Lepisiota spinisquama

Nests may include several queens and many hundreds of workers. These ants are general scavengers and will attack other insects. (Collingwood et al. 2004)

Identification
Collingwood et al. (2004) - this shiny black ant is characterised by spinal ornamentation on both the propodeum and the petiole.

Distribution
This species has a wide distribution in central Asia but on the Arabian Peninsula it has been recorded only in Oman and Socotra (Collingwood 1985; Collingwood and Agosti 1996; Collingwood et al. 2004, Sharaf et al., 2017).

Distribution based on Regional Taxon Lists
Afrotropical Region: Saudi Arabia, Socotra Archipelago, Yemen. Palaearctic Region: Iran, Kazakhstan, Oman.

Biology
Collingwood et al. (2004) - The occurrence of L. spinisquama on Socotra, where it appears to be one of the commonest ants, is something of a riddle. The species is distributed in central Asia, and there are records from coastal southern Arabia (Collingwood 1985, Collingwood & Agosti 1996), but otherwise introductions have not been reported. In Socotri, "nimihil haher" (black ant) will usually refer to this species.

Sharaf et al. (2017) - Lepisiota spinisquama was collected in Yemen from dry soil under a date palm tree by sifting. A colony was found nesting under a stone in Dixam Plateau. A nest was collected from under a dead palm tree where the soil had a high degree of humidity and was rich in organic material. Another colony was found under a stone where exoskeletons of minor workers of a yellow Camponotus sp. were present. Workers were observed foraging on the trunk of Boswellia carteri Flueck. (Burseraceae) where many worker of Trichomyrmex mayri (Forel) were also found at the trunk base and the soil was dry. Several mealybugs (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) were observed under the bark of the tree. The species was also found nesting under a stone with several dead tenebrionid beetles and a species of the family Lygaeidae (Hemiptera). Several workers of L. spinisquama were foraging on ground where soil was sandy and dry. Several individuals were collected from a dry leaf litter by sifting. A nest was located in a relatively moist, compact clay soil under a stone. Previous observations indicate that this species apparently prefers dry habitats.

Sharaf et al (2018) - Oman: This species was found nesting under a stone in an area of cultivated pomegranate trees and roses.

Nomenclature

 *  spinisquama. Acantholepis frauenfeldi subsp. spinisquama Kuznetsov-Ugamsky, 1929c: 483, fig. 3 (w.) KAZAKHSTAN. Combination in Lepisiota: Bolton, 1995b: 228. Raised to species: Pisarski, 1967: 410. Junior synonym of semenovi: Dlussky, Soyunov & Zabelin, 1990: 163. Revived from synonymy: Collingwood & Agosti, 1996: 369.