Hypoponera punctatissima ( Roger, 1859 )

Sharaf, Mostafa R., Fisher, Brian L., Collingwood, Cedric A. & Aldawood, Abdulrahman S., 2017, Ant fauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the Socotra Archipelago (Yemen): zoogeography, distribution and description of a new species, Journal of Natural History (J. Nat. Hist.) 51 (5 - 6), pp. 317-378 : 369-371

Hypoponera punctatissima ( Roger, 1859)

( Figure 28 (a–c))

Ponera punctatissima Roger, 1859: 246 , pl. 7, Figure 7 (w. q.) Poland, Germany. Palaearctic.

Diagnosis

Worker. Eyes small but distinct, situated far forward on sides of head; impression or feeble longitudinal line running back along midline of head from frontal lobes to midlength of vertex; scapes, when laid straight back from their insertions, fail to reach or less commonly just touch midpoint of posterior margin of head in full-face view; metanotal groove deeply impressed; mesonotum with a well-defined posterior margin; mesopleuron smooth and shining; petiole in profile with anterior and posterior faces of node weakly convergent dorsally. Dark brown to yellowish brown, antennae and legs yellowish.

Material examined

Yemen, Socotra Island, W. Jo’ o, 21 April 2014, 196 m, (M. R. Sharaf leg.), 12.54038°N, 54.17186°E, (5 w, KSMA, 1 w, CASC); Yemen, Socotra Island, W. Sakhalof, 27 April 2014, 48 m, (M. R. Sharaf leg.), 12.63311°N, 54.05632°E (12 w, KSMA); Yemen, Socotra Island, Qalansyia , 25 April 2014, 26 m, (M. R. Sharaf leg.), 12.68401°N, 53.49052°E (21 w, KSMA); Yemen, Socotra Island, W. Ayhift, 20 April 2014, 214 m, (M. R. Sharaf leg.), 12.60970°N, 53.97770°E (3 w, KSMA); Yemen, Socotra Island, Dixam (W. Zereg), 24 April 2014, 279 m, (M. R. Sharaf leg.), 12.46868°N, 54.01091°E (1 w, KSMA) .

Geographic range

This species is broadly distributed throughout the Afrotropical region ( Bolton and Fisher 2011) and Europe ( Belgium, Britain, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Spain, Switzerland and the Balkans) ( Delabie and Blard 2002). For the Arabian Peninsula, it has been recorded from KSA ( Collingwood 1985), Oman and Yemen ( Collingwood and Agosti 1996). This species is a new record for Socotra.

Ecological and biological notes

This genus is recorded for the first time from Socotra; based on its distribution, this species has probably been introduced. This species was collected from moist soil and leaf litter under mango and date palm trees where the soil was rich in decaying organic material. It was also observed nesting under a stone next to a dragon blood tree. This species was also nesting directly in moist soil under a dead palm tree where organic materials are found. Another nest was found among old moist leaf sheaths surrounding the trunk base of a date palm tree.

Figures

Figure 7. Paratrechina longicornis. (a) Body in profile. (b) Head in full-face view, CASENT0746631, AntWeb.org, (Zach Lieberman). (c) Distribution map, blue circles from recent records, red circles from Collingwood et al. (2004).

Figure 28. Hypoponera punctatissima. (a) Body in profile. (b) Head in full-face view, CASENT0746620, AntWeb.org, (Zach Lieberman). (c) Distribution map.