Paratrechina longicornis ( Latreille, 1802 )

Sharaf, Mostafa R., Wetterer, James K., Mohamed, Amr A. & Aldawood, Abdulrahman S., 2022, Faunal composition, diversity, and distribution of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Dhofar Governorate, Oman, with updated list of the Omani species and remarks on zoogeography, European Journal of Taxonomy 838 (1), pp. 1-106 : 37-39

Paratrechina longicornis ( Latreille, 1802)

Fig. 23

Formica longicornis Latreille, 1802: 113 (w) Senegal. Afrotropic.

Diagnosis

Head, mesosoma, petiole, and gaster black-brown to dark brown; body with faint bluish iridescence; scapes exceptionally long, when laid back from their insertions surpassing posterior margin of head by at least one-half its length; legs extraordinarily long; pilosity scattered, stout, long, suberect to erect, greyish or whitish setae.

Material examined

OMAN – Dhofar • 1 w; Agdaroot ; 17.089° N, 54.442° E; 18 Nov. 2017; SW; A. Mostafa leg.; KSMA • 1 w; Serfeet Road, 26 km before Serfeet ; 16.684° N, 53.139° E; 18 Nov. 2017; SW; A. Mostafa leg.; KSMA • 7 w, 2 q; Dhalkout ; 16.707° N, 53.251° E; alt. 34 m; 19 Nov. 2017; SF; M.R. Sharaf leg.; KSMA • 3 w; Dhalkout Road, Aghbaroot Village ; 16.798° N, 53.554° E; alt. 1034 m; 18 Nov. 2017; SF; M.R. Sharaf leg.; KSMA • 1 w; Ayn Sahlanot ; 17.148° N, 54.179° E; alt. 151 m; 16 Nov. 2017; SF; M.R. Sharaf leg.; KSMA • 4 w; Ayn Dirbat ; 17.106° N, 54.453° E; alt. 207 m; 17 Nov. 2017; SF; M.R. Sharaf leg.; KSMA • 1 w; Ayn Ashat ; 16.998° N, 53.820° E; alt. 202 m; 21 Nov. 2017; SF; M.R. Sharaf leg.; KSMA • 3 w; Dhalkout ; 16.705° N, 53.24453° E; alt. 43 m; 18 Nov. 2017; SF; M.R. Sharaf leg.; KSMA • 1 w, 1 m; Ayn Hamran ; 17.100° N, 54.284° E; alt. 106 m; 20 Nov. 2017; SF; M.R. Sharaf leg.; KSMA • 2 w; Dhalkout ; 16.727° N, 53.249° E; alt. 623 m; 18 Nov. 2017; SF; M.R. Sharaf leg.; KSMA • 5 w; Ayn Razat ; 17.124° N, 54.238° E; alt. 98 m; 20 Nov. 2017; SF; M.R. Sharaf leg.; KSMA • 1 w; same collection data as for preceding; CASENT0922867; CASC • 3 w; Ayn Razat ; 17.130° N, 54.236° E; alt. 121 m; 20 Nov. 2017; SF; M.R. Sharaf leg.; KSMA • 2 w; Dhalkout ; 16.693° N, 53.156° E; alt. 628 m; 18 Nov. 2017; SF; M.R. Sharaf leg.; KSMA .

Ecological and biological notes

Paratrechina longicornis has diverse nesting and foraging habits ( Sharaf et al. 2017c) that include soil under rocks, leaf litter which is rich in organic material, and disturbed sites near human settlements. The species was collected foraging near trees of Ziziphus Mill. and Vachellia .

Geographic range

Although originally described from Senegal, Wetterer (2008), who examined many global records, felt the origin of this tramp species was probably from Southeast Asia. It is widely distributed in the Arabian Peninsula including Oman ( Sharaf et al. 2018a), KSA ( Collingwood 1985), UAE ( Collingwood et al. 1997, 2011), Yemen ( Collingwood & Agosti 1996), and the Socotra Archipelago ( Collingwood et al. 2004; Sharaf et al. 2017c). This species is reported here for the first time in Dhofar.

Figures

Fig. 23. Paratrechina longicornis (Latreille, 1802), worker (CASENT0922867, AntWeb.org (Michele Esposito)). A. Body in profile. B. Head in full-face view. C. Distribution map.