Crematogaster antaris

Crematogaster antaris
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmicinae
Tribe:	Crematogastrini
Genus:	Crematogaster
Species:	C. antaris
Binomial name
Crematogaster antaris Forel, 1894 Specimen Labels
Synonyms
Crematogaster auberti sordida Forel, 1909

This is a very widespread and common species, which appears to be one of the most arid-adapted species within the genus (Sharaf et al., 2019).

Identification

Collingwood and Agosti (1996) - HW 1.08-1.45; C1 104-114; PL/PW 0.68-0.715. Crematogaster aegyptiaca is sometimes as red as the deserticolous C. antaris but is usually darker, more rugose and pubescent; the petiole is wider with the anterolateral corners produced and wing-like in full dorsal view. Queens of C. antaris are larger, have the head and alitrunk red and have characteristic lateral striae on the occiput.

Keys including this Species

• Key to Arabian Crematogaster
• Key to Iranian Crematogaster species

Distribution

Sharaf et al. (2019): Originally described from Algeria, C. antaris is also found in Morroco, Tunisia, Egypt, and Iran (Sharaf 2006; Paknia et al. 2008; Vonshak and Ionescu-Hirsch 2009; Borowiec 2014; Guénard et al. 2017; Janicki et al. 2017). Its apparent absence in Libya is likely a sampling artifact. Crematogaster antaris is also broadly distributed in the Arabian Peninsula where it is known from Kuwait, Oman, the KSA, the UAE, and Yemen (Collingwood 1985; Tigar and Collingwood 1993; Collingwood and Agosti 1996; Collingwood et al. 2011; Borowiec 2014; Sharaf et al. 2018).

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 36.9° to 16.016667°.

North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

• Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Afrotropical Region: Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen.
Palaearctic Region: Algeria (type locality), Iran, Israel, Oman, Qatar.

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

• This species is associated with the aphids Aphis craccivora, Aphis farinosa, Aphis frangulae, Chaitophorus truncates and Myzus persicae (Saddiqui et al., 2019 and included references).

Nomenclature

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

• antaris. Crematogaster auberti r. antaris Forel, 1894d: 26 (w.q.) ALGERIA.
  • Type-material: syntype workers, syntype queens (numbers not stated).
  • Type-locality: Algeria: Oran, Djebel Antar, nr Méchéria, 27.iii.-19.iv.1893 (A. Forel).
  • Type-depository: MHNG.
  • Combination in C. (Acrocoelia): Emery, 1922e: 142;
  • combination in C. (Crematogaster): Bolton, 1995b: 166.
  • Subspecies of inermis: Emery, 1926: 2; Menozzi, 1927g: 379; Finzi, 1936: 174; Cagniant, 1970a: 417.
  • Subspecies of auberti: Forel, 1909c: 104 (in text); Emery, 1912e: 662; Wheeler, W.M. & Mann, 1916: 170; Stitz, 1917: 341; Emery, 1922e: 142; Emery, 1924a: 8; Finzi, 1930b: 15; Santschi, 1938a: 38; Cagniant, 1964: 103.
  • Status as species: Santschi, 1921d: 71; Collingwood, 1985: 260; Kugler, J. 1988: 258; Bolton, 1995b: 147; Collingwood & Agosti, 1996: 330; Cagniant, 2005: 11; Cagniant, 2006a: 198; Paknia, et al. 2008: 154; Collingwood, et al. 2011: 426; Borowiec, L. 2014: 64; Sharaf, Aldawood & Hita Garcia, 2019: 42; Sharaf, Abdel-Dayem, et al. 2020: 546.
  • Senior synonym of sordida: Cagniant, 2005: 11; Sharaf, Aldawood & Hita Garcia, 2019: 42.
  • Distribution: Algeria, Egypt, Iran, Israel, Kuwait, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen.
• sordida. Crematogaster auberti var. sordida Forel, 1909c: 104.
  • [First available use of Crematogaster auberti r. laestrygon var. sordida Forel, 1894d: 26 (w.) ALGERIA; unavailable (infrasubspecific) name.]
  • Type-material: syntype workers (number not stated).
  • Type-localities: Algeria: Oran, Djebel Antar, 27.iii.-19.iv.1893 (A. Forel), Algeria: Bône, 27.iii.-19.iv.1893 (A. Forel).
  • Type-depository: MHNG.
  • Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1952b: 255 (l.).
  • Combination in C. (Acrocoelia): Emery, 1922e: 142.
  • As unavailable (infrasubspecific) name: Forel, 1902a: 154; Forel, 1905b: 174; Emery, 1912e: 662; Stitz, 1917: 341; Emery, 1922e: 142; Emery, 1926: 2; Santschi, 1937e: 313 (in key).
  • Subspecies of antaris: Santschi, 1921d: 71; Bolton, 1995b: 163.
  • Junior synonym of antaris: Cagniant, 2005: 11; Sharaf, Aldawood & Hita Garcia, 2019: 42.

