SUBFAMILY FORMICINAE - Genus Cataglyphis
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The Ants of
Africa SUBFAMILY FORMICINAE - Genus Cataglyphis |
| Contents - Formicinae - FORMICINAE Introduction |
Genus Cataglyphis Foerster (1850b: 493)In Tribe FORMICINI, previously in Tribe PRENOLEPIDINI. Reviewed by Agosti (1990: 457). Diagnostic Features - Legs very long. Antennae 12-segmented and inserted very close to the posterior margin of the clypeus. Eyes and ocelli present, the eyes set behind the mid-length of the head. Mandibles strongly dentate. Psammophore on the anterior ventral surface of the head. Metapleuron with a distinct wide orifice for the metapleural gland; the orifice protected by a line or tuft of guard hairs. Propodeal spiracle an elongate vertical or near-vertical ellipse. Petiole nodiform or squamiform node. Acidopore borne on a conical projection of the hypopigium and surrounded by a fringe of hair. Foerster's (1850b) genus definition (of the male) is at Unlikely to be found in the forest zone as the species are confined to savannah and semi-desert. Cataglyphis fortis from North Africa is pictured by Hölldobler & Wilson (1990, page 134) and the genus has been reviewed down to the species-group level by Agosti (1990). Example illustration right. The "North African" species Cataglyphis bicolor,
however, has a "subspecies" seticornis listed by Bolton (1995)
as first described from Ghana but this is in conflict with the review
by Agosti - although Wheeler (1922) cited the type location for seticornis
as "Gold Coast" (from Emery, 1898c). It seems that either or
both the following species may be found in coastal West Africa. Both
are within the Cataglyphis bicolor group as separated by Agosti
(1990). I am quite happy with Ghana as the type location as there
is a curious extension of the savannah in the coastal area. |
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Agosti (1990) listed the following as found in Africa and east
to Sinai (as a whole) |
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Key to workers known from
sub-Saharan Africa and Egypt
Based
on Emery (1906b), Agosti (1990a)
and Collingwood & Agosti (1996, Saudi Arabia key). Now (July 2014)
I have compiled an additional key to North African species, building on
the keys of Agosti (1990a) and Cagniant (2009). See Cagniant Key |
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Subfamily Formicinae |
© 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2015 - Brian Taylor
CBiol
FSB
FRES 11, Grazingfield, Wilford, Nottingham, NG11 7FN, U.K. |
href="cataglyphis.htm"
Petiole with
anterior face and dorsum meeting at an angle
Petiole
wholly domed; TL of majors more than 9 mm
Petiole
squamiform - dimorphic,
major (if known) with long falciform mandibles
Petiole
high and angular; TL 9-13 mm; head noticeably longer than wide; head
& alitrunk dull, major partly dark (has been described as brightly
orange or yellow, gaster opaque, black, as in the drawing)
Major worker
Type minor worker
TL 3.0-5.5 mm; unicolorous
dull
brown-black, with allometric almost dimorphic workers 
Media
worker
TL 3.5-4.5 mm; mandible with five teeth,
sometimes with extra denticles; if falcate then denticles always
indicated; gaster with sparse pubescence; body chestnut-brown or
yellow, borders of gaster brownish, shining - the pallidus type
location is Turkestan and the single Egypt record seems more
likely to be sabulosus or the minor of bombycinus.
Dimorphic,
major TL 15 mm, minors TL 5.5-8.0 mm, soldier with falciform mandibles,
with a cleft posterior to the apical tooth; erect hairs on maxillary
palp segment 3 at least as long as half the segment; gaster brown
(separation according to Kugler, 1981). Note - the range of size in
"minor" workers and the differing forms of the mandibles, are
suggestive of polymorphism
Major
Media-minor
Workers
only with variable size, TL 3-6 mm, but no major (although one may now
be known);
erect hairs on maxillary palp segment 3 between one-third and half as
long as the segment; gaster never more than light brown
Purported
major (only form described) TL 5.0 mm; in size and form almost
identical to a media of bombycinus, gaster darker and lacking
pubescence so appears shiny
Workers
only with variable size but no known major; propodeum with domed
profile; gaster dark brown under whitish pubescence
TL 6-9 mm; overall
shiny black; larger HW 1.92 ± 0.02 mm, range 1.25-2.45; third segment
of maxillary palp longer than fourth; petiole profile more rounded;
legs much longer, hind femur 1.72 X AL (Wehner, 1983)
Smaller HW 1.25
± 0.02 mm, range 0.75-1.75; third segment of maxillary palp equal to
fourth; legs with hind femur 1.39 X AL; 
Major worker from
Egypt;
colours match the Wehner notes 
Type TL ca 5.3 mm; head red or reddish,
gaster piceous, submetallic; head shiny, alitrunk and petiole
subopaque;
alitrunk clothed in thick long pubescence, gaster dull (Collingwood,
1978: 92); pronotum almost glabrous = v. 
