Crematogaster senegalensis

Crematogaster senegalensis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Myrmicinae
Tribe:	Crematogastrini
Genus:	Crematogaster
Species:	C. senegalensis
Binomial name
Crematogaster senegalensis Roger, 1863 Specimen labels
Subspecies
Crematogaster senegalensis goliathula Forel, 1922

In Oman this species was found foraging on moist ground and found in leaf litter under a date palm tree. A nest series was found under a stone. Several additional workers were collected from leaf litter under a large tree of Rubus sp. (Sharaf et al. 2018) In Benin, Taylor et al. (2018) found it on mango (Mangifera indica) and beating weeds near a river.

Identification

Keys including this Species

• Key to Arabian Crematogaster

Distribution

Sharaf et al. (2019): While this species was originally described from Senegal, it seems to have a fairly disjunctive distribution since it is known from eastern and northwestern Africa without being recorded from countries in-between (Guénard et al. 2017; Janicki et al. 2017). In the Arabian Peninsula, it was recorded from the KSA, Oman, and Yemen (Collingwood 1985; Collingwood and Agosti 1996; Collingwood et al. 2011; Borowiec 2014; Sharaf et al. 2018).

Latitudinal Distribution Pattern

Latitudinal Range: 25.48333333° to 13.37629°.

North Temperate	North Subtropical	Tropical	South Subtropical	South Temperate

• Source: AntMaps

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists

Afrotropical Region: Benin, Gambia, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Saudi Arabia, Senegal (type locality), United Arab Emirates, Yemen.
Malagasy Region: Madagascar.
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.

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.

Castes

Worker

Images from AntWeb

Worker. Specimen code casent0173208. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by MHNG, Geneva, Switzerland.

Worker. Specimen code casent0173209. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by MHNG, Geneva, Switzerland.

Worker. Specimen code casent0173210. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by MHNG, Geneva, Switzerland.

Queen

Images from AntWeb

Queen (alate/dealate). Specimen code casent0173207. Photographer April Nobile, uploaded by California Academy of Sciences.	Owned by MHNG, Geneva, Switzerland.

Nomenclature

The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.

• senegalensis. Crematogaster senegalensis Roger, 1863a: 206 (w.q.) SENEGAL.
  • Type-material: syntype workers (number not stated, “several”), 1 syntype queen.
  • Type-locality: Senegal: (no further data) (received from Sichel).
  • Type-depository: MNHU.
  • Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1952b: 254 (l.).
  • Combination in C. (Acrocoelia): Emery, 1922e: 144;
  • combination in C. (Crematogaster): Bolton, 1995b: 166.
  • Subspecies of aegyptiaca: Santschi, 1914d: 343; Emery, 1915g: 10; Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 828, 1022; Emery, 1922e: 144; Viehmeyer, 1923: 90; Menozzi, 1930b: 85; Santschi, 1937e: 311 (in key); Finzi, 1939a: 155.
  • Status as species: Roger, 1863b: 36; Emery, 1877b: 379; André, 1884b: 543; Forel, 1891b: 193 (redescription); Dalla Torre, 1893: 86; Mayr, 1895: 144; Mayr, 1904b: 7; Santschi, 1910f: 233; Bernard, 1950b: 288; Bernard, 1953b: 235; Collingwood, 1985: 262; Bolton, 1995b: 162; Collingwood & Agosti, 1996: 331; Collingwood, et al. 2011: 426; Borowiec, L. 2014: 68 (see note in bibliography); Sharaf, Fisher, et al. 2018: 25; Sharaf, Aldawood & Hita Garcia, 2019: 71.
  • Distribution: Angola, Ghana, Guinea, Eritrea, Madagascar, Niger, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen.
  • Current subspecies: nominal plus goliathula.

Taxonomic Notes

Sharaf et al. (2019): The disjunct distribution of this species is a bit unusual and might require further attention in future studies of Afrotropical Crematogaster. It is likely that the odd distribution is just based on a sampling artifact or a preference of arid habitats, which are not as common in Central Africa. However, it could also be the case that this species, as currently defined, consists of several cryptic taxa. Without a thorough revision of the Afrotropical fauna it is impossible to be sure and we therefore list material examined as C. senegalensis.

