Cataglyphis lividus (André)

Type location Israel (Myrmecocystus albicans var lividus, André, 1881b: 58, worker; Menozzi, 1933b: 84, queen & male; raised to species Arnold'i, 1964: 1810; Pisarski, 1965: 420) - see below
subspecies
bulgaricus (Cataglyphis lividus subsp. bulgarica, Atanassov, 1982: 213, illustrated, worker & queen [unavailable]) from Bulgaria - no images on Antweb (July 2014)
arenarius (Myrmecocystus albicans Rog, subsp. lividus André; v. arenaria n. var., Forel, 1909e: 384, worker; Finzi, 1940: 164) from Algeria - see http://www.antweb.org/specimenImages.do?code=casent0911101
luteus (Myrmecocystus albicans ssp viaticoides var lutea, Emery, 1906d: 53; Cataglyphis lividus lutea, Pisarski, 1967: 418, worker) from Iran - see below
unavailable names arabica (Myrmecocystus albicans ssp livida var arabica, Emery, 1906d) from Yemen (Aden) - see below
ambigua (Cataglyphis (Cataglyphis) albicans Rog. stirps lividus And. v. ambigua n. var., Santschi, 1929b: 40, worker) from Egypt, Cairo, Forel - no images on Antweb.
all forms known.

New here: Synonymy of Cataglyphis albicans var. fezzanensis n. var., Bernard 1948: 163, type location Algeria, Fezzan; transferred from under albicans. Curiously, Bernard, having noted the type albicans as being black and subspecies livida as entirely yellow, does not give a colour for fezzanensis - it, however, has a yellow-brown head and alitrunk and a paler gaster, essentially the same as the Senegal workers shown below; see http://www.antweb.org/specimenImages.do?code=casent0913618
Another almost identical form is that separated as Cataglyphis arenarius Finzi  by Collingwood & Agosti (1996: 378); wrongly listing Finzi, 1904: where it appeared as Cataglyphis albicans var. arenaria Forel, from Fezzan, Algeria - see http://www.antweb.org/specimenImages.do?code=casent0911101. The original description wsa by Forel (1909e: 384), as Myrmecocystus albicans Rop. subsp. lividus Andre v. arenaria n.v. (card 2).

André's (1881b) description is brief and compares specimens from Jaffa, Israel, with albicans; but entirely clear testaceous yellow, with the head a little redder and the gaster paler; the colour is like pallidus but the petiole is similar to that of albicans. Emery's (1906d) notes and descriptions of arabica and lutea are at . Forel's (1909e: 384) description of albicans arenarius includes a note on lividus, this is at . Santschi (1929b) gave notes, these are at . In the albicans species-group (Agosti, 1990: 1495).

Note - the description of C. argentatus by Radoszowsky (1876) is short but the general characters, notably the carinate clypeus, weakly concave propodeum and narrow rounded petiole, plus the colouration and short, decumbent silvery hairs, suggests this may be a junior synonym of that species.

The photomontage of the type worker is collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0915499.

The photomontage of a type worker of luteus is collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0905718.

The photomontage of a type worker of arabica is collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=0905719.

Egypt records - Forel (1909e: 384) noted he had specimens of lividus from Egypt (also the André type specimens), and the head was less convex posteriorly than shown by Emery - the photographed specimen matches Emery's (1906d) note in that respect. Wheeler & Mann (1916) from Wadi Gharandel, Sinai Peninsula; Menozzi (1929: 128; cited in Finzi, 1936) reported several workers, collected in Sinai, at Wadi Nasib, by F S Bodenheimer. Alfieri (1931: 47) Fayoum Province, El Aalam, 30.x.1925; also Mohamed et al (2001, illustrated) & El-Moursy et al (2001). Santschi (1929b:40) as C. albicans st livida n var ambigua noted 5 type workers from Cairo, Forel; and Cairo & around, Alluaud, 1907. C. ambigua reported by Finzi (1936: 192) from a number of locations including Cairo and Sinai.

Sharaf list - Flosyiat, Zaranik (North Sinai), 11.viii.2000 (33); Ein Sokhna (Suez), 12.ii.1999 (2); N.W.core zone (El-Omaid) (North Sinai) (4) leg.H. El-Hennawy; Zaranik. 5.v.2003 (3); Zaranik, 7.v.2003 (2) (SHC); Sahab (South Sinai), 10.viii.1998 (2) Leg.M.R.Sharaf (ASUC); Faiyum, 9.v.1959 (1) (CUC).

Mohamad thesis (1979) had - Egypt (Det.Crawley,1927) (Coll.Alf.). Fayium, 9.v.1959 (Coll.Car.).

Oxford University Museum specimens

Cataglyphis lividus B Taylor det.	Egypt M Sharaf	12.ii.1999 Suez 29° 34'60 N 32°21' E	Ein Sokhna	1
Cataglyphis lividus B Taylor det.	Sudan Z Mahmoud 2009-22	Abu Dulayg 15°53'47.27" N 33°49'41.18" E	Hand collected	1

The photomontage is of a worker from Egypt, Ein Sokhna, Suez; collector Mostafa Sharaf.

The photomontage is of a worker from Sudan, Abu Dulayg, 15°53'47.27" N 33°49'41.18" Ez; collector Z Mahmoud.