Pheidole megacephala ( 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 : 72-74

Pheidole megacephala ( Fabricius, 1793)

Fig. 45

Formica megacephala Fabricius, 1793: 361 (s.) Mauritius (former Île de France). Malagasy.

Diagnosis

Major worker

Head, mesosoma, petiole, and postpetiole brown, gaster black-brown. Head heart shaped, with deep emarginate posterior margin; cephalic surface with short-irregular longitudinal rugae anteriorly and sculpture absent from posterior two thirds of head; hypostomal margin without median process and with minute to inconspicuous submedian teeth; promesonotum smooth and shiny; mesosoma feebly punctate; katepisternum and lateropropodeum with superficial sculpture; postpetiole from above about 1.9× as broad as petiole.

Material examined

Holotype MAURITIUS • Camizard Mt , Bambous; 20.3328° S, 57.723° E, 375 m a.s.l.; 27 May 2005; B.L. Fisher et al. leg.; rainforest, ex rotten log; BLF12051; CASENT0104990 ( CASC).

OMAN – Dhofar • 2 s, 2 mw; Dhalkout Road, Aghbaroot Village ; 16.798° N, 53.554° E; alt. 1034 m; 18 Nov. 2017; SF; M.R. Sharaf leg.; KSMA • 12 s, 37 mw; Ayn Sahlanot ; 17.148° N, 54.179° E; alt. 151 m; 16 Nov. 2017; SF; M.R. Sharaf leg.; KSMA • 2 s; Ayn Hamran ; 17.100° N, 54.284° E; alt. 106 m; 20 Nov. 2017; SF, SW; M.R. Sharaf leg.; KSMA • 8 s, 13 mw; Ayn Ashat ; 16.998° N, 53.820° E; alt. 202 m; 21 Nov. 2017; SF; M.R. Sharaf leg.; KSMA • 7 mw; Dhalkout ; 16.727° N, 53.249° E; alt. 623 m; 18 Nov. 2017; SF; M.R. Sharaf leg.; KSMA • 2 s, 2 mw; Dhalkout ; 16.693° N, 53.156° E; alt. 628 m; 18 Nov. 2017; SF; M.R. Sharaf leg.; KSMA • 4 mw; Ayn Dirbat ; 17.106° N, 54.453° E; alt. 207 m; 17 Nov. 2017; SF; M.R. Sharaf leg.; KSMA • 1 mw; Ayn Razat ; 17.124° N, 54.238° E; alt. 98 m; 20 Nov. 2017; SF; M.R. Sharaf leg.; KSMA .

Ecological and biological notes

This species nests in soil, under stones, and is frequently associated with leaf litter. Majority of specimens were collected during this study near trees of Vachellia .

Geographic range

The type location of Pheidole megacephala was not precise, but generally is accepted as from Mauritius. It, however, is widely spread world-wide ( Sarnat et al. 2015). It has been recorded from Oman, KSA, Kuwait, Yemen ( Collingwood & Agosti 1996), and UAE ( Collingwood et al. 2011). This species is recorded for the first time in Dhofar.

Figures

Fig. 45. Pheidole megacephala (Fabricius, 1793), major worker (CASENT0922894, AntWeb.org (Michele Esposito)). A. Body in profile. B. Head in full-face view. C. Distribution map.