Lepisiota carbonaria (Emery, 1892)

Sharaf, Mostafa R., Aldawood, Abdulrahman S., Mohamed, Amr A. & Garcia, Francisco Hita, 2020, The genus Lepisiota Santschi, 1926 of the Arabian Peninsula with the description of a new species, Lepisiota elbazi sp. nov. from Oman, an updated species identification key, and assessment of zoogeographic affinities, Journal of Hymenoptera Research 76, pp. 127-152 : 127

Lepisiota carbonaria (Emery, 1892)

Acantholepis carbonaria Emery, 1892 [Combination in Lepisiota by Bolton, 1995]

Acantholepis capensis subsp. depilis Emery, 1897 [Raised to species by Collingwood, 1985; Combination in Lepisiota by Bolton, 1995] syn. nov.

Material examined of L. carbonaria .

Somalia: 1 syntype worker, Obbia, CASENT0905149, (MSNG); 1 w, Sheikh, 1939, (the Governor ), (Pres. By Imp. Inst. Ent.), (B. M. 1946-273), (BMNH, E, 1018291), CASENT0906261; Ethiopia : 1 w, Turmi , 04°58'N, 36°29'E, 21.i.2010, (Serge Guiraud), (Hand collecting) (B. Taylor det.) (OUMC); OMAN: 5 w, Dhofar, Ayn Razat , 17.12443N, 54.23832E, 98 m, 20.xi.2017, (M. R. Sharaf), (MRS0399), CASENT0922845 (KSMA) .

Material examined of L. depilis .

Somalia: 1 syntype worker, Bricchetti, CASENT0905154, (MSNG) .

Remarks.

Lepisiota carbonaria was originally described by Emery (1892) from Somalia and in 1897 he described L. depilis as a subspecies of Acantholepis capensis from the same country. Collingwood (1985) was the first to draw the attention of the difference between L. depilis and L. capensis based on the reduced mesosomal pilosity and the dense mesosomal sculpture of the former which make it sufficiently distinguishable from the later species that has abundant mesosomal pilosity and shining body appearance. However, in his original description of Lepisiota depilis , Emery pointed out the remarkable similarities between Lepisiota depilis and Lepisiota carbonaria which are mainly the dense sculpture on head and mesosoma and dull appearance of these two body parts, and the gastral pilosity which in the form of a row of setae on the posterior margins of the gastral tergites. Emery was correct and our examination of the type material of the two taxa confirms his notes and reals a straightforward synonymy. The two species have the same body color, dense sculpture, reduced blunt propodeal spines, dull head and mesosoma, and shining gastral tergites with few hairs on margins of tergites. We consider L. carbonaria a senior synonym of L. depilis .