Cataglyphis holgerseni

In Oman, workers were collected from under a large Rubus tree.

Identification
Collingwood and Agosti (1996) - This species was confused with Cataglyphis nigra in an earlier paper and was not recognised as distinct until Holger Holgersen kindly sent us some ants from the Middle East. Among these were examples of the present species from Sinai. These are immediately distinguishable from other black Cataglyphis by the high-raised propodeum. In profile the dorsal and descending face of the propodeum form a rounded right angle as in the red species Cataglyphis urens. Cataglyphis savignyi also has a high propodeum but this is smoothly rounded.

Cataglyphis holgerseni is one of the largest of the Arabian Cataglyphis and cannot be confused with any other species by its colour and propodeal shape. The petiole is also relatively massive as in C. niger and more so than in its sister species C. urens.

Examples of C. holgerseni from the type locality in Sinai are present in the Copenhagen Zoological Museum, and were misidentified as Cataglyphis caerulescens (a name that has not taxonomic status).

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Afrotropical Region: Saudi Arabia. Palaearctic Region: Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman.

Nomenclature

 * . Cataglyphis holgerseni Collingwood & Agosti, 1996: 379 (w.) ISRAEL.
 * Status as species: Vonshak, et al. 2009: 39; Borowiec, L. 2014: 56; Sharaf, Fisher, et al. 2018: 4.

Description
This species was described by distinguishing it from other similar species. A formal description of its features was not given.

Type Material
Holotype: worker, Sinai, near Eilat, 23.XII.1978, H. Holgersen. - Paratypes: Sinai: workers, same series as holotype. - Saudi Arabia: queens, workers from: Al-Qatif, 12.1V.1983; Riyadh, 22.III.1983; all C. A. Collingwood. - Oman: 1 worker, Thumrait, VI.1984, J .M. Barnes.

References based on Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics

 * 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 (Insects: Hymenoptera) of Saudi Arabia (Part 2) Fauna of Saudi Arabia 15: 300-385.
 * Collingwood, C. A., and Donat Agosti. "Formicidae (Insecta: Hymenoptera) of Saudi Arabia (Part 2)." Fauna of Saudi Arabia 15 (1996): 300-385.
 * El-Hawagry M. S., M. W. Khalil, M. R. Sharaf, H. H. Fadl, and A. S. Aldawood. 2013. A preliminary study on the insect fauna of Al-Baha Province, Saudi Arabia, with descriptions of two new species. ZooKeys 274: 188. doi:10.3897/zookeys.274.4529
 * Monks J., S. Ross, M. Geiser, J. De Prins, M. Sharaf, N. Wyatt, S. Al Rijeibi, and A. Polaszek. 2019. A preliminary survey of the insect fauna of the Hajar Mountain Range, Oman. Journal of Natural History 53(15-16): 939-963.
 * 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
 * Vonshak M., and A. Ionescu-Hirsch. 2009. A checklist of the ants of Israel (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Israel Journal of Entomology 39: 33-55.