Messor

Messor is a myrmicine genus of ants with more than 100 species, all of which are harvester ants; the generic name comes from the Roman god of crops and harvest, Messor. The subterranean colonies tend to be found in open fields and near roadsides, openings are directly to the surface.

For the minor Roman god, see List of Roman agricultural deities.

Messor
Messor barbarus queen with wings still attached
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Tribe: Stenammini
Genus: Messor
Forel, 1890
Type species
Formica barbara[1]
Linnaeus, 1767
Diversity
> 100 species
Synonyms

Cratomyrmex Emery, 1892
Lobognathus Enzmann, J., 1947

Colonies can achieve huge sizes and are notable for their intricately designed granaries in which seeds are stored in dry conditions, preventing germination. The structure of Messor spp. nests is complex and the genus on the whole is one of very accomplished architects.

Messor spp. are polymorphic and have a distinct caste of macrocephalic dinoergates whose role is carrying and cutting the large seeds which comprise much of the colonies' subsistence. Although they primarily feed on seeds, they occasionally eat insects and snails. Some snail shells possibly are taken into the nest because of their grain-like shape.[2]

Equipped with a tough, shining cuticle, Messor spp. are slow-moving and form long, seed-carrying runs. Colonies tend to be monogynous - founded by a single queen alone.

Species
  • Messor abdelazizi Santschi, 1921
  • Messor aciculatus (Smith, 1874)
  • Messor aegyptiacus (Emery, 1878)
  • Messor alexandri Tohme, 1981
  • Messor andrei (Mayr, 1886)
  • Messor angularis Santschi, 1928
  • Messor antennatus Emery, 1908
  • Messor aphaenogasteroides Pisarski, 1967
  • Messor aralocaspius Ruzsky, 1902
  • Messor arenarius (Fabricius, 1787)
  • Messor atanassovii Atanassov, 1982
  • Messor barbarus (Linnaeus, 1767)
  • Messor beduinus Emery, 1922
  • Messor berbericus Bernard, 1955
  • Messor bernardi Cagniant, 1967
  • Messor bouvieri Bondroit, 1918
  • Messor buettikeri Collingwood, 1985
  • Messor caducus (Victor, 1839)
  • Messor capensis (Mayr, 1862)
  • Messor capitatus (Latreille, 1798)
  • Messor carthaginensis Bernard, 1980
  • Messor caviceps (Forel, 1902)
  • Messor celiae Reyes, 1985
  • Messor cephalotes (Emery, 1895)
  • Messor ceresis Santschi, 1934
  • Messor chamberlini Wheeler, 1915
  • Messor clypeatus Kuznetsov-Ugamsky, 1927
  • Messor collingwoodi Bolton, 1982
  • Messor concolor Santschi, 1927
  • Messor decipiens Santschi, 1917
  • Messor dentatus Santschi, 1927
  • Messor denticornis Forel, 1910
  • Messor denticulatus Santschi, 1927
  • Messor diabarensis Arnol'di, 1969
  • Messor ebeninus Santschi, 1927
  • Messor excursionis Ruzsky, 1905
  • Messor ferreri Collingwood, 1993
  • Messor foreli Santschi, 1923
  • Messor fraternus Ruzsky, 1905
  • Messor galla (Mayr, 1904)
  • Messor hebraeus Santschi, 1927
  • Messor hellenius Agosti & Collingwood, 1987
  • Messor himalayanus (Forel, 1902)
  • Messor hispanicus Santschi, 1919
  • Messor ibericus Santschi, 1931
  • Messor incisus Stitz, 1923
  • Messor incorruptus Kuznetsov-Ugamsky, 1929
  • Messor inermis Kuznetsov-Ugamsky, 1929
  • Messor instabilis (Smith, 1858)
  • Messor intermedius Santschi, 1927
  • Messor julianus (Pergande, 1894)
  • Messor kasakorum Arnol'di, 1969
  • Messor kisilkumensis Arnol'di, 1969
  • Messor lamellicornis Arnol'di, 1968
  • Messor lariversi (Smith, 1951)
  • Messor lobicornis Forel, 1894
  • Messor lobognathus Andrews, 1916
  • Messor luebberti Forel, 1910
  • Messor luridus Santschi, 1927
  • Messor lusitanicus Tinaut, 1985
  • Messor maculifrons Santschi, 1927
  • Messor marikovskii Arnol'di, 1969
  • Messor marocanus Santschi, 1927
  • Messor medioruber Santschi, 1910
  • Messor melancholicus Arnol'di, 1977
  • Messor minor (Andre, 1883)
  • Messor nahali Tohme, 1981
  • Messor niloticus Santschi, 1938
  • Messor oertzeni Forel, 1910
  • Messor olegianus Arnol'di, 1969
  • Messor orientalis (Emery, 1898)
  • Messor perantennatus Arnol'di, 1969
  • Messor pergandei (Mayr, 1886)
  • Messor piceus Stitz, 1923
  • Messor picturatus Santschi, 1927
  • Messor planiceps Stitz, 1917
  • Messor postpetiolatus Santschi, 1917
  • Messor regalis (Emery, 1892)
  • Messor reticuliventris Karavaiev, 1910
  • Messor rufotestaceus (Foerster, 1850)
  • Messor rufus Santschi, 1923
  • Messor ruginodis Stitz, 1916
  • Messor rugosus (Andre, 1881)
  • Messor sanctus Emery, 1921
  • Messor sculpturatus Carpenter, 1930
  • Messor semirufus (Andre, 1883)
  • Messor semoni (Forel, 1906)
  • Messor smithi (Cole, 1963)
  • Messor sordidus (Forel, 1892)
  • Messor stoddardi (Emery, 1895)
  • Messor striatellus Arnol'di, 1969
  • Messor striaticeps (Andre, 1883)
  • Messor striatifrons Stitz, 1923
  • Messor striativentris Emery, 1908
  • Messor structor (Latreille, 1798)
  • Messor subgracilinodis Arnol'di, 1969
  • Messor sultanus Santschi, 1917
  • Messor syriacus Tohme, 1969
  • Messor testaceus Donisthorpe, 1950
  • Messor timidus (Espadaler, 1997)
  • Messor tropicorum Wheeler, 1922
  • Messor turcmenochorassanicus Arnol'di, 1977
  • Messor valentinae Arnol'di, 1969
  • Messor variabilis Kuznetsov-Ugamsky, 1927
  • Messor vaucheri Emery, 1908
  • Messor vicinus Kuznetsov-Ugamsky, 1927
  • Messor wasmanni Krausse, 1910
Messor sp. worker

References
  1. Bolton, B. (2015). "Messor". AntCat. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  2. Páll-Gergely, Barna; Péter Sólymos (2009). "Ants as shell collectors: notes on land snail shells found around ant nests". Malacologica Bohemoslovaca. 8: 14–18.
  • Media related to Messor at Wikimedia Commons
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