TL
5.5-6 mm; bicoloured,
head and alitrunk yellow-red,
gaster shiny black; head in full face view with weakly convex occiput
Major
TL ca 8 mm; golden brown in colour; the head and alitrunk have fine
reticulate sculpture; decumbent pubescence is well developed on the
occiput and on the dorsum and sides of the propodeum; the gaster is
brilliant with nohairs or pubescence; propodeum profile with near right angle between
dorsum and declivity; propodeum without obvious short erect hairs 
TL
5.5-6 mm; wholly yellow-orange;
propodeum profile with rounded obtuse
angle between dorsum and declivity; propodeum with obvious short erect
hairs (v. 
TL 4.8-7.0; bright orange with darker gaster; the head and alitrunk
semi-matt with fine
reticulate sculpture; with no obvious pubescence on the occiput or the propodeum;
the gaster semi-shiny with no hairs or pubescence; propodeum profile with evenly rounded angle
between
dorsum and declivity; propodeum with few perhaps only one pair of short
erect hairs
TL 6-8 mm; gaster dark contrasting
with red head (Kuwait specimen perhaps darker than the type); HL approx
= HW;
petiole dorsum mildly flattened; petiole squamiform
TL range 5.0-9.2 mm; gaster
smooth and shiny; Collingwood (1985: 287) noted - "This shining black
ant is also distinctive in having the funiculus segments shorter than
in C. bicolor or C. niger and allied species. The first
funiculus segment is about x 1.3 as long as the second compared with
about 1.8 x as long in the C. bicolor group and on this
character alone apart from the colour difference, cannot be regarded as
a subspecies of C. bicolor". Forel had noted, weakly
polymorphic; majors with relatively small heads
(cf viaticus & bicolor); propodeum and petiole
scale with greyish pubescence; entirely black except sometimes majors
with slightly red heads. 
TL not
exceeding 9.5 mm; gaster mildly sculptured
and dull; scape with occasional erect hairs; body evenly dark,
mandibles reddish; differs from diehlii in having a strongly
pubescent alitrunk and occasional erect hairs on the scapes. .
TL 8-9.5 mm; petiole dorsum smoothly
rounded; HL > HW; more distinctively bicoloured than the related
species
TL 8.0-12.5 mm; petiole with a low
dome, distinctly longer than wide; overall smaller and
most of head and body somewhat shinier,
with reduced sculpturation; gaster by contrast is less shiny than bicolor
with a heavier sculpture that matches the rest of the body
TL 9-13 mm; petiole moderately
high and angular; head
noticeably
longer than wide; head & alitrunk brightly orange or yellow, gaster
opaque, brown to black
TL 7-10 mm; petiole with a low weakly angular face; red darker than
the
type bicolor, appendages and gaster matt black; occipitum,
lower head and gaster and legs somewhat shiny; sides of alitrunk and
femora pubescent; lower head, thorax and gaster pilous; upper body
glabrous
TL 7-13 mm; petiole relatively
short
Tl (major?) ca 12 mm; petiole
node with
low flat dome with a vertical anterior face; red a
little darker than the type bicolor (although less so than desertorum),
appendages as the body; gaster matt black; occipitum, lower head and
gaster and legs somewhat shiny; sides of alitrunk and femora pubescent;
lower head, thorax and gaster pilous; upper body glabrous 
TL (type ca 12.5 mm); whole
of body and legs with coarse dark erect hairs or setae; major head
widest anteriorly
TL 9-12 mm; body overall uniformly dark
black but head often blackish red; propodeum with rounded transition
from dorsum to declivity
TL ca 12 mm; body uniformly dark black; more angular transition from
dorsum to declivity of highly raised propodeum; 
TL 6-10 mm; petiole
profile slightly angled forward and with vertical faces below a
relatively narrow dome; short erect hairs on all dorsal surfaces;
pronotum with very weak pubescence, quite abundant on sides of
propodeum and legs; major worker with legs red as with the body,
brownish in smaller workers
TL 7-12 mm; more
robust with relatively short legs; profile of promesonotum and
propodeum only shallowly convex; petiole perhaps a little higher;
mandibles very coarsely striated; hind tarsi with dense coarse
adpressed pubescence; matt except for occipitum; relatively weakly
bicolour, very dark red, scape darker than rest of head, appendages
brown red 
TL 8-11 mm; petiole profile a
near perfect dome; erect hairs very
short, whitish or colourless, and confined to a few on the vertex and
occiput, less on the pronotum and two pairs on the petiole, there are
none on the propodeum or dorsum of the gaster; the pubescence is very
sparse and minute; overall relatively more coarsely sculptured but
glossier than bicolor; appendages dark mostly black in all
workers
TL 5.0-12.7 mm; petiole
node not angled forward; and node lowest dome of group, relatively
square; fine close short pubescence on the tibiae and
tarsi; no erect hairs on the scapes; colour always clear red, darker on
the largest workers, gaster black; the identifications from
Egypt seem likely to have been wrong
TL (major) 12 mm plus; ptiole
profile slightly angled forward and with vertical faces below a
relatively narrow dome; short erect hairs on all dorsal surfaces;
pronotum with very weak pubescence, quite abundant on sides of
propodeum and legs; workers with legs black; eyes in most if not all
red-brown; hairs on anterior of clypeus and mandibles yellow