The Ants of Egypt

The Ants of Egypt
SUBFAMILY MYRMICINAE - Genus Messor - Messor structor (Latreille)

Messor structor (Latreille)

Type location France (Formica structor, Latreille, 1798: 46, worker & male; Latreille, 1802c: 237, queen) - no images on Antweb (July 2015)
junior synonyms
aedificator (Formica aedificator, Schilling, 1839: 56, worker; synonymy Mayr, 1855: 464) from Poland - no images on Antweb (July 2015)
lapidum (Formica lapidum, Fabricius, 1804: 407, worker; synonymy Nylander, 1856b: 85) from Austria- no images on Antweb (July 2015)
tyrrhena (Stenamma (Messor) structor var tyrrhena, Emery, 1898c: 141, all forms; synonymy Emery, 1921b: 210) from Italy - no images on Antweb (July 2015)
rufitarsis (Formica rufitarsis, Fabricius, 1804: 406, worker; synonymy confirmed Agosti & Collingwood, 1987a: 54) from Austria - no images on Antweb (July 2015)
clivorum (as var, Ruzsky, 1905b: 735, major & minor workers; Karavaiev, 1927a: 286, queen & male, synonymy Dlussky, Soyunov & Zabelin, 1990: 224) - see below
[clivorum junior synonyms - rubella (Messor platyceras var rubella, Crawley, 1920a: 164, major & minor workers & male; synonymy Emery, 1921b: 210) from Iran - no images on Antweb (July 2015) and subpolitus, Kuznetsov-Ugamsky, 1927a: 92, in key, worker) from Turkestan - no images on Antweb (July 2015)]
jakowlevi (Messor barbarus ssp capitatus var jakowlevi, Ruzsky, 1905b: 750; Messor rufitarsis ssp jakowlevi, Arnold'i, 1977b: 1643, worker; synonymy Dlussky, Soyunov & Zabelin, 1990: 224) from Ukraine - no images on Antweb (July 2015)
tataricus (Ruzsky, 1905b: 738, worker; Dlussky, Soyunov & Zabelin, 1990: 224) from Turkestan - no images on Antweb (July 2015)
turanicus (ssp, Kuznetsov-Ugamsky, 1927a: 91, in key, worker, Kuznetsov-Ugamsky, 1927a: 92, in key, worker, synonymy Dlussky, Soyunov & Zabelin, 1990: 224, j syn darianus, as var of rufitarsis, Santschi, 1926f: 291, synonymy Pisarski, 1967: 383) from Uzbekistan - see https://www.antweb.org/specimenImages.do?code=casent0913229
romana (Santschi, 1917e: 91, worker & queen) from Romania - see https://www.antweb.org/specimenImages.do?code=casent0913227
mutica (Myrmica mutica, Nylander, 1849: 39, worker, queen & male, most recent synonymy Atanassov & Dlussky, 1992: 114) from Russia
novaki (Finzi, 1929: 92, worker, synonymy Atanassov & Dlussky, 1992: 114) from Yugoslavia - see below
varrialei (Emery, 1921b: 215, illustrated, major worker; synonymy Atanassov & Dlussky, 1992: 114) from Turkey - see below
sevani (Messor clivorum ssp sevani, Arnold'i, 1977b: 1644, major & minor workers; synonymy Arakelian, 1994: 39) from Caucasus - no images on Antweb (July 2015)
subspecies
aegaeus (Messor barbarus ssp structor var aegea, Emery, 1921b: 213; Menozzi, 1928a: 126, all forms) from Turkey - see https://www.antweb.org/specimenImages.do?code=casent0904130
platyceras (Messor platycerus, Crawley, 1920a: 163, illustrated, major & minor workers - Fig 8 unavailable) from Iran - no images on Antweb (July 2015)
tadzhikorum (Messor rufitarsis ssp tadzhikorum, Arnold'i, 1969: 79, soldier, worker & queen) from Tadzhikistan - no images on Antweb (July 2015)

{Messor structor} {Messor structor lateral head} Emery's (1898c) description, with the queen and male, plus tyrrhena is at . Bondroit (1918) gave an illustrated description of the type from France, this is at . Kuznetsov-Ugamsky's (1927a) notes are at . Finzi's (1929) notes are at and, including novaki . The latter appears to be a close match to the Savigny specimen, with that being at the bottom of the size range.

{Messor ? structor smallest worker} Egypt record - as Aphaenogaster structor (Formica structor) reported from Cairo, Wells of Moses, by Walker (1871); cited as an import by Alfieri (1931: 46), who gave three findings at Bab El Charieh, Cairo, 27.x.1925 and 12.xi.1925.

Savigny's Plates 17 and 22 appear to show a smallest worker and a queen respectively.

See the non-type queen on - https://www.antweb.org/specimenImages.do?code=casent0914239

{Messor structor varrialei} The photomontage of a lectotype major worker of varrialei is collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0905855

Photograph of novaki type collated from http://mcz-28168.oeb.harvard.edu/mcz/FMPro?-DB=Image.fm&-Lay=web&-Format=images.htm&Species_ID=28821&-Find

{Messor structor clivorum} The photomontage of a lectotype worker of clivorum is collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0904134

Oxford University Museum specimens

Messor structor B Taylor det.	Iran R Nafisi 14	27.xii.2012 36°18'N 57°50'E	Soltanabad-Sabzevar-Khorasan 4218 ft Near lake	3
Messor structor B Taylor det.	Iran E Aram 25	21.vii.2012 37.25°N 48.16°E 1250 m	Kazaj (Darraz) 1250 m hand collected, mountain on soil minima worker	1
Messor structor B Taylor det.	Iran M Seiri 19
Messor structor B Taylor det.	Iran M Seiri 23		Queen	1
Messor structor B Taylor det.	Cyprus T Stalling MYR0881	30.x.2014 Paphos 35°00'23.4" N 32°23'30.8' E	Polis Chrysochous 220 m minor worker	1
Messor structor B Taylor det.	Iran F Borjali 27	28.iv.2014 37°4724 N 49°4587 E -22 m	Anzali hand collected city, soil, 1100h	1
Messor structor B Taylor det.	Iran F Borjali 30	28.iv.2014 37°4724 N 49°4587 E -22 m	Anzali hand collected city park, soil, 0930h	1

{Messor structor major} The photomontage is of a major worker from Iran; collector R Nafisi (14).

{Messor structor minor} The photomontage is of a minor worker from Iran; collector R Nafisi (14).

{Messor structor minor} The photomontage is of a minor worker from Cyprus; collector Thomas Stalling.

{Messor structor major} The photomontage is of a major worker from Iran; collector Maryam Seiri (19).

{Messor structor queen} The photomontage is of a queen from Iran; collector M Seiri (25).

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