Lepisiota opaciventris ( Finzi, 1936 )

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 : 33

Lepisiota opaciventris ( Finzi, 1936)

Fig. 20

Acantholepis frauenfeldi var. opaciventris Finzi, 1936: 187 (w) Egypt. Palearctic.

Diagnosis

Color entirely black, antennae, tibiae, and tarsi paler; propodeum and first gastral tergite with some fine surface sculpture; mesosoma brilliant; first gastral tergite with characteristic violet reflection; cephalic and gastral surfaces dull.

Material examined

OMAN – Dhofar • 4 w; Ayn Ashat ; 16.998° N, 53.820° E; alt. 202 m; 21 Nov. 2017; SF; M.R. Sharaf leg.; KSMA .

Ecological and biological notes

This species was found nesting under a rock next to a tree of Vachellia .

Geographic range

This species was originally described from Egypt and has been recorded from Oman, KSA, Yemen ( Collingwood & Agosti 1996), UAE ( Collingwood et al. 2011; Sharaf et al. 2018a). This species is reported here for the first time in Dhofar.

Figures

Fig. 20. Lepisiota opaciventris (Finzi, 1936), worker (CASENT0922269, AntWeb.org (Michele Esposito)). A. Body in profile. B. Head in full-face view. C. Distribution map.