Trichomyrmex mayri ( Forel, 1902 )

Sharaf, Mostafa R., Wetterer, James K., Mohamed, AbdulAziz M. A., Georgiadis, Christos, Nasser, Mohamed G. & Aldawood, Abdulrahman S., 2024, Filling gaps in global myrmecology: ants of the Kingdom of Bahrain (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), Journal of Natural History 58 (41 - 44), pp. 1705-1786 : 1767-1770

Trichomyrmex mayri ( Forel, 1902)

( Figure 40 )

Monomorium (Parholcomyrmex) gracillimum var. mayri Forel, 1902, p. 209 (w.). India,

Indomalaya.

Diagnosis

Worker. This species is readily distinguished by the following combination of characters: posterior margin of head transversely striolate in dorsal view; propodeal dorsum in profile making a continuous curve with propodeal declivity; transverse sculpture of propodeal dorsum fine and dense; pilosity of mesosoma, petiole, postpetiole, and gaster short, and weakly curved. The most similar species to T. mayri is T. destructor (Jerdon, 1851) , from which it can be distinguished only by the unicolourous dark brown or black-brown body, whereas T. destructor (Jerdon, 1851) has a yellow to yellow-brown head, mesosoma, petiole and postpetiole, gaster dark brown.

Material examined

Thirteen sites: A; 1; 2; 4; 9; 13; 15; 21; 25; 27; 30; 31; 32.

Geographic range. This species is widespread in the tropics ( Bolton 1987), the Afrotropical and Oriental regions ( Bolton 1987; Collingwood et al. 2004; Sharaf et al. 2017), and the Palaearctic region ( Collingwood 1985; Collingwood and Agosti 1996; Sharaf 2006; Sharaf and Aldawood 2013; Sharaf et al. 2016b).

Ecology and biology. Sharaf et al. (2016b) pointed out the diverse habitats of T. mayri including soil under stone, in leaf litter, under tree barks, and around human settlements. The species thrives remarkably in habitats rich in organic matter. There is an apparent association with numerous plant species of the Arabian Peninsula, including Acacia sp. ( Fabaceae ), Calotropis procera (Aiton) W.T.Aiton ( Apocynaceae ), Cochliasanthus caracalla (L.) Trew ( Fabaceae ), Coffea arabica L. ( Rubiaceae ), Citrus limon (L.) Burm. F. ( Rutaceae ), Eragrostis eragrostis (L.) ( Poaceae ), Ficus tree ( Moraceae ), Juniperus procera Hochst. ex. Endlicher ( Cupressaceae ), Mangifera indica L. ( Anacardiaceae ), Myoporum insulare R.Br. ( Scrophulariaceae ), Psidium guajava L. ( Myrtaceae ), and Punica granatum L. ( Lythraceae ). Details on habitat and biology are given in Sharaf et al. (2016b).

Figures

Figure 40. Trichomyrmex mayri. Worker. (A) Body in profile. (B) Head in full-face view, ANTWEB1041908, AntWeb.org (Michele Esposito). (C) Distribution map.