Cardiocondyla emeryi Forel, 1881

Sharaf, Mostafa R., Fisher, Brian L., Collingwood, Cedric A. & Aldawood, Abdulrahman S., 2017, Ant fauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the Socotra Archipelago (Yemen): zoogeography, distribution and description of a new species, Journal of Natural History (J. Nat. Hist.) 51 (5 - 6), pp. 317-378 : 332

Cardiocondyla emeryi Forel, 1881

( Figure 8 (a–c))

Cardiocondyla emeryi Forel, 1881: 5 (w.) Virgin Is. Neotropical

Diagnosis

Worker. Head distinctly longer than broad; promesonotal outline in profile continuous and shallowly convex, not abruptly sloping into moderately deep metanotal groove; propodeal spines short and less acute; postpetiolar sternite with a conspicuous anteroventral prominence or bulge. Body yellow, gaster dark brown or blackish brown.

Material examined

Yemen, Socotra Island, Lehanoh , 22 April 2014, 931 m, (M.R. Sharaf leg.), 12.57583°N, 54.04836°E (1 w, KSMA) .

Geographic range

Cardiocondyla emeryi is a successful cosmopolitan invasive species introduced by human commerce ( Seifert 2003; Wetterer 2012). It has been recorded from several countries of the Arabian Peninsula including KSA ( Collingwood 1985), Oman, Yemen ( Collingwood and Agosti 1996), UAE ( Collingwood et al. 1997) and Socotra ( Collingwood et al. 2004). The occurrence of Cardiocondyla emeryi in Socotra is likely the result of commerce and the transport of plant material.

Ecological and biological notes

This species was found nesting under a rock on loose and sandy soil.

Figures

Figure 8. Cardiocondyla emeryi. (a) Body in profile. (b) Head in full-face view, CASENT0746616, AntWeb.org, (Zach Lieberman). (c) Distribution map, blue circles from recent records, red circles from Collingwood et al. (2004).