Aphaenogaster subterraneoides Emery, 1881

Schifani, Enrico & Alicata, Antonio, 2023, Nomenclatural changes on some Mediterranean Aphaenogaster Mayr, 1853 taxa (Hymenoptera, Formicidae), Zootaxa 5277 (1), pp. 59-70 : 67

Aphaenogaster subterraneoides Emery, 1881

= A. subterraneoides armeniaca Arnol’di, 1968 syn. nov.

Investigated material— Aphaenogaster subterraneoides : ♀♀, Chania , Crete, Greece, 35.5, 23.96666, 6.V.2011, L. Borowiec legit ( ESPC); Vrbanj, Splitsko-dalmatinska županija, Croatia, P. Novak legit (CASENT0904155, MSNG) .

Aphaenogaster subterraneoides , described from Greece, is a member of the pallida group that resembles the West-Mediterranean (and allopatric) A. dulcineae in having short propodeal spines ( Schifani et al. 2022). Its distribution encompasses the Balkans, Cyprus, and Ukraine, and extends east to the Caucasus (covering Russia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia). However, in Armenia, A. subterraneoides is allegedly replaced by A. subterraneoides armeniaca Arnol’di, 1968 ( Arnol’di 1968; Arakelian 1994). This subspecies was first described as a subspecies of A. pallida and then considered to be a subspecies of A. subterraneoides by Arakelian (1994). No biogeographic explanation has ever been proposed to justify why the Armenian population should have differentiated from the ones of the neighboring countries and no similar examples exist among other ants. Furthermore, the morphological distinction of A. subterraneoides armeniaca from A. subterraneoides is only based on two characters that were never quantified: the presence of thinner hairs on the gaster and mesosoma and abundant hairs on the scapi that diverge of about 45° from the scapus in its distalmost half ( Arnol’di 1968). At a magnification of up to 180x, there is no appreciable difference between the thickness of hairs of any of the pallida group species. On the other hand, examined type and non-type specimens of A. subterraneoides from terra typica ( Greece) always have abundant hairs on the scapi and hairs diverging of about 45° in their distalmost half. Considering the lack of supporting evidence to keep the validity of A. subterraneoides armeniaca , A. subterraneoides is established as its senior synonym.