Oxyopomyrmex André, 1881

Sebastian Salata & Lech Borowiec, 2015, A taxonomic revision of the genus Oxyopomyrmex André, 1881 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), Zootaxa 4025 (1), pp. 1-66 : 5-7

Oxyopomyrmex André, 1881

Oxyopomyrmex André, 1881: 72 . Type-species: Oxyopomyrmex oculatus André, 1881 by monotypy. Oxyopomyrmex in Myrmicinae: Dalla Torre 1893: 108.

Oxyopomyrmex in Myrmicinae, Myrmicini: Emery1895: 769; Ashmead 1905: 383; Wheeler 1910: 140. Oxyopomyrmex in Myrmicinae, Pheidolini: Emery1914: 40; Forel 1917: 241.

Oxyopomyrmex in Myrmicinae, Pheidolini, subtribe Stenammini: Emery1921: 75; Wheeler 1922: 661; all subsequent authors. Oxyopomyrmex in Myrmicinae, Stenammini: Ward et al. 2015: 17.

Diagnosis of gyne. Head quadrate to rectangular, longer than wide (except for O. magnus ). Frontal carinae short, never exceeding 1 / 3 length of the eye. Mandible striate, with 7–8 teeth, the apical tooth massive and long. Antennae 11 segmented; antennal club 3 -jointed. Compound eyes large, elongate, narrowing downward, reaching anteroventral margin of head. Gena with either striae and rugae sparser than on frons or smooth, without sculpture, often shinier. Entire head bearing setae, posterior margin with sparse to dense erect setae directed forward, lateral surfaces of the head with sparse to dense semierect setae always directed toward anterior margin, frontal area with sparse to dense, appressed to erect setae, placed transversely and directed to the center of the head, ventral surface of the head with a prominent psammophore and appressed to erect long setae. Promesonotum projecting dorsally above propodeum, flat or slightly convex in profile. Scutum and scutellum always sculptured, sometimes smooth at center. Propodeal spines always with wide base, usually triangular, rising obliquely upwards. Abdomen shiny with long semierect to erect setae.

Diagnosis of male. Head oval, longer than wide. Frontal carinae short, curved outward to merge with the rugae surrounding antennal sockets. Mandible striate, with 4-5 teeth, the apical tooth massive and long. Antennae 12 segmented. Compound eyes large, oval. Gena with either striae and rugae sparser than on frons or smooth, without sculpture, often shinier. Entire head bearing setae, posterior margin with sparse to dense erect setae directed forward, lateral surfaces of the head with a few appressed to dense, semierect setae directed toward anterior margin, frontal area with sparse to dense, appressed to erect setae, placed transversely and directed to the center of the head. Ventral surface of the head with a long psammophore and appressed to erect long setae. Promesonotum projecting dorsally above propodeum, flat or slightly convex in profile. Scutum and scutellum always sculptured with three smooth longitudinal stripes at the scutum. Central stripe always shorter. Propodeal spines with wide base, short or absent. Abdomen shiny with long semierect to erect setae. No significant differences in genitalia shape and structure were observed.

Diagnosis of worker. Worker small to medium sized, monomorphic. Head elongate to quadrate, longer than wide (except for O. magnus , O. emeryi , O. nitidior ). Frontal carinae short, never exceeding 1 / 3 length of the eye. Mandible striate, with 7-8 teeth, sometimes apical tooth massive and long. Antennae 11 segmented; antennal club 3 -jointed. Compound eyes large, elongate, narrowing downward, reaching anteroventral margin of head. Gena with either striae and rugae sparser than on frons or smooth, without sculpture, often shinier. Entire head bearing setae, posterior margin with sparse to dense erect setae directed forward, lateral surfaces of the head with a few appressed to dense semierect setae always directed toward anterior margin, frontal area with sparse to dense, appressed to erect setae, placed transversely and directed to the center of the head, ventral surface of the head with a long psammophore appressed to erect long setae. Promesonotum projecting slightly higher than propodeum, flat or sometimes convex in profile. Pronotum and mesonotum always sculptured, sometimes with smooth surfaces at the center of the mesonotum. Propodeal spines always with wide base, usually triangular rising obliquely upwards. Abdomen shiny with long semierect to erect setae (except for O. negevensis ).

