Review of the Arabian Crematogaster Lund (Hymenoptera, Formicidae), synoptic list, distribution, and description of two new species from Oman and Saudi Arabia

Abstract

The genus Crematogaster is one of the most species-rich and widespread groups of ants. Despite their often-high local abundance and important ecological interactions, the taxonomy of the genus is fragmentary and in great need of modern revisionary studies. As a first step towards a revision for the Arabian fauna of Crematogaster, a review of all known species with synoptic species accounts is provided. Seventeen species are recognized and illustrated from the Arabian Peninsula, of which two new species are described: C. jacindae Sharaf & Hita Garcia, sp. nov. from the Dhofar Governorate, Oman, and C. gryllsi Sharaf & Hita Garcia, sp. nov. from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) based on the worker caste. Crematogaster jacindaesp. nov. is easily separated from the remainder of the Arabian Crematogaster fauna due to its complete lack of propodeal spines, slit-shaped propodeal spiracles, and its distinct bicoloration, whereas C. gryllsisp. nov. is readily distinguished by its unlobed postpetiolar dorsum. Furthermore, new country records are presented: C. acaciae Forel for the KSA and Yemen, and C. delagoensis Forel and C. jehovae Forel for the KSAC. antaris for Qatar, whereas C. luctans Forel is excluded from the Arabian fauna. In addition, on the basis of morphological examination of original type material, C. affabilis Forel is proposed as junior synonym of C. chiarinii Mayr, and C. striaticeps is elevated to species rank stat. nov. Furthermore, a new identification key for the Arabian species is provided, as well as distribution maps for all species.

Peer Review #1 of "Monomorium (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the Arabian Peninsula with description of two new species, M. heggyi sp. n. and M. khalidi sp. n. (v0.2)"

“…(e.g. Collingwood, 1985;Collingwood & Agosti, 1996;Collingwood et al, 2011;Aldawood & Sharaf, 2011;, 2013c, 2017a, b, Sharaf et al, 2018aSharaf & Aldawood, 2019;Sharaf et al 2019;. This value is lower than the 20% mentioned by Collingwood & Agosti (1996).…”

Monomorium (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the Arabian Peninsula with description of two new species, M. heggyi sp. n. and M. khalidi sp. n.

“…Currently, the genus represents ~14% of the total number of species reported from the region (312 spp.) ( Collingwood, 1985 ; Collingwood & Agosti, 1996 ; Collingwood et al, 2011 ; Aldawood & Sharaf, 2011 ; Sharaf & Aldawood, 2013c , 2019 ; Sharaf et al, 2015 , 2017a , 2017b , 2018a , 2018b ; Sharaf, Aldawood & Hita Garcia, 2019 ; Sharaf et al, 2020c ). This value is lower than the 20% mentioned by Collingwood & Agosti (1996) .…”

A Preliminary Synopsis of the Ant Fauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Qatar with Remarks on the Zoogeography

“…Geographic distribution. This is a Palearctic species originally described from Algeria and is distributed eastwardly across Egypt (Sharaf 2006), Israel (Vonshak and Ionescu 2009), the Arabian Peninsula: UAE (Tigar and Collingwood 1993), Kuwait, UAE, Oman and Yemen (Collingwood 1985, Collingwood and Agosti 1996, Collingwood and van Harten 2001, Qatar (Sharaf et al 2019), to Iran (Paknia et al 2008).…”

“…During that long period, little significant additional or published material from Qatar has been reported. The handful of species records scattered in recent literature include Crematogaster antaris Forel, 1894(Sharaf et al 2019, Strumigenys membranifera Emery, 1869(Sharaf et al 2015, and Trichomyrmex mayri (Forel, 1902) (Sharaf et al 2016 b), in addition to Brachyponera sennaarensis (Mayr, 1862) (Wetterer 2013, Bertelsmeier et al 2017, bringing the total number of ant species known from this country to 13. Therefore, Qatar, in addition to Bahrain and Kuwait, represent gaps in our knowledge of the ants of the Arabian Peninsula and on the global ant map as well.…”