Cardiocondyla stambuloffi [sic!] ssp. taurica Karavajev 1927, 1892

Seifert, Bernhard, 2023, A revision of the Palaearctic species of the ant genus Cardiocondyla Emery 1869 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), Zootaxa 5274 (1), pp. 1-64 : 48-49

Cardiocondyla stambuloffi [sic!] ssp. taurica Karavajev 1927 [topotypical material investigated]

This taxon has been described from Crimea / Ukraine. Karavajev (1927) gave the sampling data “Strand der Janitschary-Bucht in der Nähe von Koktebel, Karawajew (Nr. 2818), vom 29. IX bis 17.X 1919 ”. According to these data, two worker specimens on separate pins, deposited in SIZ Kiev, labelled “ ssp. Taurica \ Enishary bl. Koktebelya 16.VI. 1920 Karavajev \ 4357. coll. Karavaievi \ Cardiocondyla stambuloffi ssp. taurica Karaw. Typus ” and “4357. coll. Karavaievi” cannot be considered as primary type specimens. “Enishary bl. Koktebelya”, written in Russian, means in English “Jenizary near Koktebel”. Hence, the collecting sites and collector are fully coincident and because the investigator is also the same, these specimens have a strong indicative value. Furthermore, a synonymy of taurica with the most related species C. koshewnikovi is most unlikely for zoogeographical reasons.

All material examined. NUMOBAT data were recorded in 34 samples with 82 worker specimens. For details see supplementary information SI1, SI2. This material originated from Armenia (1 sample), Bulgaria (6), Georgia (4), Greece (1), Iran (1), Romania (4), Russia (5), Turkey (8), Ukraine (4).

Geographic range. From the westernmost site in Greece (22.6 °E) distributed northeast and east over the lowlands along the Black Sea, Asia Minor and Georgia to the western shores of the Caspian Sea (48.6°E). The southernmost site is at 37.62°N in southern Asia Minor and the northernmost one in the southern Ukraine at 46.47°N.The altitudinal range extends from 28 m below the sea level at the Caspian coast to 1700 m a.s.l. in Asia Minor .

Diagnosis: --Worker ( Tab. 4 , Figs. 86–89 ; images in www.antweb.org with specimen identifiers CASENT0901756, CASENT0904463, CASENT0908347, CASENT0916970, CASENT0917797, FOCOL0296, FOCOL0297, FOCOL0693, FOCOL0783, FOCOL0784, FOCOL1608, FOCOL1609, FOCOL1610, FOCOL2904, FOCOL2905, FOCOL2906; key). Rather small, CS 524 µm. Head rather short, CL/CW 1.162. Postocular index large, PoOc/CL 0.444. Hind margin of head convex, sometimes with a weak concavity in the median level. Scape short, SL/CS 0.780. Eye small, EYE/CS 0.226. Frons very broad (FRS/CS 0.323), frontal carinae not or very weakly converging immediately caudal of FRS level (FL/FR 1.008). Dorsal profile of promesonotum convex, metanotal depression rather deep (MGr/CS 3.50 %), dorsal profile of propodeum posterior of metanotal depression linear. Propodeal spines short, reduced to blunt dents (SP/CS 0.074), their supposed axis in lateral view differing by 48° from longitudinal axis of mesosoma; the distance of their bases is the largest within the stambuloffii group (SPBA/CS 0.285). Petiole less than half as wide as postpetiole and much higher than wide (PeW/CS 0.292, PeH/CS 0.373), in profile with a rather short peduncle and the node with very steep and linear anterior and posterior slopes having similar inclination—as result the node profile is symmetric. Area of petiole node in dorsal view small and almost circular. Postpetiole very wide, twice as wide as high (PpW/CS 0.602, PpW /PeW 2.06, PpH/CS 0.305), in dorsal aspect with a weak concavity in anterior margin, its width nearly twice its length, ratio PpW/ maximum median length 1.81, postpetiolar sternite rather flat, with a weak anteromedian bulb. Clypeus and frontal laminae on whole surface longitudinally carinulate; the carinulae continue over the whole vertex but are reduced in the occipital region which is more shiny. Clear foveolae or reticular structures on vertex completely lacking; occasionally (as in the topotypical sample of taurica ) semireticular structures are present on paramedian vertex. The interspaces between carinulae are shiny with small flat tubercles of 6–10 µm diameter which have the base of a pubescence hair in their center ( Fig. 89 ). The pronotum at least but usually whole dorsal mesosoma smooth and shiny, few weak carinulae and flat tubercles may be present. Lateral mesosoma in overall impression shiny but meso- and metapleurae longitudinally carinulate. Petiole and postpetiole smooth and shiny. Pubescence on gaster tergites long and dense, PLG/CS 6.46 %, sqPDG 3.51. Whole body concolorous brown, dark brown, or blackish brown.

Taxonomic comments and clustering results. Cardiocondyla stambuloffii , C. koshewnikovi and C. rolandi n. sp. are similar semipatric species with probably rather small sympatric zones. Range overlap between stambuloffii and koshewnikovi occurs in the western Caspian region and between koshewnikovi and rolandi n. sp. in eastern Kazakhstan and northern Mongolia. Considering the 13 characters CS, CL/CW, SL/CS, PoOc/CS, EYE/CS, dFOV, FRS/CS, SPBA/CS, PeW/CS, PpW/CS, PeH/CS, PpH/CS and sqPDG, the three species are safely separated on the nest sample level by five exploratory data analyses with a classification error of 0 % ( Fig. 143 ). If run as wild-cards in a LDA, the type samples of C. stambuloffii , C. montandoni and C. taurica are allocated with p=1.000 to the stambuloffii cluster and those of C. koshewnikovi and rolandi n. sp. with p=1.000 to their corresponding clusters.

Biology. All nest sites were in open, very sun-exposed habitats with sparse, lacunose herb layer. Twelve reports on habitat name xerothermous sandy habitats, frequently along sea coast (here also aeolic sand dunes), along rivers or at margins of lakes. Three nests were in coastal sedimentary soil of moderate salinity (solonchak) and one nest in rocky soil. The males are ergatoid and have shear-shaped mandibles. One nest found by the author in the root bale of a composite plant in a coastal sand dune in Bulgaria contained in October one queen, two adult males and about 300 workers. Arnoldi (1926) reported a maximum of 400– 500 workers in nests that extended more than 50 cm down into the soil. The males in the Bulgarian nest did not show any scars or signs of injury suggesting that adult males do not fight. Mutual tolerance between at least adult males is also confirmed by laboratory observations in a population from Georgia (J. Heinze, pers. comm. 2022) and the big number of 10 or 20 ergatoid males observed by Arnoldi (1926) in nests from the northern coast of the Black Sea.

Figures

FIGURE 143. Separation of nest samples of Cardiocondyla stambuloffii (green bars), C. rolandi n. sp. (red bars) and C. koshewnikovi (black bars) by NC-Ward, NC-part.hclust, NC-part.kmeans, NC-NMDS.kmeans clustering and a principal component analysis considering 13 NUMOBAT characters. The mean classification error of the five exploratory data analyses relative to the controlling linear discriminant analysis is 0%. The white bar indicates an outlier in NC-part.hclust.

FIGURES 86–89. Cardiocondyla stambuloffii; Fig.86: head in dorsal view; Fig. 87: lateral view (flipped horizontally); Fig. 88: dorsal view; Fig. 89: head surface between inner eye margin and paramedian vertex. Georgia: river Podshori, 2010.08.27