Published May 1, 2023 | Version v1
Taxonomic treatment Open

Aphaenogaster sangiorgii

  • 1. Department of Chemistry, Life Sciences and Environmental Sustainability, University of Parma, 43124 Parma, Italy. https: // orcid. org / 0000 - 0003 - 0684 - 6229
  • 2. Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences (DBGES), University of Catania, Via Androne 81, 95124 Catania,

Description

Aphaenogaster sangiorgii (Emery, 1901)

= A. finzii M̧ller, 1921 syn. nov.

= A. radchenkoi Kiran & Tezcan, 2008 syn. nov.

Investigated material— Aphaenogaster sangiorgii: 1♀, Kefalonia, Ionian Islands, Greece, D. Sangiorgi legit (MSNG) (A. sangiorgii holotype); 1♀, W. Argolida near Karia, Peloponnese, Greece, 37.62867, 22.54787, 2.IX.2013, L. Borowiec legit (CAS); 12♀♀, Pallagorio, Calabria, Italy, 39.321814, 16.916941, 15.IV.2016 and 13.IV.2018, Alicata legit (AAPC) (as A. finzii in Schifani & Alicata 2019); 10♀♀, San Nicola dell’Alto, Calabria, Italy, 39.290411, 16.980319, 5.IV.2019, G. Sabella & D. Misfud legit (AAPC, ESPC) (as A. finzii in Schifani & Alicata 2019; Schifani et al. 2022); 1♀, 1♀, Žegar, Croatia, P. Novak legit (MSNT) (A. finzii type series, photos in Schifani & Alicata 2019 and in Fig. 3).

Aphaenogaster sangiorgii (Emery, 1901) was originally described from a single queen specimen collected in Greece (Emery 1901, see CASENT0904171). The description provided by Emery (1901) is especially detailed for the standards of that time, nonetheless, the name was almost completely neglected in the subsequent literature. Workers or males of this species have never been described, and the species was never recorded from other sites. Aphaenogaster sangiorgii was never classified into any of the species groups, as its identity was considered uncertain (Schifani et al. 2022).

By investigating the holotype queen of A. sangiorgii, it was possible to determine safely its status as a member of the pallida group by the combination of very long and abundant hairs, shiny integument, and characteristic pigmentation (see Schifani et al. 2022). On the other hand, its long spines, are a character of only two other taxa within the group, which are recorded in the Balkans and Ţrkyie: A. finzii M̧ller, 1921 and A. radchenkoi Kiran & Tezcan, 2008 (Schifani & Alicata 2019; Borowiec et al. 2019). Aphaenogaster finzii was first described from Croatia based on workers and its queen was described soon after (M̧ller 1921; M̧ller 1923). It was later recorded in the rest of the Balkans south to Greece and in southern Italy (M̧ller 1921; Salata & Borowiec 2018b; Schifani & Alicata 2019), but it has never been compared with A. sangiorgii.

A. radchenkoi was described from Ţrkyie based on both workers and queens and was not compared with either A. sangiorgii or A. finzii, but only with the short-spined pallida group species A. subterraneoides (Kiran et al. 2008; Borowiec et al. 2019). Later, Borowiec et al. (2019) recorded it in Bulgaria proposing a hypothetical distinction based on subtle differences in the shape of the spines of workers. In qualitative terms, the morphology of A. sangiorgii queen is identical to that of the A. finzii queen specimens in M̧ller’s collection, and there is no difference compared to the description of A. radchenkoi (Kiran et al. 2008; Fig. 3). Therefore, based on morphological evidence and congruent biogeography A. sangiorgii is established as the senior synonym of both A. finzii and A. radchenkoi.

Notes

Published as part of Schifani, Enrico & Alicata, Antonio, 2023, Nomenclatural changes on some Mediterranean Aphaenogaster Mayr, 1853 taxa (Hymenoptera, Formicidae), pp. 59-70 in Zootaxa 5277 (1) on pages 64-65, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5277.1.2, http://zenodo.org/record/7891701

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Linked records

Additional details

Biodiversity

Scientific name authorship
Emery
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Arthropoda
Order
Hymenoptera
Family
Formicidae
Genus
Aphaenogaster
Species
sangiorgii
Taxon rank
species
Taxonomic concept label
Aphaenogaster sangiorgii (Emery, 1901) sec. Schifani & Alicata, 2023

References

  • Emery, C. (1901) Spicilegio mirmecologico. Bullettino della Societa Entomologica Italiana, 33, 57 - 63.
  • Kiran, K., Aktac, N. & Tezcan, S. (2008) Three new species of ants (genus Aphaenogaster, Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Turkey. Biologia, 63, 689 - 695. https: // doi. org / 10.2478 / s 11756 - 008 - 0123 - y
  • Alicata, A. & Schifani, E. (2019) Three endemic Aphaenogaster from the Siculo-Maltese archipelago and the Italian Peninsula: part of a hitherto unrecognized species group from the Maghreb? (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae). Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae, 59, 1 - 16. https: // doi. org / 10.2478 / aemnp- 2019 - 0001
  • Schifani, E., Alicata, A., Menchetti, M., Borowiec, L., Fisher, B. L., Karaman, K., Kiran, C., Oueslati, W., Salata, S. & Blatrix, R. (2022) Revisiting the morphological species groups of West-Palearctic Aphaenogaster ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from a phylogenetic perspective: toward an evolutionary classification. Arhtropod Systematics and Phylogeny, 80, 627 - 648. https: // doi. org / 10.3897 / asp. 80. e 84428
  • Borowiec, L., Lapeva-Gjonova, A. & Salata, S. (2019) Three species of Aphaenogaster Mayr, 1853 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) new to Bulgarian fauna. Acta Zoologica Bulgarica, 71, 613 - 616.
  • Salata, S. & Borowiec, L. (2018 b) Taxonomic and faunistic notes on Greek ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Annals of the Upper Silesian Museum in Bytom Entomology, 27, 1 - 51.