974°.


North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Palaearctic Region: Algeria (type locality), Morocco (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.

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.

Other Ants

This species is a host for the ant Temnothorax algerianus (a dulotic parasite) in Algeria, Morocco (Buschinger et al., 1990; Báthori et al., 2024) (the most common host).
This species is a host for the ant Temnothorax tramieri (a dulotic parasite) in Algeria, Morocco (Cagniant, 1983).

Castes

Images from AntWeb


Worker. Specimen code casent0906173. Photographer Cerise Chen, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by NHMUK, London, UK.

Nomenclature

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

spinosus. Leptothorax tuberum r. spinosus Forel, 1909e: 377 (w.) ALGERIA. [First available use of Leptothorax tuberum r. unifasciatus var. spinosus Forel, 1894d: 38; unavailable name.] Cagniant, 1970b: 203 (q.m.). Combination in Temnothorax: Bolton, 2003: 271. Raised to species: Cagniant, 1970b: 201; Cagniant, 1987c: 249.
maurus. Leptothorax maurus Santschi, 1921b: 427 (w.) MOROCCO.
- Combination in Temnothorax: Bolton, 2003: 271.
- Status as species: Bernard, 1945: 134; Bolton, 1995b: 241 (error); Bolton, 2003: 271 (error); Borowiec, L. 2014: 182 (error).
- Junior synonym of spinosus: Cagniant, 1970b: 208.

Description

Karyotype

See additional details at the Ant Chromosome Database.

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

n = 16 (Algeria) (Fischer, 1987) (as Leptothorax spinosus).

References

Abdi-Hamecha, L., Barech, G., Khaldi, M., Sadoudi, D. A.-A., Salem, S., Zazgad, I., Cagniant, H. 2021. Diversité des fourmis (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) dans la forêt de Yakouren (Algérie) : Estimation de la richesse, biogéographie et taxonomie. Revue Suisse de Zoologie, 128(1), 61-72 (doi:10.35929/rsz.0035).
Báthori, F., Seifert, B., Heinze, J., Kiran, K., Karaman, C., Csősz, S. 2024. Taxonomy of the Palearctic socially parasitic Temnothorax (Myrmoxenus) ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). PLOS ONE, 19(10), e0308712 (doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0308712).
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.
Cagniant, H. 1970b [1969]. Nouvelle description de Leptothorax spinosus (Forel) d'Algérie. Représentation des trois castes et notes biologiques (Hym. Formicidae Myrmicinae). Bull. Soc. Entomol. Fr. 74: 201-208 (page 201, Raised to species)
Cagniant, H. 1970b [1969]. Nouvelle description de Leptothorax spinosus (Forel) d'Algérie. Représentation des trois castes et notes biologiques (Hym. Formicidae Myrmicinae). Bull. Soc. Entomol. Fr. 74: 201-208. (page 203, queen, male described)
Cagniant, H. 1983. Contribution à la connaissance des fourmis marocaines. Chalepoxenus tramieri, nov. sp. Nouv. Rev. Entomol. 13: 319-322.
Cagniant, H. 1987c [1986]. Contribution à la connaissance des fourmis marocaines. Leptothorax personatus n. sp. (Hym. Formicoidea). Bull. Soc. Entomol. Fr. 91: 243-250 (page 249, Raised to species)
Forel, A. 1909k. Études myrmécologiques en 1909. Fourmis de Barbarie et de Ceylan. Nidification des Polyrhachis. Bull. Soc. Vaudoise Sci. Nat. 45: 369-407 (page 377, worker described)

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.
Buschinger, A., K. Jessen, and H. Cagniant. "The life history of Epimyrma algeriana, a slave-making ant with facultative polygyny (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)." Zoologische Beiträge (N.F.)33 (1990): 23-49.
Cagniant, H. 1968. Liste preliminaire de fourmis forestieres d'Algerie. Resultats obtenus de 1963 a 1964. Bulletin de la Société d'Histoire Naturelle de Toulouse 104: 138-147
Cagniant, H. 2006. Liste actualisée des fourmis du Maroc. Myrmecologische Nachrichten 8: 193-200.
Cagniant, H. and X. Espadaler. 1997. Les Leptothorax, Epimyrma et Chalepoxenus du Maroc (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Clé et catalogue des espèces. Ann. Soc. Entomol. Fr. (n.s.) 33: 259-284
Cagniant, H. "Contribution à la connaissance des fourmis marocaines. Chalepoxenus tramieri, nov. sp." Nouvelle Revue d'Entomologie 13 (1983): 319-322.
Cagniant, H. "Description d'Epimyrma algeriana (nov. sp.) (Hyménoptères Formicidae, Myrmicinae), fourmi parasite. Représentation des trois castes. Quelques observations biologiques, écologiques et éthologiques." Insectes Sociaux 15 (1968): 157-170.
Cagniant, H. "Liste actualisee des fourmis du Maroc (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)." Myrmecologische Nachrichten 8 (2006): 193-200.
Cagniant, H. "Note sur les peuplements de fourmis en forêt d'Algérie." Bulletin de la Société d'Histoire Naturelle de Toulouse 108 (1973): 386-390.
Cagniant, H. "Nouvelle description d'Aphaenogaster (Attomyrma) crocea (André) Hyménoptère Formicidae. Représentation des trois castes. Notes biologiques." Bulletin de la Société Zoologique de France 91 (1966): 61-69.
Cagniant, H. "Nouvelle description de Leptothorax spinosus (Forel) d'Algérie. Représentation des trois castes et notes biologiques (Hym. Formicidae Myrmicinae)." Bulletin de la Société Entomologique de France 74 (1970): 201-208.
Cagniant, H. Les peuplements de fourmis des forêts algériennes: écologie, biocénotique, essai biologique. Universite de Toulouse, 1973.
Espadaler, X., and H. Cagniant. "Leptothorax mirabilis n. sp., an enigmatic species from Morocco (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)." Bulletin de la Société Zoologique de France 121 (4) (1996): 331-337.
Forel, A. 1894. Les formicides de la province d'Oran (Algerie). Bulletin de la Société Vaudoise des Sciences Naturelles 30: 1-45.
Forel, A. "Les Formicides de la Province d'Oran (Algérie)." Bulletin de la Société Vaudoise des Sciences Naturelles 30 (1894): 1-45.
Santschi, F. "Fourmis de Tunisie capturées en 1906." Revue Suisse de Zoologie 15 (1907): 305-334.
Santschi, F. 1907. Fourmis de Tunisie capturées en 1906. Revue Suisse de Zoologie 15: 305-334.
Taheri A., J. Reyes-Lopez, and N. Bennas. 2014. Contribution a l'etude de la fauna myrmecologique du parc national de Talassemtane (nord du Maroc): biodiversite, biogeographie et especes indicatrices. Boletín de la Sociedad Entomológica Aragonesa (S.E.A.), 54: 225236.
Taheri A., J. Reyes-Lopez, and X. Espadaler. 2010. Citas nuevas o interesantes de hormigas (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) para Marruevos. Boletín de la Sociedad Entomológica Aragonesa (S.E.A.) 47: 299?300.