Camponotus flavomarginatus Mayr, 1862

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 : 13

Camponotus flavomarginatus Mayr, 1862

Fig. 7

Camponotus flavomarginatus Mayr, 1862: 664 (w) Ghana. Afrotropic.

Camponotus jizani Collingwood, 1985: 281 (w) Saudi Arabia. Afrotropic, [holotype and paratype examined], syn. nov.

Diagnosis

Mesosomal profile a continuous curve; metanotal groove indistinct; petiole in profile with a curved anterior margin and a straight posterior margin; entire surface covered with dense pale pubescence; few sparse setae on body.

Material examined

OMAN – Dhofar • 3 w; Dhalkout ; 16.693° N, 53.156° E; alt. 628 m; 18 Nov. 2017; HP; M.R. Sharaf leg.; KSMA • 5 w; Ayn Sahlanot ; 17.148° N, 54.179° E; alt. 151 m; 16 Nov. 2017; HP, ML; M.R. Sharaf leg.; KSMA • 9 w; Ayn Sahlanot ; 17.147° N, 54.180° E; alt. 134 m; 16 Nov. 2017; HP; M.R. Sharaf leg.; KSMA • 3 w; Ayn Ashat ; 16.998° N, 53.820° E; alt. 202 m; 21 Nov. 2017; HP; M.R. Sharaf leg.; KSMA • 1 s; same collection data as for preceding; CASENT0922854; CASC • 10 w; Dhalkout ; 16.707° N, 53.251° E; alt. 34 m; 19 Nov. 2017; HP; M.R. Sharaf leg.; KSMA • 1 w; same collection data as for preceding; CASENT0922855; CASC • 2 w; Dhalkout Road, Aghbaroot Village ; 16.798° N, 53.554° E; alt. 1034 m; 18 Nov. 2017; HP; M.R. Sharaf leg.; KSMA .

Holotype of Camponotus jizani

KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA • 1 s; Fifa; no date; C.A. Collingwood leg.; CASENT0922313; WMLC.

Paratype of Camponotus jizani

KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA • 1 mw; Fifa nr Jizan; 27–31 Mar. 1983; C.A. Collingwood leg.; CASENT0911619; NHMB .

Ecological and biological notes

A nest series was found under a stone where the soil was loose and dry. Several workers were found on a tree of Vachellia .

Geographic range

An Afrotropical species originally described from Ghana and recorded from the Asir Mountains ( KSA) ( Collingwood 1985), Oman, Yemen ( Collingwood & Agosti 1996), and the UAE ( Collingwood et al. 1997). Camponotus flavomarginatus is reported here for the first time in Dhofar.

Remarks

The type material of Camponotus jizani is represented by only two specimens, a paratype minor worker (CASENT0911619) that is deposited in NHMB, and a presumably holotype major worker (CASENT0922313) deposited in WMLC. Unfortunately, the card of the holotype specimen is cut and the data do not completely match the data mentioned in the original description except for the type locality (Fifa). In a discussion between M.R. Sharaf and C.A. Collingwood, the latter confirmed that these two specimens represent the type material of C. jizani . A comparison of the available holotype and paratype workers of C. jizani with the type material of C. flavomarginatus was carried out. We here treat C. jizani as a junior subjective synonym of C. flavomarginatus . Numerous species similar to C. flavomarginatus exist in the Afrotropical Region. There is a large complex of species centered around C. rufoglaucus ( Jerdon, 1851) , first described from India, and C. flavomarginatus . The complex comprises many broadly distributed species with numerous infraspecific taxa of dubious identity, and poorly preserved type material. Thus, the identification of this species complex as C. flavomarginatus is questionable.

Figures

Fig. 7. Camponotus flavomarginatus Mayr, 1862, major worker (CASENT0922854, AntWeb.org (Michele Esposito). A. Body in profile. B. Head in full-face view. C. Distribution map.