Tapinoma melanocephalum ( Fabricius, 1793 )

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 : 6

Tapinoma melanocephalum ( Fabricius, 1793)

Fig. 2

Formica melanocephala Fabricius, 1793: 353 (w) French Guiana. Neotropic.

Diagnosis

A small (TL 1.2–2 mm) bicolored species with brown head, mesosoma light brown, gaster, legs, and antennae yellow; scapes when laid back from their insertions surpass posterior margin of head by about length of first funicular segment; mesosoma broadened anteriorly in dorsal view and without setae; metanotal groove shallowly impressed; propodeal declivity at least 3× as long as propodeal dorsum.

Material examined

OMAN – Dhofar • 3 w; Ayn Hamran ; 17.100° N, 54.284° E; alt. 106 m; 20 Nov. 2017; SW; M.R. Sharaf leg.; KSMA • 2 w; Ayn Sahlanot ; 17.148° N, 54.179° E; alt. 151 m; 16 Nov. 2017; ML; M.R. Sharaf leg.; KSMA • 2 w; Dhalkout Road, Aghbaroot Village ; 16.798° N, 53.554° E; alt. 1034 m; 18 Nov. 2017; SF; M.R. Sharaf leg.; KSMA • 11 w; Dhalkout ; 16.707° N, 53.251° E; alt. 34 m; 19 Nov. 2017; SF; M.R. Sharaf leg.; KSMA • 10 w; Ayn Hamran ; 17.086° N, 54.280° E; alt. 56 m; 22 Nov. 2017; SF; M.R. Sharaf leg.; KSMA • 7 w; Dhalkout ; 16.705° N, 53.245° E; alt. 43 m; 18 Nov. 2017; SF; M.R. Sharaf leg.; KSMA • 1 w; Salalah ; 17.019° N, 54.111° E; alt. 9 m; 18 Nov. 2017; M.R. Sharaf leg.; CASENT0922866; CASC .

Ecological and biological notes

Several workers were found on a small shrub near a settlement where the area was contaminated by human waste. In Ayn Hamran, workers were foraging in leaf litter under a tree of Ziziphus sp. ( Rhamnaceae Juss. ). This species commonly builds nests in soil, rotten wood, under bark, inside plant cavities, or in decaying organic matter ( Vail et al. 1994). Colonies vary from 100–1000 individuals, and are often polygynous ( Harada 1990). The nesting sites in urban localities are diverse including potted plants, breadboxes, shower curtain rods, behind baseboards, inside clothing irons, between books, inside pool enclosures, in kitchens, and in hospitals ( Klotz et al. 2008).

Geographic range

This is a successful invasive species originally described from French Guiana that has spread worldwide ( Wetterer 2009). It is known from several countries in the Arabian Peninsula, including Oman, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia ( KSA) ( Collingwood 1985), Yemen ( Collingwood & Agosti 1996), the United Arab Emirates ( UAE) ( Collingwood et al. 1997), and the Socotra Archipelago ( Collingwood et al. 2004; Sharaf et al. 2017c). This species is reported here for the first time in Dhofar.

Figures

Fig. 2. Tapinoma melanocephalum (Fabricius, 1793), worker (CASENT0922866,AntWeb.org (Michele Esposito)). A. Body in profile. B. Head in full-face view. C. Distribution map.