Cerapachys collingwoodi Sharaf, 2007

Fadl, H., Bakr, R. F. & Badawy, R. M., 2007, Six new species of ants (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Egypt., Proceedings of the 2 nd International Conference of the Entomological Society of Egypt 2, pp. 235-249 : 237-238

Cerapachys collingwoodi Sharaf , n. sp.

Holotype: 1 ♂, Egypt, Port Said , 26.VIII.2003; N: 31.17; E: 32.18; M. R. Sharaf ( SHC) .

Type-locality: Egypt, Port Said.

Measurements of the holotype: TL:3.12; HL:0.55; HW:0.55; SL:0.27; SI:50; EL:0.27; AL:0.77; AW:0.4; PL:0.3; PW:0.32; CI:100

Diagnosis: (Figures 1, 2) (Male): Head, alitrunk, petiole and appendages reddish brown, gaster blackish brown. Head smooth and shining, as long as broad, with many scattered long hairs and strongly curved sides; antennae 13-segmented, with raised antennal sockets; scapes short, thin, near antennal sockets and more thick at its end, all the antennae with dense short hairs and pubescence; mandibles triangular, articulated at corners of anterior margin of head, armed with 11 reduced teeth and provided with many long hairs; eyes very large, occupying about half of head length; ocelli present; occiput convex.

Alitrunk box-like, smooth and shining, with abundant long and short hairs and without distinct sutures, only the promesonotal one distinct on the pleuron to the prospiracle; the dorsal face of propodeum descending abruptly to its declivity. Petiole nearly as long as broad, with abundant pubescence and long hairs directed backwards and a free posterior face; petiole dorsum convex.

Gaster smooth and shining with very faint reticulate pattern; the first and the second gastral tergites with a distinct constriction which is transversely striated; the first gastral tergite with abundant pale pubescence and a row of long hairs at its posterior margin while the remaining gastral segments with abundant long hairs; pygidium armed with a row of denticles; hypopygium armed with 2 lateral relatively long teeth and another reduced median one.

Local distribution: Port Said.

Etymology: This species is named after the British ant taxonomist Mr. Cedric A. Collingwood who examined the specimen and determined its taxonomic status and recommended its description.

Comments: This subfamily has never been listed in the revisionary work of Mohammed (1979) in spite of recording it by Donisthorpe (1942) from Maragi (Siwa oasis). It is represented in Egypt by one genus Cerapachys F. Smith, 1857 and one species Cerapachys longitarsus (Mayr,1878) but the last author did not collect it from all the surveyed localities during the field study and it is believed that this species is relatively rare and the worker caste is less abundant. The record of such species was frequently based on males collected by light traps. Cerapachys collingwoodi n. sp. was described from Port Said, only one male was collected being the only specimen of this genus collected during the period of study, and this may reveal the rareness of this genus in Egypt. This species was collected form leaf litter inhabited by many groups of terrestrial invertebrates.