Crematogaster (Crem.) auberti Emery

Iran list Type location France (Cremastogaster Auberti n. sp., Emery, 1869b: 23, footnote, worker; André, 1883b: 395, queen; Emery, 1891b: 14, male) Toulon (Teloni Martio) - see below
junior synonym (confirmed) iberica (Cremastogaster Auberti Em. v. iberica n. var., Forel, 1909c: 103, worker; Menozzi, 1922b: 327, male; synonymy Collingwood, 1978: 690) from Spain, Sierra Guadarama - see https://www.antweb.org/specimenImages.do?code=casent0908470
junior synonyms (here)
levithorax (Forel, 1902g: 462, worker & queen; Santschi, 1937e: 301, male; var melancholica, Santschi, 1921e: 168, worker) from Algeria - see https://www.antweb.org/specimenImages.do?code=casent0908480; identical to type other rhan being slightly smaller
nigripes (Crematogaster auberti antaris For. var. nigripes n., Emery, 1924a: 9; Menozzi, 1940, 268, worker) from Libya, Dorna (Festa) - see https://www.antweb.org/specimenImages.do?code=casent0904501; almost identical to type
regilla (Santschi, 1936c: 201; Santschi, 1937e: 302, worker) from Morocco - see https://www.antweb.org/specimenImages.do?code=casent0912643; identical to type other rhan being slightly smaller
savinae (Zimmermann, 1935: 25, worker) from Yugoslavia - no images on Antweb (August 2016)
vogti (Cremastogaster Auberti Em. v. Vogti n. var., Forel, 1909c: 103, worker) from Spain, Andalucia - see http://www.antweb.org/specimenImages.do?code=casent090847; identical to type other rhan being slightly smaller.

Emery's (1869b) description is at . Bondroit (1918: 115) gave a description, this is at . Forel's (1909c) descriptions of iberica and vogti are at . Emery (1916b: 156ff) in a illustrated key to Italian species, separated auberti and the (now) species laestrygon, this is at . Emery's (1924a) description of nigripes is at .

The photomontage of the type worker (?) collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0904499

André (1883b: 394) noted the auberti worker as having the propodeum with long quite divergent spines, slender and almost cylindrical; mesonotal dorsum without a median longitudinal carina; reddish brown with the gaster often blackish, appendages brighter; TL 2.75-4.4 mm; nesting in the ground under stones. Emery (1916b) noted alitrunk relatively short and wide, in profile the mesonotum more arcuate (than scutellaris) with a less vertical angle into the metanotal groove; dorsum of promesonotum weakly sculptured, often partly smooth; dorsum of propodeum longitudinally striate, at least in part; colour bright (light) brown, or reddish brown , the latter almost always on the gaster; TL 2.3-4.0 mm.

Egypt records - Savignyi species 19 (Audouin, 1825-7); ssp nigripes from Cairo (Wadi Hoff), 22.i.1933, and Heliopolis, x.1930 (Andres); 2 dealate queens from Gebel Asfar (Cairo), 12.iii.1933, and Wadi Digla, 24.ii.1933, in Finzi (1936: 174, illustrated).

Finzi (1936) noted the workers of nigripes were uniformly piceous brown with the head shiny; the alitrunk lightly rugose, propodeum rather bright; propodeal spines triangular, quite short; appendages and postpetiole reddish. He noted the queen as entirely black other than reddish appendages, this matches the type queen as described by André (1883: 395). Santschi (1938a: 38) reporting findings of workers (Cr. auberti st antaris var nigripes) at 6th Tower (Suez Roda), 8.ii.1925 (Alfieri) and Dekheila, 20.ii.1917, also noted the specimens were mainly reddish-brown, with somewhat darker appendages, the propodeum dorsum was smooth or with some rugae but shiny; the scape was a little longer than in antaris. Donisthorpe (1947e) reported J Omer-Cooper colletions of oasium at Siwa - Baharein, 17 workers, 11-12.vi.1935, El Arig, 8.vi.1935 and Sitra, 14.vi.1935.

Oxford University Museum specimens

Crematogaster auberti B Taylor det.	Iran M Safariyan 14	3.vii.2014 35.87756°N 47.58048°E	Bijar 1940 m pitfall trap; on the mountain	2
Crematogaster auberti B Taylor det.	Iran R Afshari 43	16.vii.2014 31.38°N 51.60°E 2291 m	Shah Ja'far, Semirom, Isfahan hand collected Cemetry, on tree 0950h	1

The photomontage is of a worker from Iran; collected by M Safariyan (14).

The photomontage is of a worker from Iran; collected by R Afshari (43).