Lepisiota canescens ( Emery, 1897 )

Sharaf, Mostafa R., Wetterer, James K., Mohamed, Amr A. & Aldawood, Abdulrahman S., 2022, Faunal composition, diversity, and distribution of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Dhofar Governorate, Oman, with updated list of the Omani species and remarks on zoogeography, European Journal of Taxonomy 838 (1), pp. 1-106 : 25-27

Lepisiota canescens ( Emery, 1897)

Fig. 15

Acantholepis capensis var. canescens Emery, 1897: 601 (w) Somalia. Afrotropic.

Diagnosis

Body entirely black; general appearance moderately shining; pilosity long and abundant, especially on gaster; pronotum with five pairs of setae; whole body smooth except mesopleura transversely striate.

Material examined

OMAN – Dhofar • 6 w; Ayn Ashat ; 16.998° N, 53.820° E; alt. 202 m; 21 Nov. 2017; BS; M.R. Sharaf leg.; KSMA • 9 w; Ayn Razat ; 17.124° N, 54.238° E; alt. 98 m; 20 Nov. 2017; HP; M.R. Sharaf leg.; KSMA • 1 w; Dhalkout ; 16.727° N, 53.249° E; alt. 623 m; 18 Nov. 2017; HP; M.R. Sharaf leg.; KSMA • 1 w; same collection data as for preceding; CASENT0922846; CASC .

Ecological and biological notes

This species was collected from a small tree of Vachellia using a beating sheet, whereas several individuals were found in leaf litter under another tree of Vachellia where the soil was dry.

Geographic range

This species was originally described from Somalia and was subsequently recorded from Oman and Yemen ( Collingwood & Agosti 1996), and KSA ( Collingwood 1985). It has also been reported from Israel ( Vonshak & Ionescu-Hirsch 2009) and Ethiopia ( Sorger et al. 2017). Our records indicate that this species is relatively widely distributed in the southwestern mountains of the KSA where trees of Vachellia are abundant. This species has invaded a wide range of environments in Ethiopia and has the potential to become invasive affecting native species ( Sorger et al. 2017). This species is reported for the first time in Dhofar.

Remarks

There are several infraspecific taxa of dubious identity originally described as varieties of Lepisiota capensis ( Mayr, 1862) , mostly known from the Afrotropical Region ( Bolton 1995). The taxonomy of this group of species is poorly understood with numerous possible synonymies and other taxonomic amendment. This situation leads to difficulties in identification and uncertainty of species delimitations, but Taylor (2019) has sought to provide some clarification.

Figures

Fig. 15. Lepisiota canescens (Emery, 1897), worker (CASENT0922846, AntWeb.org (Michele Esposito)). A. Body in profile. B. Head in full-face view. C. Distribution map.