Carebara oertzeni Forel, 1886

Karaman, Celal, Received, Kadri Kiran, Online, Published & Version, Final, 2017, First record of Carebara oertzeni Forel (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from the European part of Turkey with worker description, Turkish Journal of Zoology 41 (4), pp. 638-644 : 639-643

Carebara oertzeni Forel, 1886

Material: Turkey, Edirne, Yıldırım district (41°41′00″N, 26°31′38″E), 53 m a.s.l., 01.vi.2007, 07/0001, 5 workers, 3 queens, 1 male, leg. C . Karaman.

Description

Workers (n: 5). CL: 0.40–0.43 (0.42), CW: 0.33–0.36 (0.35), SL: 0.24–0.26 (0.25), CNW: 0.08–0.10 (0.09), PNW: 0.21–0.23 (0.22), ML: 0.43–0.46 (0.44), MH: 0.21–0.25 (0.23), PL: 0.12–0.14 (0.13), PW: 0.086 –0.093 (0.088) , PPW: 0.09–0.10 (0.095), PPL: 0.09 (0.09), PH: 0.11–0.12 (0.12), PPH: 0.08–0.09 (0.084), HTL: 0.21–0.23 (0.22), ESW: 0.08–0.10 (0.09), CS : 0.36–0.40 (0.39), SL/CS: 0.64– 0.66 (0.64), CNW/CS: 0.21–0.25 (0.23), ML/CS: 1.13–1.19 (1.15), MH/CS: 0.56–0.63 (0.60), HTL/CS: 0.57–0.58 (0.57), PNW/CS: 0.54–0.58 (0.57), PL/CS: 0.33–0.35 (0.34), PW/CS: 0.22–0.24 (0.23), PH / CS : 0.29–0.32 (0.30), PPL/CS: 0.22–0.24 (0.23), PPW/CS: 0.24–0.25 (0.25), PPH/CS: 0.21–0.22 (0.22), ESW/CS: 0.22–0.25 (0.23).

Worker ( Figures 1–4 ): Head longer than wide, sides of head convex, posterior head margin slightly concave medially, corners almost emarginated; frontal lobes expanded over antennal scrobe, frontal carinae short; anterior margin of clypeus medially concave, clypeus narrow and shiny; eyes very small, with only 1 ommatidium and positioned slightly above level of frontal carinae; mandible shape regularly triangular, without sculpture and shiny, masticatory margin with 5 brownish teeth ( Figure 1 ); scape short, distinctly shorter than head width, when laid back from their insertions fail to reach posterior margin of head, antennae 9-segmented; anterolateral sides of head longitudinally striated, cephalic dorsum slightly punctate and striated medially ( Figure 2 ).

Promesonotal suture absent; metanotal groove distinct ( Figure 3 ), dorsum of propodeum convex, posterior corners with a wide-based, blunt, subtriangular spine; promesonotum without sculpture and shiny, only confined lower parts and all propodeum punctated.

Petiole as wide as postpetiole, petiole almost as high as wide, postpetiole as high as long; petiole punctate except its apex, petiole and postpetiole apex without sculpture. Anterior margin of first gaster tergite emarginated in dorsal view and whole gaster shiny ( Figure 4 ).

Head with decumbent, long pubescence, hairs as long as the distance between them or slightly longer; anterior clypeal margin with 4 apical long setae, on lateral edges of clypeus under antennal scrobe with 2 pairs of long erect hairs; posterior head corners with a pair of long, subdecumbent hairs, sides of head, under the posterior head corners with 1 pair of long, erect hairs; scape with decumbent pubescence, flagellar segments with dense subdecumbent pubescence.

Promesonotum with subdecumbent long pubescence and 4–5 pairs of long, erect hairs; propodeal dorsum with 1 pair of long, erect hairs; dorsum of petiole and postpetiole with subdecumbent, long pubescence and 1 pair of long, erect hairs, lateral sides of petiole with 1 pair of erect hairs; gaster with long, subdecumbent pubescence, and sparse erect hairs. Femora and tibiae with sparse, long, subdecumbent pubescence.

Whole body yellow, only mandibular teeth slightly darker.

