Monomorium venustum ( Smith, 1858 )

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 : 69

Monomorium venustum ( Smith, 1858)

Fig. 43

Myrmica venusta Smith, 1858: 126 (w) Syria. Palearctic.

Diagnosis

Differential diagnosis is given under M. niloticum .

Material examined

This species was not collected during the present study.

Ecological and biological notes

In KSA, this species has been collected foraging on the ground near plants and other native vegetation. Several workers were observed carrying plant seeds and dead insects.

Geographic range

A species originally described from Syria and recorded from some countries in the Arabian Peninsula including Oman, KSA, Kuwait ( Collingwood & Agosti 1996; Sharaf et al. 2015a). This species was recorded from Dhofar by Collingwood (1985) based on two workers. It closely resembles M. niloticum in size and color but has a considerably limited regional distribution.

Figures

Fig. 43. Monomorium venustum (Smith, 1858), syntype, worker (CASENT0902221, AntWeb.org (Will Ericson)). A. Body in profile. B. Head in full-face view. C. Distribution map.