Distribution: Mediterranean Basin, Near East, Canary Is.

Synonymic list of species

Oxyopomyrmex emeryi Santschi, 1908: 524 —Alegria, Tunisia

Oxyopomyrmex insularis Santschi, 1908: 523 —Canary Islands

= Oxyopomyrmex insularis var. major Santschi, 1923: 326

Oxyopomyrmex krueperi Forel, 1911: 344 —Bulgaria, Macedonia, Greece (mainland, Crete, Dodecanese), Macedonia, Turkey, SW Iran

= Oxyopomyrmex lagoi Menozzi, 1936: 278 syn. nov.

Oxyopomyrmex laevibus sp. nov. — Greece (Crete)

Oxyopomyrmex magnus sp. nov. — Spain (mainland)

Oxyopomyrmex negevensis sp. nov. — Israel

Oxyopomyrmex nigripes Santschi, 1907: 329 stat. nov.— Tunisia

= Oxyopomyrmex sabulonis var. rugocciput Santschi, 1923: 326 syn. nov.

= Oxyopomyrmex emeryi var. brunnescens Santschi, 1929: 147 syn. nov.

Oxyopomyrmex nitidior Santschi, 1910: 46 stat. nov.— Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, W Saudi Arabia

= Oxyopomyrmex emeryi var. laticeps Santschi, 1915: 62 syn. nov.

= Oxyopomyrmex emeryi st. sabulonis Santschi, 1915: 62 syn. nov.

Oxyopomyrmex oculatus André, 1881: 73 —Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Siria

Oxyopomyrmex polybotesi sp. nov. — Greece (Dodecanese), W Turkey

Oxyopomyrmex pygmalioni sp. nov. —Cyprus

Oxyopomyrmex saulcyi Emery, 1889: 440 —Portugal, Spain (mainland), France (mainland), Malta, Italy (Sicily), Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia

= Oxyopomyrmex saulcyi var. cabrerae Forel, 1897: 133

= Oxyopomyrmex santschii Forel, 1904: 8 syn. nov.

= Oxyopomyrmex santschii var. siciliana Karavaiev, 1912: 11 syn. nov. = Oxyopomyrmex gaetulus Santschi, 1929: 146 syn. nov.

= Oxyopomyrmex saulcyi var. latinodis Santschi, 1939: 2 syn. nov.

Species excluded from genus

Oxyopomyrmex (Goniomma) blanci r. tuneticus Forel, 1905: 175 now Goniomma tuneticus ( Forel, 1905) : Emery, 1908: 462. Oxyopomyrmex (Goniomma) hispanicus r. tuneticus var. thoracica Santschi, 1907: 330 , unavailable name within the genus Goniomma .

Oxyopomyrmex (Goniomma) punicus Forel, 1907: 205 now Goniomma punicum ( Forel, 1907) : Emery, 1908: 462.

Key to species based on the gyne caste

(gynes known for O. emeryi , O. krueperi , O. magnus , O. nigripes , O. oculatus , O. saulcyi )

1. Head wider than long, dorsal and lateral surfaces of propodeum with striae, smooth between striae ( Figs. 22, 23).......... ..................................................................................... O. magnus sp. nov.

-. Head longer than wide, dorsal and lateral surfaces of propodeum punctate to rugulose with longitudinal striae ( Figs. 10, 11, 34, 35, 49, 50, 64, 65).................................................................................... 2.

2. Gena with longitudinal striae, without distinct rugosity ( Figs. 11, 65)........................................... 3.

-. Gena rugulose with or without longitudinal striae ( Figs. 35, 50)............................................... 5.

3. Lateral surface of thorax punctate with longitudinal striae...................................... O. emeryi Santschi

-. Lateral surfaces of thorax only with longitudinal striae, never punctate ( Figs. 11, 65).............................. 4.