References

• 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. 1964 [1962]. Étude de quelques fourmis marocaines. Statistique provisoire des Formicidae du Maroc. Bull. Soc. Hist. Nat. Afr. Nord 53: 83-118 (page 103, Subspecies of auberti)
• Collingwood, C. A. 1985. Hymenoptera: Fam. Formicidae of Saudi Arabia. Fauna Saudi Arab. 7: 230-302 (page 260, Raised to species)
• Collingwood, C. A. and D. Agosti. 1996. Formicidae (Insecta: Hymenoptera) of Saudi Arabia (part 2). Fauna Saudi Arabia. 15:300-385.
• Collingwood, C.A., Agosti, D., Sharaf, M.R., van Harten, A. 2011. Order Hymenoptera, family Formicidae. Arthropod fauna of the UAE 4: 405-474.
• Emery, C. 1922c. Hymenoptera. Fam. Formicidae. Subfam. Myrmicinae. [part]. Genera Insectorum 174B: 95-206 (page 142, Combination in C. (Acrocoelia))
• Emery, C. 1924a. Formiche della Cirenaica raccolte dal Dott. Enrico Festa e dal Prof. Filippo Silvestri. Boll. Soc. Entomol. Ital. 56: 6-11 (page 8, Subspecies of auberti)
• Emery, C. 1926. Ultime note mirmecologiche. Boll. Soc. Entomol. Ital. 58: 1-9 (page 2, Subspecies of inermis)
• Finzi, B. 1930b. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse einer zoologischen Forschungsreise nach Westalgerien und Marokko. III. Teil. Ameisen aus Marokko und Westalgerien. Sitzungsber. Akad. Wiss. Wien Math.-Naturwiss. Kl. Abt. I 139: 14-16 (page 15, Subspecies of auberti)
• Forel, A. 1894d. Les Formicides de la Province d'Oran (Algérie). Bull. Soc. Vaudoise Sci. Nat. 30: 1-45 (page 26, worker, queen described)
• Menozzi, C. 1927g. Risultati zoologici della Missione inviata dalla R. Società Geografica Italiana per l'esplorazione dell'Oasi di Giarabub (1926-1927). Formicidae (Hymenoptera). Ann. Mus. Civ. Stor. Nat. "Giacomo Doria" 52: 379-382 (page 379, Subspecies of inermis)
• Mohseni, M.R., Mikheyev, A. 2023. A new species of Crematogaster Lund, 1831 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Iran with an identification key to Iranian Crematogaster species. Journal of Asia-Pacific Biodiversity 16(4), 484–492 (doi:10.1016/j.japb.2023.08.005).
• Német, E., Czekes, Z., Markó, B., Rákosy, L. 2016. Host plant preference in the protected myrmecophilous Transylvanian Blue (Pseudophilotes bavius hungarica) butterfly (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) and its relationship with potential ant partners. Journal of Insect Conservation 20, 765–772 (doi:10.1007/S10841-016-9907-5).
• Santschi, F. 1921d. Formicides nouveaux de l'Afrique du Nord. Bull. Soc. Hist. Nat. Afr. Nord 12: 68-77 (page 71, Raised to species)
• Santschi, F. 1938a [1937]. Quelques nouvelles fourmis d'Egypte. Bull. Soc. Entomol. Egypte 21: 28-44 (page 38, Subspecies of auberti)
• Sharaf, M.R., Abdel-Dayem, M.S., Mohamed, A.A., Fisher, B.L., Aldawood, A.S. 2020. A preliminary synopsis of the ant fauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Qatar with remarks on the zoogeography. Annales Zoologici 70: 533-560 (doi:10.3161/00034541anz2020.70.4.005).
• Sharaf, M.R., Aldawood, A.S., Hita Garcia, F. 2019. Review of the Arabian Crematogaster Lund (Hymenoptera, Formicidae), synoptic list, distribution, and description of two new species from Oman and Saudi Arabia. ZooKeys 898: 27–81 (doi:10.3897/zookeys.898.37531).
• Shiran, E., Mossadegh, M.S., Esfandiari, M. 2013. Mutualistic ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) associated with aphids in central and southwestern parts of Iran. Journal of Crop Protection 2: 1-12.

