Messor ebeninus Santschi, 1927

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 : 1740-1744

Messor ebeninus Santschi, 1927

( Figures 23 and 24 )

Messor semirufus var. ebeninus Santschi, 1927, p. 229 (w.) Syria. Palaearctic.

Diagnosis

Worker. Colour slightly variable, ranging from uniform dark brown to black, some specimens have head, mesosoma, petiole, and postpetiole brown contrasting with brown or black gaster; underside of head with long J-shaped setae forming a distinct psammophore; propodeum angled, without spines or teeth of any description; posterior margin of head with 3–5 setae at each side of the midline; mesosoma with several pairs of setae, two or three on promesonotum, one or two pairs on mesonotum, a single pair on propodeum; petiole and postpetiole each with one pair of long setae; first gastral tergite bare except for few pairs of seta on posterior margin; mesosoma partially or completely rugulose; head smooth and shining, in some individuals vertex with faint longitudinal striations.

Material examined

Two sites: 3; 8.

Geographic range. This species is widespread in the Middle East, with a broad range of distribution in the Arabian Peninsula ( Collingwood 1985; Collingwood and Agosti 1996; Collingwood et al. 2011; Sharaf et al. 2018).

Ecology and biology. This species, like the majority of species of the genus Messor , is a seed harvester. It nests directly in the ground under stones.

Figures

Figure 23. Messor ebeninus. Worker. (A) Body in profile. (B) Head in full-face view, ANTWEB1041905, AntWeb.org (Michele Esposito). (C) Distribution map.

Figure 24. Messor ebeninus. Queen. (A) Body in profile. (B) Body in dorsal view. (C) Head in full-face view, ANTWEB1041906, AntWeb.org (Michele Esposito).