References

• Bernard, F. 1950c. Contribution à l'étude de l'Aïr. Hyménoptères Formicidae. Mém. Inst. Fr. Afr. Noire 10: 284-294 (page 288, revived status as species)
• Borowiec, L. 2014. Catalogue of ants of Europe, the Mediterranean Basin and adjacent regions (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Genus (Wroclaw) 25(1-2): 1-340.
• Borowiec, L., Salata, S. 2018. Notes on ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Gambia (Western Africa). Annals of the Upper Silesian Museum in Bytom, Entomology 26 (online 010), 1-13 (doi:10.5281/ZENODO.1243767).
• Collingwood, C.A., Agosti, D., Sharaf, M.R., van Harten, A. 2011. Order Hymenoptera, family Formicidae. Arthropod fauna of the UAE 4: 405-474.
• Emery, C. 1915e. Formiche raccolte nell'Eritrea dal Prof. F. Silvestri. Boll. Lab. Zool. Gen. Agrar. R. Sc. Super. Agric. 10: 3-26 (page 10, Subspecies\race\stirps of aegyptiaca)
• Emery, C. 1922c. Hymenoptera. Fam. Formicidae. Subfam. Myrmicinae. [part]. Genera Insectorum 174B: 95-206 (page 144, Combination in C. (Acrocoelia))
• Emery, C. 1922c. Hymenoptera. Fam. Formicidae. Subfam. Myrmicinae. [part]. Genera Insectorum 174B: 95-206 (page 144, Subspecies\race\stirps of aegyptiaca)
• Forel, A. 1922b. Glanures myrmécologiques en 1922. Rev. Suisse Zool. 30: 87-102 (page 93, revived status as species)
• Roger, J. 1863a. Die neu aufgeführten Gattungen und Arten meines Formiciden-Verzeichnisses nebst Ergänzung einiger früher gegebenen Beschreibungen. Berl. Entomol. Z. 7: 131-214 (page 206, worker, queen described)
• Santschi, F. 1914d. Formicides de l'Afrique occidentale et australe du voyage de Mr. le Professeur F. Silvestri. Boll. Lab. Zool. Gen. Agrar. R. Sc. Super. Agric. 8: 309-385 (page 344, Subspecies\race\stirps of aegyptiaca)
• Santschi, F. 1929e. Fourmis du Maroc, d'Algérie et de Tunisie. Bull. Ann. Soc. Entomol. Belg. 69: 138-165 (page 148, Subspecies\race\stirps of aegyptiaca)
• Sharaf, M.R., Aldawood, A.S., Hita Garcia, F. 2019. Review of the Arabian Crematogaster Lund (Hymenoptera, Formicidae), synoptic list, distribution, and description of two new species from Oman and Saudi Arabia. ZooKeys 898: 27–81 (doi:10.3897/zookeys.898.37531).
• Sharaf, M.R., Bolton, B., Nasser, M.G., Wetterer, J.K., Aldawood, A.S. 2024. A new species and a new record of the ant genus Crematogaster Lund, 1831 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Yemen. Annales Zoologici 74(4), 709-716 (doi:10.3161/00034541anz2024.74.4.014).
• 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.
• Taylor, B., Agoinon, N., Sinzogan, A., Adandonon, A., Kouaguou, Y. N., Bello, S., Wargui, R., Anato, F., Ouagoussounon, I., Houngbo, H., Tchibozo, S., Todjihounde, R., Vayssieres, J.F. 2018. Records of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from the Republic of Benin, with particular reference to the mango farm ecosystem. Journal of Insect Biodiversity 8(1): 6-29 (doi:10.12976/jib/2018.08.1.2).
• Wheeler, G. C.; Wheeler, J. 1952b. The ant larvae of the myrmicine tribe Crematogastrini. J. Wash. Acad. Sci. 42: 248-262 (page 254, larva described)
• Wheeler, W. M. 1922k. Ants of the American Museum Congo expedition. A contribution to the myrmecology of Africa. IX. A synonymic list of the ants of the Malagasy region. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 4 45: 1005-1055 (page 828, Subspecies\race\stirps of aegyptiaca)

