Cataglyphis mauritanicus (Emery)

Type location Tunisia (Myrmecocystus viaticus mauritanicus nom. nov. (altisquamis auct. {as in Emery, 1884a: 4, one worker), Emery, 1906d: 57, illustrated, worker & male; Cataglyphis (Monocombus) viatica F. stirps mauritanica Em., Santschi, 1929b: 32, illustrated, raised to species Agosti, 1990a: 1483) - see below.
subspecies occidentalis (Cataglyphis (Monocombus) viaticus F. stirps mauritanica Em. v. occidentalis n. var., Santschi, 1929b: 32, illustrated, worker & queen; Cataglyphis mauritanicus occidentalis n. ssp. by Cagniant, 2009: 48) Morocco, Ain Leu, Azrou, Thery, plus others - see below.
Varieties
opaciventris (Cataglyphis (Monocombus) viaticus F. stirps mauritanica Em. v. opaciventris n. var., Santschi, 1929b : 31, illustrated, worker & queen).

The form tonsilis (Cataglyphis (Monocombus) viatica F. stirps mauritanica Em. v. tonsilis n. var., Santschi, 1929b : 32; Cataglyphis (Monocombus) viaticus For, var. tonsilis Sants., 1936c, locations only: 209) Morocco, western, Ksar-el-Khir to Zarjouka, Bouchet, 1901; appears different enough to warrant species status, see Cataglyphis tonsilis.

Emery's (1906d) description is at . From his drawings, major CI = 88 and SI = 128.

One of the species studied by Dahbi, Hefetz & Lenoir (2008) - http://irbi.univ-tours.fr//UIEIS/Publis%20AL/Dahbi2008-BSE.pdf

The photomontage of the holotype worker is collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=casent0102113.
The dimensions and head shape match the Emery minor worker.

The photomontage of the occidentalis type worker is collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=0912210.
It is not obviously very different to the type form.

The photomontage of a worker from Algeria and in the BMNH collection is collated from http://www.antweb.org/specimen.do?name=09062933.
There it is listed as Cataglyphis altisquamis, I believe that to be wrong and that it is a major worker of mauritanicus, noting that dimensions and head shape are a close match to the Emery major worker, scaling the Emery drawings also show matching proportions between the major and minor heads.

Egypt records - none but included for comparison as the sole North African member of the altisquamis-group. Note: the colour of the Wehner, Wehner & Agosti drawing is far brighter than the holotype, which Emery described as dark (scuro) and dull (opaco), as is shown above.