Plagiolepis (Plagiolepis) maura Santschi

Type location Morocco (Plagiolepis maura n. sp., Santschi, 1920g: 169, illustrated, all forms; subspecies/stirps of pallescens - Emery, 1924a: 8 [name only] & Santschi, 1936c: 206) Mogador, Vaucher, iv.1905 - see below
varieties kabyla (Plagiolepis maura Sants. var. kabyla n. var., Santschi, 1920g: 170, illustrated, worker & male) from Tunisia - see https://www.antweb.org/specimenImages.do?code=casent0912423.
palygyna (Plagiolepis maura Sants., var. palygyna n. var., Santschi, 1922a: 67, worker & queen) from Tunisia, Cheri Chera (dark brown to black) - no images on Antweb (March 2019).

Santschi's (1920g) description is at .

In Bolton's Catalogue (1995: 335) this is given as a subspecies of pallescens despite Collingwood (1985: 297) regarding it as a definitive species. Collingwood, on the other hand, gives Santschi (1920) as the defining reference and does not mention the later Emery (1924a: 8) and Santschi (1936c: 206) reduction in status. The later Collingwood & Agosti (1996) paper has the same situation. P. pallescens s.s. is not among the species listed from Saudi Arabia.

With the fresh specimen that clearly is distinct from maura, we have separated Plagiolepis pallescens

Egypt records - record in Donisthorpe (1942a), one male, one delate queen & 75 workers from Khamissa, Siwa & Gara, collector J Omer-Cooper, June-August 1935; Donisthorpe (1947e) recorded sordida from Siwa (gardens), 1 worker, 18-19.iv.1935, and 2 workers, 29.iv-1.v.1935, also Siwa in moth trap. Additionally in Mohamed et al (2001). Sharaf list - Material examined: Abu-Madi, Zaranik (North Sinai), 5.v.2003 (4); Gebel Asfar (Qalyubiya), 29.iv.2003 (7) (SHC); Ebn Salam (Daqahliya, Egypt), 13.iv.1999 (4) Leg.M.R.Sharaf; Mafareq (South Sinai), 5.iii.1998 (4) Leg. M.R.Sharaf; Wadi Firan (South Sinai), 3.v.1998 (1) Leg.M.R.Sharaf (ASUC).

The photomontage of the type worker is collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0912424.

Oxford University Museum specimens

Plagiolepis (Plagiolepis) maura B Taylor det.	Egypt M Sharaf	17.viii.2007 Marsa Matrouh 31°31' N 27°14' E	Kaseh Tourist Village	1
Plagiolepis (Plagiolepis) maura B Taylor det.	Egypt M Sharaf	10.vii.1998 Sinai 28°33' N 33°56' E	W. Arbaein, St Katherine's	1
Plagiolepis (Plagiolepis) maura B Taylor det.	M James 2001	2001 Sinai 28°33' N 33°56' E	St Katherine protectorate around the town of St Katherine, in mountains above 1500m	1

The photomontage is of workers collected in Egypt, Kaseh, by Mostafa Sharaf.

The photomontage is of workers collected in the Sinai Desert, Egypt, St Katherine protectorate around the town of St Katherine, in mountains above 1500m, in early 2002, by Mike James, a research student of Francis Gilbert.