Cardiocondyla yemeni
Cardiocondyla yemeni | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Hymenoptera |
Family: | Formicidae |
Subfamily: | Myrmicinae |
Tribe: | Crematogastrini |
Genus: | Cardiocondyla |
Species: | C. yemeni |
Binomial name | |
Cardiocondyla yemeni Collingwood & Agosti, 1996 |
The second collection of this species, from Oman, was found in dry leaf litter.
Identification
A member of the Cardiocondyla wroughtonii group.
Seifert (2024) - For separation from closely related Cardiocondyla yoruba see there.
Seifert (2003) - The gynes of C. yemeni have a unique combination of extremely short scape, narrow postpetiole, and elongated head, and can be distinguished from other species with anterolateral postpetiolar sternite comers by a collective index (SL*PPW) / CS*CW/CL of 0.271 ± 0.006 [0.262, 0.275] (n = 4), which is much lower than in Cardiocondyla obscurior (0.322 ± 0.014 [0.296, 0.353] n = 20) or Cardiocondyla wroughtonii (0.305 ± 0.008 [0.296, 0.320] n = 15).
Keys including this Species
Distribution
Seifert (2024) - Known so far only from the Arabian Peninsula.
Latitudinal Distribution Pattern
Latitudinal Range: 23.6176° to 13.083333°.
North Temperate |
North Subtropical |
Tropical | South Subtropical |
South Temperate |
- Source: AntMaps
Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Afrotropical Region: Yemen (type locality).
Palaearctic Region: Oman.
Distribution based on AntMaps
Distribution based on AntWeb specimens
Check data from AntWeb
Countries Occupied
Number of countries occupied by this species based on AntWiki Regional Taxon Lists. In general, fewer countries occupied indicates a narrower range, while more countries indicates a more widespread species. |
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Estimated Abundance
Relative abundance based on number of AntMaps records per species (this species within the purple bar). Fewer records (to the left) indicates a less abundant/encountered species while more records (to the right) indicates more abundant/encountered species. |
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Biology
Collingwood and Agosti (1996) - It is interesting that there were often two or three species of Cardiocondyla in the same locality. In particular Cardiocondyla shuckardi, Cardiocondyla wroughtonii and Cardiocondyla yemeni were all collected at the same site at Wadi Surdud, and at Sana' a two of these species were seen wandering over the ground in close proximity.
Seifert (2024) - The habitat was reported as a sandy path in Saana, Yemen.
Castes
Nomenclature
The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.
- yemeni. Cardiocondyla yemeni Collingwood & Agosti, 1996: 328, fig. 11 (w.) YEMEN.
- Type-material: holotype worker, 6 paratype workers.
- Type-locality: holotype Yemen: Sana’a, 5.iii.1993 (C.A. Collingwood); paratypes: 2 workers with same data, 4 workers Yemen: Wadi Surdad, 21.iii.1991 (A. van Harten).
- Type-depositories: WMLC (holotype); SMNG (Seifert, 2003: 281) (1 paratype) (perhaps paratypes also ONHM, WMLC).
- [Note: Collingwood & Agosti, 1996: 301, say “All type material is housed in NHMB and duplicates placed in appropriate institutes and museums of the contributing countries”; this apparently was never done.]
- Status as species: Seifert, 2003a: 281 (redescription); Borowiec, L. 2014: 49; Sharaf, Fisher, et al. 2018: 19; Sharaf, Wetterer, et al. 2022: 44; Sharaf, Salman & Aldawood, 2023: 203.
- Distribution: Oman, Saudi Arabia, Yemen.
Unless otherwise noted the text for the remainder of this section is reported from the publication that includes the original description.
Description
Worker
Holotype: TL 2.3; HL 0.48; HW 0.38; SL 0.30; EL 0.12; PW 0.11; PPW 0.17.
This species is characterised by its small size, broad dentate spines, reticulopunctate sculpture over the whole dorsum including the gaster and overall pale yellowish-brown colour. In profile the petiole is broadly rounded and relatively low.