Queen (n: 3). CL: 0.78–0.80 (0.80), CW: 0.72 (0.72), SL: 0.44–0.46 (0.45), CNW: 0.14–0.15 (0.14), FLW: 0.31 (0.31), EYE: 0.21–0.22 (0.21), ML: 1.44 (1.44), MW: 0.80– 0.83 (0.82), PL: 0.42–0.47 (0.44), PW: 0.25–0.27 (0.26), PH: 0.30–0.31 (0.31), PPL: 0.28–0.30 (0.29), PPW: 0.30– 0.32 (0.31), PPH: 0.24–0.30 (0.27), HTL: 0.53–0.54 (0.54), ESW: 0.28–0.30 (0.29), SCL: 1.10–1.11 (1.11), SCW: 0.64– 0.65 (0.65), CS: 0.75–0.76 (0.76), SL/CS: 0.59–0.61 (0.60), CNW/CS: 0.18–0.20 (0.19), ML/CS: 1.89–1.92 (1.90), MH/CS: 1.07–1.09 (1.08), HTL/CS: 0.70–0.72 (0.71), SCL/ SCW: 1.70–1.73 (1.71), SCL/CS: 1.45–1.48 (1.46), SCW/ CS: 0.85–0.86 (0.85), PL/CS: 0.55–0.63 (0.59), PW/CS: 0.33–0.36 (0.35), PH /CS: 0.40–0.41 (0.40), PPL/CS: 0.37– 0.40 (0.39), PPW/CS: 0.39–0.43 (0.41), PPH/CS: 0.32–0.39 (0.35), ESW/CS: 0.37–0.40 (0.38), EYE/CS: 0.28–0.29 (0.28).

Queen ( Figures 5 and 6 ): Head distinctly longer than wide, sides almost straight and slightly narrowed below eyes; posterior margin of head broadly concave, with rounded margins; anterior clypeal margin concave ( Figure 5 ); eye length almost one-third of CW and covered with short, sparse, erect hairs; mandibles triangular, with 5–6 teeth; scape short, slightly longer than half of head length, just past median ocellus, antennae with 9-segmented, anterior part of head to posterior margin of eye longitudinally striated, striation slightly surpassing posterior margin of eye and not reaching median ocellus; center of clypeus and frontal triangle without sculpture and shiny; mandibles indistinctly longitudinally striated in profile.

Posterior edge of pronotum broadly concave medially in profile view; scutum raised above pronotum; prescutum with a slight depression between scutum and scutellum; propodeal spines broad and blunt; very feeble, short transverse striae at junction of pronotum, anepisternum, and katepisternum in profile; transverse striations on metapleuron, declivity of propodeum rugulose, rest of mesosoma unsculptured and shiny ( Figure 6 ).

Petiole long, anterior and posterior faces concave, almost triangular in profile, its apex broadly and smoothly rounded; postpetiole as long as wide, node broadly rounded in profile; petiole punctate except at its apex; postpetiole indistinctly reticulate, node glabrous. Gastral tergites shagreened except shiny first tergite.

Head dark brown; mandibles mainly concolorous with head, only masticatory surface reddish; antennae yellowish red; mesosoma except propodeum reddish brown; propodeum and petiole dark brown and postpetiole reddish brown; gaster yellowish brown; legs yellowish red.

Male (n: 1). CL: 0.64, CW: 0.63, SL: 0.16, FLW: 0.17, EYE: 0.26, ML: 1.50, MW: 0.89, PL: 0.42, PW: 0.24, PH: 0.30, PPL: 0.30, PPW: 0.24, PPH: 0.25, HTL: 0.68, ESW: 0.19, SCL: 1.14, SCW: 0.65, CS: 0.64, SL/CS: 0.25, ML/CS: 2.37, MH/CS: 1.40, HTL/CS: 1.07, SCL/SCW: 1.74, SCL/ CS: 1.79, SCW/CS: 1.03, PL/CS: 0.66, PW/CS: 0.37, PH / CS: 0.47, PPL/CS: 0.47, PPW/CS: 0.37, PPH/CS: 0.39, ESW/CS: 0.29, EYE/CS: 0.40.

Male ( Figures 7 and 8 ): Head longer than wide with convex lateral sides; posterior head margin and corners convex; clypeal carinae prominent, anterior clypeal margin almost straight or slightly concave ( Figure 7 ); eyes situated nearly in front of midlength of head, with dense, short, erect pubescence; mandibles small and triangular, masticatory margin armed with 4 teeth; scape very short, as long as one-fourth of CL, 2 times longer than wide and distinctly shorter than second funicular segment, first funicular segment (0.1 mm) almost half length of second funicular segment (0.19 mm), third funicular segment (0.14 mm) distinctly shorter than second and longer than first one, antennae 13-segmented; anterior half of head longitudinally striated, posterior half irregularly striated.

KARAMAN and KIRAN / Turk J Zool

Scutum raised over pronotum; dorsum of scutum broadly convex; prescutum with slight depression; propodeum narrow and with blunt denticles; pronotum coarse and transversally striated and dull; scutum and scutellum longitudinally striated with median part bare and shiny; anepisternum and katepisternum feebly striated ( Figure 8 ); metapleuron coarsely sculptured and dull, dorsum of propodeum between denticles without sculpture and shiny, distance between propodeal denticles almost equal to three-quarters of PPH; petiole and postpetiole as wide as their height; hind tibia length longer than SCW; subgenital plate V-shaped.