4. Body black with reddish brown mandibles, antennae and partly legs ( Figs. 10, 11, 12); Eastern Mediterranean region....... ...................................................................................... O. krueperi Forel

-. Body brown to dark brown; with paler mandible, antennae and legs ( Figs. 64, 65, 66); Western Mediterranean region....... ....................................................................................... O. saulcyi Emery

5. Gena rugulose, longitudinal striae only on the posterior edge of gena; petiole and postpetiole punctate ( Figs. 49, 50)........ ...................................................................................... O. oculatus André

-. Gena with longitudinal striae on the entire surface, rugulose between striae; petiole and postpetiole punctate to rugulose with longitudinal striae ( Figs. 34, 35)........................................................ .. O. nigripes Santschi

Key to species based on the male

(males known for O. emeryi , O. insularis , O. krueperi , O. magnus , O. nigripes , O. oculatus , O. saulcyi )

1. Scutum and scutellum distinctly punctate, longitudinal striae sparse, limited to the posterior edge of the scutum ( Fig. 52); SI1<59.6.............................................................................. O. oculatus André

-. Scutum and scutellum shiny or with striation; punctation, if present, cover only part of scutellum ( Figs. 4, 13, 25, 37, 67).. 2.

2. Dorsal suface of the head punctate to rugulose, without striae ( Fig. 6)............................ O. insularis Santschi

-. Dorsal suface of the head always with striae ( Figs. 15, 39, 69)................................................. 3.

3. Scutellum with longitudinal striae, without rugosity or smooth areas ( Fig. 37).................................... 4.

-. Scutellum with longitudinal striae and rugulose or with longitudinal striae and smooth and shiny centre of scutellum ( Figs. 13, 25, 67)............................................................................................. 5.

4. Propodeal spines present, lobe-like ( Fig. 38)................................................ O. nigripes Santschi

-. Propodeum without propodeal spines...................................................... O. emeryi Santschi

5. Propodeal spines absent or nodular( Fig. 26).................................................. O. magnus sp. nov.

-. Propodeal spines present, triangular or lobe-like............................................................ 6.

6. Postpetiole node punctate, on the dorsal surface punctate with light longitudinal striae; body brown ( Fig. 67)............. ....................................................................................... O. saulcyi Emery

-. Postpetiole node rugulose to punctate, on the dorsal surface smooth micropunctae at the edges; body black ( Fig. 13)....... ...................................................................................... O. krueperi Forel

Key to species based on the worker caste

1. Western Mediterranean region and Canary Islands.......................................................... 2.

-. Eastern Mediterranean region and the Near East............................................................ 8.

2. Longitudinal striae on the head limited to the frons and sometimes reaching the anterior margin of head ( Figs. 3, 9, 48, 87).. 3.

-. Longitudinal striae covering entire face ( Figs. 30, 42, 45, 72, 86).............................................. 5.

3. Lateral surfaces of thorax distinctly punctate, sometimes with light longitudinal striae, dorsal surface of pronotum distinctly punctate and with transverse striae ( Figs.1, 2, 73); Tunisia, Algeria................................ O. emeryi Santschi

-. Lateral surfaces of thorax rugulose to smooth with longitudinal striae, dorsal surface of pronotum never punctate and with transverse striae ( Figs. 7, 8, 46, 47, 74, 81)............................................................... 4.

4. Pronotum shiny, smooth or microreticulate; striae, if present, fine, located on the side and posterior edges of the pronotum; dorsal surface of mesonotum shiny and with sparse microreticulation ( Figs. 7, 74); Canary Is.......... O. insularis Santschi

-. Pronotum rugulose with distinct striae that are longitudinal or transverse and cover entire surface; dorsal surface of mesonotum always rugulose ( Figs. 46, 81); Algeria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia............................. O. nitidior Santschi

5. Center of frons with small, smooth area lacking striae, or striae in the center of frons sparse and the surface between striae smooth and shiny ( Figs. 86, 87); area between rugae and striae on dorsal surface of pronotum smooth and shiny ( Figs. 43, 80); Algeria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia....................................................... O. nitidior Santschi

-. Center of frons rugulose with longitudinal, uniformly distributed striae ( Figs. 28, 40, 70); area between striae and rugae on dorsal surface of pronotum and mesonotum always with microsculpture, not smooth ( Figs. 28, 40, 70, 77, 79, 85)........... 6.