Seifert (2003) - Very small size CS 377. Head long, CL/CW 1.260. Scape extremely short, SL/CS 0.724. Postocular index large, PoOC/CL 0.453. Eyes rather prominent, with large ommatidia of 1 3 mm diameter, minute setae absent, EYE 0.238. Frons narrow, FRS/CS 0.242, frontal carinae slightly converging immediately behind FRS level. Anterior clypeal margin with straight or slightly concave medial portion, occiput weakly excavated. Clypeus and frontal laminae rather smooth, not shining and weakly shaginate-carinulate. A small median stripe on vertex weakly carinulate. In the paratype, paramedian and lateral areas of vertex with moderately deep, bicoronate foveolae, their interspaces moderately shining and with a perifoveolar reticulum; in the topotypical worker foveolae deeper and more densely packed; diameter of foveolae 13 - 16 mm diameter. Whole surface of mesosoma mat; dorsal area of mesosorna rather mat, irregularly foveolate-shagrinate-microreticulate; lateral area of mesosoma more strongly reticulate. Waist segments weakly reticulate. Spines short, their axis in lateral view deviating by 45° from longitudinal mesosomal axis. Metanotal groove in lateral view invisible. Petiole in profile with rather short peduncle and rounded dorsum of node that appears almost globular in dorsal view. Axis of petiolar peduncle in lateral aspect deviating by 40° from longitudinal axis of petiole node. Postpetiole in dorsal view with convex sides that meet with the straight anterior margin without a distinct corner; postpetiolar sternite with strong anteroventral corners, resembling situation in Cardiocondyla wroughtonii. Surface of 1st gaster tergite shining, but weakly microreticulate. All body parts light-yellowish brown.
Seifert (2024) - Very small, CS 377 μm. Head very long, CL/CW 1.260. Median third of anterior clypeal margin straight, median third of occipital margin slightly concave. Postocular distance large, PoOc/CL 0.453. Frons relatively narrow (FRS/CS 0.242); frontal carinae slightly diverging frontal of FRS level (FL/FR 1.063), caudal of FRS level parallel or slightly converging. Eye rather small, EYE/ CS 0.238. Scape very short, SL/CS 0.724. Metanotal depression nearly absent (MGr/CS 0.55%). Propodeal spines short (SP/CS 0.103) and almost triangular in lateral view, their axis in profile deviating from longitudinal mesosomal axis by 25°, in dorsal view not diverging and their bases relatively narrow (SPBA/CS 0.266). Petiole rather narrow and moderately high (PeW/CS 0.276, PeH/CS 0.336); in profile with a concave anterior face and a semicircular dorsum; in dorsal view with an almost globular node, which is only slightly longer than wide. Postpetiole narrow and low (PpW/CS 0.430, PpH/CS 0.268); postpetiolar sternite anterolaterally with a rounded lobiform protrusion on each side which clearly elevates above the level of median surface of sternite; the surface of the sternite thus appearing deeply concave in frontal view. Postpetiole in dorsal view with a straight to slightly concave anterior margin and convex sides. Lateral parts of clypeus each with 2–3 rugulae, central part slightly carinulate-reticulate. Frontal laminae with weak microsculpture, consisting of an irregular mixture of microrugulate, foveolate and microreticulate elements. Whole vertex foveolate, mediad of the eyes with densely-arranged, flat-bottomed foveolae of 14–16 μm diameter. The largest foveolae show a well-demarcated but flat central tubercule of 6–8 μm diameter around the hair bases. Whole surface of mesosoma foveolate-microreticulate; petiole and postpetiolar tergite microreticulate. First gaster tergite with moderately long and dense pubescence(PLG/CS6.78%,sqPDG3.76)andaweakly developed microreticulum, with the hair bases placed in microfoveolae of 4–6 μm diameter. All body parts yellowish or yellowish-brown.
