Monomorium sahlbergi Emery, 1898

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 : 61

Monomorium sahlbergi Emery, 1898

Fig. 38

Monomorium sahlbergi Emery, 1898: 131 (w, q) Israel. Palearctic.

Diagnosis

This species is most similar to the cosmopolitan species Monomorium pharaonis (Linnaeus, 1758) from which it can be recognized by the fine longitudinal striations on head, the smooth first gastral tergite, and the dark patches in front of the eyes.

Material examined

OMAN – Dhofar • 1 w; Dhalkout ; 16.707° N, 53.251° E; alt. 34 m; 19 Nov. 2017; SF; M.R. Sharaf leg.; CASENT0922875; KSMA .

Ecological and biological notes

Monomorium sahlbergi prefers nesting directly in moist soil of banana plantations which is rich in decaying livestock feces ( Sharaf et al. 2017c). Pselaphine beetles were observed close their nests in the Socotra Archipelago.

Geographic range

This species was described from India ( Forel 1902) and is recorded from the Socotra Archipelago by Sharaf et al. (2017c). Our collection represents a new record for Dhofar.

Figures

Fig. 38. Monomorium sahlbergi Emery, 1898, worker (CASENT0922304, AntWeb.org (Michele Esposito)). A. Body in profile. B. Head in full-face view. C. Distribution map.