Contents Contents The Ants of Egypt
SUBFAMILY MYRMICINAE - Genus Messor - Messor binodis (Fabricius)

Messor binodis (Fabricius)

return to key {link to the Hymenoptera Name Server} Type location Egypt (Formica binodis, Fabricius, 1763: 413, Fabricius, 1793: 357, worker; synonymy F Smith, 1858b: 162) Prof Forskahl - no images on Antweb (November 2015)
subspecies
ambiguus (Messor barbarus L. v. ambiguus n. var, Santschi, 1925g: 342, worker; synonymy Collingwood, 1978: 68) from Tunisia - see https://www.antweb.org/specimenImages.do?code=casent0913160
santschii (Forel, 1905b: 176, worker; Forel, 1907b: 204, queen & male; Emery, 1908e: 447, worker; Karavaiev, 1912a: 6, queen & male) from Tunisia - see below.


Fabricius' (1793: 357) repeat description of binodis is at {original description}. Latreille's (1802c) description of binodis is at {original description}. Santschi's (1925g) description of ambiguus is at {original description}.

Forel (1905b: 176) defined santschii as a new variety - TL 4-8.5 mm; like meridionalis and semirufa; brown, gaster dark brown; subdentate; wholly smooth except for the propodeum and lateral mesonotum which have weak regular transverse rugae; petiole node quite narrow and little concave in front, scalloped at the summit; generally slender; few erect hairs on the body, those of the tibiae and scapes raised. he added that if the species was not so variable this might merit race or subspecies status. The Savigny drawing, Plate 13 (below) shows the same smooth head and broader propodeum dorsum.


{Messor barbarus santschii}The photomontage of santschii is collated from http://mcz-28168.oeb.harvard.edu/mcz/FMPro?-DB=Image.fm&-Lay=web&-Format=images.htm&Species_ID=23332&-Find.


{Messor santschii}Egypt records - Formica binodis reported by Fabricius from Egypt, possibly collected by Prof. Forskahl but with no other details. Karavaiev (1911: 4) listed Messor barbarus ss striaticeps E André; a major and minor workers from "Mokattam-Höhen" near Cairo, with a large nest in fine rubbish (?) - as striaticeps is now a species, type location Caucasus, it seems likely that the specimens were not of that species.

Savigny's drawing (Audouin, J.-V. 1825-27: Plate 20 Fig 13) appears to show a worker of binodis or santschii, the former if the proposal of a new species status is correct.


{short description of image}The photomontage is of a specimen from Egypt, photographs taken by Mostafa Sharaf (DsSCN1991-1995).

©2005, 2006, 2015 - Brian Taylor CBiol FRSB FRES
11, Grazingfield, Wilford, Nottingham, NG11 7FN, U.K.

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