Queen
Seifert (2003) - Very small, CS 450. Head much elongated, CL/CW 1.222. Postocular index large, PoOc/CL 0.440. Scape extremely short, SL/CS 0.714. Occipital margin slightly concave or almost straight. Anterior clypeal margin with a suggested median concavity. Frontal carinae slightly converging immediately caudal of FRS level, in most caudal portion diverging. With exception of 5 - 6 longitudinal rugae on metapleuron and weak longitudinal rugosity on vertex and median area of clypeus, whole head and mesosoma without any rugosity. Vertex with deep foveolae of 16 - 17 mm diameter in dense honey-comb arrangement and with inner coronae of 8 - 9 mm diameter. Whole surface of mesosoma and waist densely foveolate, foveolae on dorsal area of mesosoma similar to those on vertex, those on lateral area of mesosoma and in particular on waist with slightly lower diameters. Cuticular surface of 1st gaster tergite shining, with delicate, but fully developed microreticulum. Propodeal spines acute, directed caudad (in lateral view diverging from longitudinal axis of mesosoma by only 25 0), and shorter than in C. wroughtonii, SP/CS 0.130. Postpetiole with sharp anteroventral corners, similar to situation in Cardiocondyla wroughtonii. Postpetiole in dorsal view with angulate-convex sides and straight anterior margin not forming distinct anterior comers. Petiolar node in dorsal view globular, about as wide as long. Head, mesosoma, and waist light-yellowish brown, antennal club blackish brown, gaster entirely blackish brown.
Type Material
Holotype: worker, Yemen, Sana'a, 5.III.1993, CA. Collingwood. - Paratypes: Yemen: 2 workers, same series as holotype; 4 workers, Wadi Surdud, 21.III.1991, A. van Harten. Naturhistorisches Museum, Basel
Seifert (2003) - Yemen [type investigated]. 1 paratype worker labelled “YEMEN: Sana' a (sandy path) 05 03 1993 leg. CACollingwood”, “Cardiocondyla yemeni male”, and “Typus”, Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Görlitz. 1 topotypical worker, without postpetiole and gaster, labelled “YEMEN Sana'a 17 III 93” (day not clearly legible, other possible reading “27 III 93”) and “Cardiocondyla yemeni sp.n. Collingwood & Agosti 1996”.
References
- Borowiec, L. 2014. Catalogue of ants of Europe, the Mediterranean Basin and adjacent regions (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Genus (Wroclaw) 25(1-2): 1-340.
- Collingwood, C. A. and D. Agosti. 1996. Formicidae (Insecta: Hymenoptera) of Saudi Arabia (part 2). Fauna Saudi Arabia. 15:300-385. (page 328, fig. 11 worker described)
- Seifert, B. 2003. The ant genus Cardiocondyla (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae) - a taxonomic revision of the C. elegans, C. bulgarica, C. batesii, C. nuda, C. shuckardi, C. stambuloffii, C. wroughtonii, C. emeryi, and C. minutior species groups. Annalen des Naturhistorischen Museums in Wien Serie B Botanik und Zoologie. 104:203-338.
- Seifert, B. 2022. The ant genus Cardiocondyla (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): The species groups with Oriental and Australasian origin. Diversity 15, 25 (doi:10.3390/d15010025).
- Seifert, B. 2024. A taxonomic revision of the ants of the Cardiocondyla wroughtonii group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) with a checklist of the Cardiocondyla species of the world. Soil Organisms 96 (2):113-144. (doi:10.25674/415)
- Sharaf, M. R., Wetterer, J. K., Mohamed, A. A., Aldawood, A. S. 2022. Faunal composition, diversity, and distribution of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Dhofar Governorate, Oman, with updated list of the Omani species and remarks on zoogeography. European Journal of Taxonomy 838: 1-106 (doi:10.5852/ejt.2022.838.1925).
- Sharaf, M.R., Al Dhafer, H.M., Abdel-Dayem, M.S., Aldawood, A.S. 2024. Cardiocondyla hashemi sp. n., a new species of the C. batesii species-group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Saudi Arabia, with a key to the Saudi species. Zoology in the Middle East]] (doi:10.1080/09397140.2024.2321640).
- Sharaf, M.R., Fisher, B.L., Dhafer, H.M., Polaszek, A., Aldawood, S.A. 2018. Additions to the ant fauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Oman: an updated list, new records and a description of two new species. Asian Myrmecology. 9:e010004; 1-38. doi:10.20362/am.010004 10.20362/am.010004.
References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics
- Sharaf M. R., B. L. Fisher, H. M. Al Dhafer, A. Polaszek, and A. S. Aldawood. 2018. Additions to the ant fauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Oman: an updated list, new records and a description of two new species. Asian Myrmecology 10: e010004