Tapinoma melanocephalum ( Fabricius, 1793 )

Sharaf, Mostafa R., Fisher, Brian L., Collingwood, Cedric A. & Aldawood, Abdulrahman S., 2017, Ant fauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the Socotra Archipelago (Yemen): zoogeography, distribution and description of a new species, Journal of Natural History (J. Nat. Hist.) 51 (5 - 6), pp. 317-378 : 321-323

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.1080/00222933.2016.1271157

publication LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:pub:89612083-9CE6-48E8-8975-1CE5334E098B

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5192385

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/039DB655-1613-FFFE-B4BE-E61D6826C975

treatment provided by

Felipe

scientific name

Tapinoma melanocephalum ( Fabricius, 1793 )
status

 

Tapinoma melanocephalum ( Fabricius, 1793) View in CoL

( Figure 2 View Figure 2 (a–c))

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

Diagnosis

Worker. An easily distinguished species by its small size (1.20–1.90 mm) and bicoloured body. Head and mesosoma brown or dark brown, antennae, maxillary palps and mandibles pale brown to yellow, gaster and legs pale yellow; mesosoma without erect hairs.

Material examined

Yemen, Socotra Island, Dehejamo , 22 April 2014, 563 m, (M. R. Sharaf leg.), 12.59049°N, 54.05205°E (9 w, KSMA); GoogleMaps Yemen, Socotra Island, Himihil Protectorate, 23 April 2014, 372 m, (M. R. Sharaf leg.), 12.57615°N, 54.30651°E (3 w, KSMA); GoogleMaps Yemen, Socotra Island, Dixam (W. Zereg), 24 April 2014, 279 m, (M. R. Sharaf leg.), 12.46868°N, 54.01091°E (6 w, KSMA); GoogleMaps Yemen, Socotra Island, Lehanoh, 22 April 2014, 931 m, (M. R. Sharaf leg.), 12.57583°N, 54.04836°E (2 w, KSMA, 1 w, CASC) GoogleMaps .

Geographic range

An invasive species with a worldwide distribution ( Wetterer 2009a). It was recorded from KSA and Oman ( Collingwood 1985), Yemen ( Collingwood and Agosti 1996), and the United Arab Emirates ( UAE) ( Collingwood et al. 1997).

Ecological and biological notes

The nesting and foraging habitats of this species are diverse. Several specimens were found foraging on a tree located on a mountainside with nearby stream drainage. The area had moist soils with high plant diversity, especially Adiantum capillus-veneris L. ( Pteridaceae ), which was abundant. The area was dominated by the ponerine ant, Brachyponera sennaarensis ( Mayr, 1862) . A nest series was collected from an area with moist soil and dense grasses. The area was rich in decayed animal faeces. Another nest was collected by sifting the leaf litter next to a stream and small pool with many scattered date palm ( Phoenix dactylifera L.) trees. Another nest series was found under the bark of a recently cut dragon blood tree, Dracaena cinnabari Balf. f. ( Asparagaceae ) and associated with curculionid beetles. This invasive species has a broad range of habitat preference worldwide ( Wetterer 2009a), including pre-existing cavities made of plant materials, and in larders and pantries, and nesting in walls and potted plants indoors ( Ellison et al. 2012).

R

Departamento de Geologia, Universidad de Chile

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Hymenoptera

Family

Formicidae

Genus

Tapinoma

Loc

Tapinoma melanocephalum ( Fabricius, 1793 )

Sharaf, Mostafa R., Fisher, Brian L., Collingwood, Cedric A. & Aldawood, Abdulrahman S. 2017
2017
Loc

Formica melanocephala

Fabricius JC 1793: 353
1793
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