6. Head always wider than long (HI>100); Spain: mainland....................................... O. magnus sp. nov.

-. Head longer than wide (HI<100)........................................................................ 7.

7. Dorsal and lateral surfaces of the pronotum rugulose with distinct longitudinal striae on entire surface ( Figs. 40, 41, 79), HI: 97.1 ± 1.4 (95.7-99.1); SI2: 68.3 ± 1.3 (66.0-70.0); Tunisia.................................... O. nigripes Santschi

-. Dorsal suface of pronotum distinctly rugulose; striation, if present, never covering entire surface of pronotum, lateral surfaces distinctly rugulose, sometimes with thin longitudinal striae ( Figs. 70, 71, 85), HI: 92.8 ± 2.1 (87.5-96.5); SI2: 73.2 ± 1.7 (70.1- 77.4); Algeria, France: mainland, Italy: Sicily, Malta, Morocco, Portugal, Spain: mainland, Tunisia........ O. saulcyi Emery

8. Dorsal suface of pronotum at least partly punctate with or without striation ( Figs. 1, 31, 55, 58, 61, 73, 78, 82, 83, 84).... 9.

-. Dorsal suface of pronotum rugose to rugulose, never punctate; with or without striation ( Figs. 16, 19, 43, 46, 75, 76, 86, 87)................................................................................................... 13.

9. Center of head with longitudinal striae, lateral surfaces rugulose to punctate or smooth (Figs, 3, 57).................. 10.

-. Longitudinal striation covering entire surface of head ( Figs. 33, 60, 63)........................................ 11.

10. Dorsal suface of pronotum punctate, lacking striae ( Figs. 55, 82); gena slightly rugulose ( Fig. 57); Israel, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria................................................................................. O. oculatus André

-. Dorsal suface of pronotum punctate with transverse striae ( Figs. 1, 73), gena smooth and shiny ( Fig. 2);Tunisia, Algeria.......................................................................................... O. emeryi Santschi

11. Dorsal surface of abdominal tergites dull, bearing dense, appressed microsetae along with a sparse layer of long, erect setae ( Fig. 31), gena without striation ( Fig. 32); Israel............................................ O. negevensis sp. nov.

-. Abdomen shiny, bearing long erect to semierect setae ( Figs. 58, 61), gena with longitudinal striae ( Figs. 59, 62)........ 12.

12. Gena with longitudinal striae, shiny; lateral surfaces of pronotum with longitudinal striae ( Fig. 59); HTI2>20.4, Greece: Dodecanese, Turkey...................................................................... O. polybotesi sp. nov.

-. Gena dull, rugulose, with thick longitudinal striae; lateral surfaces of the pronotum punctate to rugulose ( Fig. 62); HTI2<20.1, Cyprus........................................................................... O. pygmalioni sp. nov.

13. Center of frons with small, smooth area lacking striae or striae in center of frons sparser, with surface between striae smooth and shiny ( Figs. 86, 87), body brown; Algeria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia........................ O. nitidior Santschi

-. Center of frons rugulose with longitudinal, uniformly distributed striae ( Figs. 18, 21), body black................... 14.

14. In profile, a border between dorsal and posterior surfaces of the promesonotum sharply curved ( Fig. 17), gena always with fine longitudinal striae( Fig. 17), dorsal surface of propodeum rugulose to finely rugulose, never smooth, with or without striation, lateral surfaces of mesonotum punctate with longitudinal striaeat the posterior edge ( Figs. 16, 75); Bulgaria, Greece: Crete, Dodecanese, mainland; Macedonia, Turkey................................................... O. krueperi Forel

-. In profile, a border between dorsal and posterior surfaces of the promesonotum never sharply curved ( Fig. 20), gena without longitudinal striae, microreticulate ( Fig. 20), center of propodeum smooth and shiny, lateral surfaces of mesonotum with gently reticulation ( Figs. 19, 76); Greece: Crete................................................... O. laevibus sp. nov.