• Siddiqui, J. A., Li, J., Zou, X., Bodlah, I., Huang, X. 2019. Meta-analysis of the global diversity and spatial patterns of aphid-ant mutualistic relationships. Applied Ecology and Environmental Research 17: 5471-5524 (doi:10.15666/aeer/1703_54715524).

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.
• Cagniant, H. 2006. Liste actualisée des fourmis du Maroc. Myrmecologische Nachrichten 8: 193-200.
• Cagniant, H.. "Les Crematogaster du Maroc (Hym., Formicidae). Clé de détermination et commentaires." Orsis 20 (2005): 7-12.
• Cagniant, H.. "Liste actualisee des fourmis du Maroc (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)." Myrmecologische Nachrichten 8 (2006): 193-200.
• Collingwood C. A., D. Agosti, M. R. Sharaf, A. Van Harten, 2011. Order Hymenoptera, family Formicidae. Arthropod Fauna of the UAE 4: 405-474
• Collingwood C.A., D.Agosti, M.R. Sharaf, and A. van Harten. 2011. Order Hymenoptera, family Formicidae. Arthropod fauna of the UAE, 4: 405–474
• Collingwood, C. A., and Donat Agosti. "Formicidae (Insecta: Hymenoptera) of Saudi Arabia (Part 2)." Fauna of Saudi Arabia 15 (1996): 300-385.
• Finzi, B.. "Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse einer zoologischen Forschungsreise nach Westalgerien und Marokko. III. Teil. Ameisen aus Marokko und Westalgerien." Sitzungsberichte der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Klasse Abteilung I 139 (1930): 14-16.
• Forel A. 1905. Miscellanea myrmécologiques II (1905). Ann. Soc. Entomol. Belg. 49: 155-185.
• 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.
• Forel, A.. "Les fourmis du Sahara algérien récoltées par M. le Professeur A. Lameere et le Dr. A. Diehl." Annales de la Société Entomologique de Belgique 46 (1902): 147-158.
• Ghahari H., and C. A. Collingwood. 2013. A study on the ants (Hymenoptera: Vespoidea: Formicidae) from Western Iran. Acta Phytopathologica et Entomologica Hungarica 48 (1): 155–164.
• Kugler J. 1988. The zoogeography of Israel. 9. The zoogeography of social insects of Israel and Sinai. Monographiae biologicae 62: 251-275.
• Santschi, F. 1921. Formicides nouveaux de l'Afrique du Nord. Bulletin de la Société d'Histoire Naturelle de l'Afrique du Nord 12: 68-77
• Sharaf M. R., B. L. Fisher, H. M. Al Dhafer, A. Polaszek, and A. S. Aldawood. 2018. Additions to the ant fauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Oman: an updated list, new records and a description of two new species. Asian Myrmecology 10: e010004
• Sharaf M. R., S. A. Aldawood, and F. Hita Garcia. 2019. Review of the Arabian Crematogaster Lund (Hymenoptera, Formicidae), synoptic list, distribution, and description of two new species from Oman and Saudi Arabia. ZooKeys 898: 27-81
• Stitz, H.. "Ameisen aus dem westlichen Mittelmeergebiet und von den Kanarischen Inseln." Mitteilungen aus den Zoologischen Museum in Berlin 8 (1917): 333-353.
• Wheeler W. M. and W. M. Mann. 1916. The ants of the Phillips Expedition to Palestine during 1914. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 60: 167-174.
• Wheeler W. M., and W. M. Mann. 1916. The ants of the Phillips Expedition to Palestine during 1914. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 60: 167-174.