Carebara abuhurayri Sharaf & Aldawood

Aldawood, Abdulrahman S., Sharaf, Mostafa R. & Taylor, Brian, 2011, First record of the myrmicine ant genus Carebara Westwood, 1840 (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from Saudi Arabia with description of a new species, C. abuhurayri sp. n., ZooKeys 92, pp. 61-69 : 62-63

Carebara abuhurayri Sharaf & Aldawood sp. n. Figs 112

Holotype worker.

TL 0.99, HL 0.39, HW 0.31, SL 0.24, ML 0.31, PRW 0.19, PL 0.11, PW 0.08, PPL 0.05, PPW 0.09, SI 77, CI 79.

Overall unicolorous yellow, smooth and shining (Fig. 1). Head (Fig. 2) distinctly longer than broad, with clearly convex sides and a straight posterior margin. Mandibles smooth and shining with relatively long yellow hairs and armed with four teeth. Median portion of clypeus flat. In anterolateral view, clypeal lateral carinae strongly narrowed posteriorly between frontal lobes, then continued as a frontal triangle. Eyes minute and with a single ommatidium (Fig. 3).Scapes fail to reach head posterior margin by about one-third the head length. The scapes broaden evenly from about mid-length. Mesosoma in profile slightly convex. Metanotal groove shallow but distinct, dorsally and laterally (Fig. 4). Propodeum obliquely angled (Fig. 5). Propodeal spiracle (Fig. 5, 6) relatively large, circular, high and close to propodeal declivity. Metapleural gland orifice prominent. Petiole longer than broad in dorsal view with short peduncle. Postpetiole node lower than petiole and dorsally distinctly convex, nearly as long as broad in dorsal view (Fig. 7). Pilosity appressed, few and short on mesosoma, petiole, postpetiole, and rare on first gastral tergite, underside of head with a few short straight hairs. The clypeus has two pairs of standing hairs, the central pair long, and the lateral pair shorter. Anterior sides of head very finely longitudinally striated (Fig. 8). Dorsum of head with abundant scattered hair pits. Lower half of mesopleura, metapleura, and petiole and postpetiole with areolate-rugose sculpture (Fig. 5).

Paratypes.

TL 0.99-1.13, HL 0.35-0.41, HW 0.29-0.32, SL 0.21-0.28, ML 0.31-0.34, PRW 0.17-0.19, PL 0.08-0.12, PW 0.07-0.08, PPL 0.05-0.07, PPW 0.08-09, SI 69-88, CI 74-89. (7 measured).

Holotype worker.

Saudi Arabia, Al Bahah, Al Mukhwah, Zei Ein Archaeological Village, 19°55'N; 41°26'E, 741 m. a.s.l. 18.v.2010 (M. R. Sharaf Leg.); deposited in the King Saud Museum of Arthropods, College of Food and Agriculture Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Paratypes.

7 workers, same localoty as holotype; 1 deposited in the Muséum ďHistoire Naturelle, Geneva, Switzerland (Dr Bernhard Merz); 1 deposited in Naturhistorisches Museum, Basel, Switzerland (Mrs. Isabelle Zürcher-Pfander); 1 deposited in California Academy of Science (Dr Brian Fisher); 2 deposited in World Museum Liverpool, Liverpool, U.K (Dr Guy Knight), the remaining specimens in the King Saud Museum of Arthropods, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Given the anomalies of the Fernández (2004) schema and with only minute monomorphic workers, we are unable to place this new species within his species-complexes (denominated as species–groups in Fernández 2010). In the old schema, workers with 10-segmented antennae would fall in the Genus Oligomyrmex Mayr subgenus Aeromyrma Forel. Those, however, like all the Oligomyrmex , have dimorphic workers but, from the present collection, Carebara abuhurayri has only a small worker morph. Carebara arabica has major and minor workers, both appearing to have 11-segmented antennae. The minor is larger, TL 1.3 mm, than Carebara abuhurayri , TL max 1.13 mm, and the propodeum profile of the minor has a sharp angular transition from the dorsum to the declivity.

Etymology.

This new species is named after Abuhurayra, the companion of the Prophet, Mohammed, may peace and blessing be upon him, and whose tribe inhabited Al Bahah region.

Biology.

The specimens of Carebara abuhurayri were found foraging on the ground and coexisting with the ant species Tetramorium sericeiventre Emery, 1877, Pheidole minuscula Bernard, 1851, Pheidole sp., Monomorium destructor (Jerdon, 1851), Monomorium exiguum (Forel, 1894), Monomorium sp. and Crematogaster sp. This association with the above taxa may indicate a “lestobiotic” relationship (Longino, 2004) but at present, it is not known with which of these above species Carebara abuhurayri is nesting. It is worth mentioning that Carebara abuhurayri is one of the smallest ant species known to occur in Arabia.

The type locality is a mountainous area which is considered as a part of upper Tihama territory which belongs to Al Bahah region (Fig. 13). The locality has a great diversity of wild plants and many cultivated fruits, especially banana, date palm, and Ficus trees, also alfalfa, and some lemon trees are cultivated. Many water streams are present in the area, therefore, the soil has a considerable degree of humidity all year round. Such habitats are found elsewhere in Arabia and so this or related species can be expected in most Arabian countries. For Saudi Arabia, we are expecting to record them in the Asir mountain chain, especially in the lower elevation areas which are called Tihama. We hope future collecting will allow clarification as to whether Carebara abuhurayri has monomorphic or dimorphic workers and the nature of the queen.