Head with dense and erect hairs, head dorsum behind lateral ocelli with dense, short, erect hairs, anterior half of head with sparse erect hairs; eyes with dense, short, erect pubescence; scape with short, subdecumbent pubescence; lower part of head with dense, erect hairs; pronotum, scutum, scutellum with dense, erect hairs; anepisternum and katepisternum as in queen; propodeal dorsum with dense, short, erect hairs, metapleuron with sparse, long, erect hairs; anterior face of petiole and postpetiole to midpoint of apex with short, dense, suberect pubescence and posterior face of petiole with 1 pair of long, erect hairs and postpetiole with 3 pairs of erect hairs, and lateral sides also with 3 erect hairs; femora and tibiae with short, dense, appressed pubescence; gaster with dense, subdecumbent hairs.

Head, mesosoma, and petiole black; gaster reddish brown; legs brown; scape and funicular segments brown to reddish brown except yellowish first segment; wing veins yellowish brown.

Taxonomy: In general aspect of body shape, our queens are similar to the photos of the type specimen of C. oertzeni (CASENT0908910), which were provided from AntWeb (antweb.org, 2011), and to its original description.

In the original description, C. oertzeni was characterized by strongly striated and dull middle part of head, with the striae reaching the sides of median ocelli; striated pronotum along the side; smooth and shiny area between metanotal teeth. Moreover, we measured some morphometrics of C. oertzeni from AntWeb photos using Adobe Photoshop CS2 software; CL: 0.69; CW: 0.65; ML: 1.43; MW: 0.83; ESW: 0.33; PW: 0.24; EL: 0.26; EW: 0.21; CS: 0.67; EYE: 0.24; ML/CS: 2.15; MW/CS: 1.25; ESW/CS: 0.48; PW/CS: 0.39; PPW/CS: 0.39; EL/CS: 0.37; EW/CS: 0.30.

Our queens are similar to the C. oertzeni type specimen in body size and color, but clearly distinguished from it by longitudinal striation of the anterior part of head reaching only to posterior margin of eye and sides of median ocellus never striated, smooth pronotum except feebly striated junction with anepisternum and katepisternum, rugulose striation on declivity of propodeum and between the propodeal teeth, and wider head, CW 0.72 versus 0.65; longer head, CL 0.80 versus 0.69; greater CS, 0.76 versus 0.67; smaller PW / CS, 0.35 versus 0.39; smaller ML / CS, 1.90 versus 2.15; smaller MH / CS, 1.08 versus 1.25 .

In the original description, the male of C.oertzeni subsp. aeolia was characterized with the following characters: scape same length as second funicular segment, scape 2.5 times longer than its width, mandibles 3-toothed. Our male is differentiated from the type specimen by a shorter scape from the second funicular segment, scape almost 2 times longer than wide, 4-toothed mandibles, and dense, short, and erect hairs on dorsum of head behind the ocelli.

However, we do not describe a new species for the present because we did not have a chance to study type material of C. oertzeni and C. oertzeni subsp. aeolia .

In addition, the worker caste of a Carebara species is described for the first time in the Mediterranean region. The worker caste of the C. oertzeni is characterized by broad and medially concave anterior clypeal margin, 5-toothed mandibles, 9-segmented antennae, punctated head dorsum and propodeum, presence of propodeal spines, and deep metanotal depression.

Biology: The specimens of C. oertzeni were collected from the outer wall of the first author’s grandfather’s adobe house, which is more than 55 years old. The specimens were found on the outer wall of the house; a male and queen were copulating while the specimens were collected. The baseboard of the outer wall of the house was dominated by several colonies of Pheidole pallidula (Nylander) ; several nests of Cataglyphis nodus (Brullé) , Formica cunicularia Latreille , Plagiolepis sp. , Messor sp. were present close to the baseboard of the house. Moreover, a colony of termites was situated in a timber on the outer wall of the house. The nest of the species could not be found. Despite multiple collecting visits to the type locality since 2007, no additional material was found. Perhaps this is due to the tiny size of workers, and the subterranean and cryptic habits of the genus.

Figures

Figures 1–4. Carebara oertzeni Forel, worker; 1 ‒ head, in full face view; 2 ‒ SEM photo of head, dorsofrontal view; 3 ‒ body in profile; 4 ‒ body in dorsal view.

Figures 5–6. Carebara oertzeni Forel, queen; 5 ‒ head in full face view; 6 ‒ body in profile.

Figures 7–8. Carebara oertzeni Forel, male; 7 ‒ head in full face view; 8 ‒ body in profile.