Crematogaster senegalensis

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)

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).

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Afrotropical Region: Gambia, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, United Arab Emirates, Yemen. Malagasy Region: Madagascar. Palaearctic Region: Oman, Western Sahara.

Nomenclature

 *  senegalensis. Crematogaster senegalensis Roger, 1863a: 206 (w.q.) SENEGAL. Wheeler, G.C. & Wheeler, J. 1952b: 254 (l.). Combination in C. (Acrocoelia): Emery, 1922e: 144; in C. (Crematogaster): Bolton, 1995b: 166. Subspecies of aegyptiaca: Santschi, 1914d: 344; Emery, 1915g: 10; Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 828; Emery, 1922e: 144; Santschi, 1929e: 148. Revived status as species: Forel, 1922: 93; Bernard, 1950b: 288. 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 based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

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