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

• Bernard F. 1950. Contribution à l'étude de l'Aïr. Hyménoptères Formicidae. Mém. Inst. Fr. Afr. Noire 10: 284-294.
• Bernard F. 1953. La réserve naturelle intégrale du Mt Nimba. XI. Hyménoptères Formicidae. Mémoires de l'Institut Français d'Afrique Noire 19: 165-270.
• Borowiec L. 2014. Catalogue of ants of Europe, the Mediterranean Basin and adjacent regions (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Genus (Wroclaw) 25(1-2): 1-340.
• Borowiec L., and S. Salata. 2018. Notes on ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Gambia (Western Africa). Annals of the Upper Silesian Museum in Bytom Entomology 26: 1-13.
• Collingwood C. A., D. Agosti, M. R. Sharaf, A. Van Harten, 2011. Order Hymenoptera, family Formicidae. Arthropod Fauna of the UAE 4: 405-474
• Collingwood C.A., D.Agosti, M.R. Sharaf, and A. van Harten. 2011. Order Hymenoptera, family Formicidae. Arthropod fauna of the UAE, 4: 405–474
• Collingwood, C. A., and Donat Agosti. "Formicidae (Insecta: Hymenoptera) of Saudi Arabia (Part 2)." Fauna of Saudi Arabia 15 (1996): 300-385.
• Diame L., B. Taylor, R. Blatrix, J. F. Vayssieres, J. Y. Rey, I. Grechi, and K. Diarra. 2017. A preliminary checklist of the ant (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) fauna of Senegal. Journal of Insect Biodiversity 5(15): 1-16.
• Dieng M. M., A. B. Ndiaye, C. T. Ba, and B. Taylor. 2016. Les fourmis (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) de l’enclos d’acclimatation de Katane de la reserve de faune du Ferlo nord (Senegal). Int. J. Biol. Chem. Sci. 10(4): 1626-1636.
• Emery, C.. "Catalogo delle formiche esistenti nelle collezioni del Museo Civico di Genova. Parte prima. Formiche provenienti dal Viaggio dei signori Antinori, Beccari e Issel nel Mar Rosso e nel paese dei Bogos. [concl.]." Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale 9 (1877): 363-381.
• Fisher B. L. 1997. Biogeography and ecology of the ant fauna of Madagascar (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Journal of Natural History 31: 269-302.
• Fisher B. L. 2003. Formicidae, ants. Pp. 811-819 in: Goodman, S. M.; Benstead, J. P. (eds.) 2003. The natural history of Madagascar. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, xxi + 1709 pp.
• IZIKO South Africa Museum Collection
• Menozzi C. 1930. Formiche della Somalia italiana meridionale. Memorie della Società Entomologica Italiana. 9: 76-130.
• Santschi F. 1910. Mission Gruvel et Chudeau en Mauritanie occidentale. III. Partie zoologique. Hyménoptères. 2e partie. Actes de la Société Linnéenne de Bordeaux. 64: 233-234.
• 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
• Sharaf M. R., H. M. Al Dhafer, and S. A. Aldawood. 2014. First record of the myrmicine ant genus Meranoplus Smith, 1853 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from the Arabian Peninsula with description of a new species and notes on the zoogeography of Southwestern Kingdom Saudi Arabia. PLoS ONE 9(11): e111298 (doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0111298).
• Sharaf M. R., S. A. Aldawood, and F. Hita Garcia. 2019. Review of the Arabian Crematogaster Lund (Hymenoptera, Formicidae), synoptic list, distribution, and description of two new species from Oman and Saudi Arabia. ZooKeys 898: 27-81
• Soulié J., and L. D. Dicko. 1965. La répartition des genres de fourmis de la tribu des "Cremastogastrini" dans la faune éthiopienne et malgache. Hymenoptera - Formicoidea - Myrmicidae. Ann. Univ. Abidjan Sér. Sci. 1: 85-106.
• Taylor B., N. Agoinon, A. Sinzogan, A. Adandonon, Y. N'Da Kouagou, S. Bello, R. Wargui, F. Anato, I. Ouagoussounon, H. Houngbo, S. Tchibozo, R. Todjhounde, and J. F. Vayssieres. 2018. Records of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from the Republic of Benin, with particular reference to the mango farm ecosystem. Journal of Insect Biodiversity 8(1): 006–029.
• Taylor B., Z. A. Yefremova, V. D. Kravchenko, and G. C. Muller. 2016. The ants of Mali (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) – a historical review and new records. Entomofauna 37(35): 545‐564.
• Viehmeyer H. 1923. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der mit Unterstützung der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien aus der Erbschaft Treitl von F. Werner unternommenen zoologischen Expedition nach dem anglo-ägyptischen Sudan (Kordofan) 1914. VII. Hymenoptera A. Formicidae. Denkschriften der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien. Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftliche Klasse 98: 83-94.
• Wheeler W. M. 1922. Ants of the American Museum Congo expedition. A contribution to the myrmecology of Africa. IX. A synonymic list of the ants of the Malagasy region. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 45: 1005-1055
• Wheeler W. M. 1922. Ants of the American Museum Congo expedition. A contribution to the myrmecology of Africa. VIII. A synonymic list of the ants of the Ethiopian region. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 45: 711-1004