TAXONOMIC REVISION OF THE CRETAN FAUNA OF THE GENUS TEMNOTHORAX MAYR, 1861 (HYMENOPTERA: FORMICIDAE), WITH NOTES ON THE ENDEMISM OF ANT FAUNA OF CRETE

We revise the Cretan species of the ant genus Temnothorax Mayr, 1861. Sixteen species are recognized, including seven new species which are possiblyendemic to Crete: T. crassistriatus sp. nov., T. daidalosi sp. nov., T. ikarosi sp. nov., T. incampletus sp. nov., T. minotaw'oni sp. nov., T. proteii sp. nov., and T. variabilis sp. nov. A new synonymy is proposed, Temnothorax exilis (Emery, 1869) =Temnotharax specularis (Emery, 1916) syn. nov. An identification key to Cretan Temnothorax, based on worker caste is given. We provide a checklist of ant species described from Crete and discuss their status, distribution and endemism.