Trichomyrmex mayri ( Forel, 1902 ), 2016

Sharaf, Mostafa R., Abdel-Dayem, Mahmoud S., Mohamed, Amr A., Fisher, Brian L. & Aldawood, Abdulrahman S., 2020, A Preliminary Synopsis of the Ant Fauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Qatar with Remarks on the Zoogeography, Annales Zoologici 70 (4), pp. 533-560 : 552-553

Trichomyrmex mayri ( Forel, 1902)

( Fig. 25 A–C)

Monomorium (Parholcomyrmex) gracillimum var. mayri Forel, 1902: 209 (w.) India. Indomalaya.

Diagnosis. Worker. Trichomyrmex mayri is closest to T. destructor , from which it can be separated by its uniform dark brown or black-brown color, whereas T. destructor has a yellow to brown-yellow head, mesosoma, petiole, and postpetiole, while its gaster is dark brown.

Material examined. Doha, Fereej Ben Mahmoud , 14.iii.2005, 25°17’N, 51°30’E, (M.S. Abdel-Dayem leg.), 1w ; Doha, 25°17.124’N, 51°31.86’E, 17.iii. 2005, (M.S. Abdel-Dayem leg.), 1w, ( KSMA) .

Geographic distribution. Trichomyrmex mayri was described from India and is widely distributed in the sub-Saharan Africa ( Bolton 1987); Levant ( Sharaf 2006, Vonshak and Ionescu 2009); the Arabian Peninsula ( Collingwood 1985, Collingwood and Agosti 1996, Sharaf et al. 2013, 2016 b), the Socotra Archipelago ( Sharaf et al. 2017), and it was recorded from Qatar by Sharaf et al. (2016 b).

Ecological and biological notes. In the Arabian Peninsula, T. mayri invades a wide range of habitats and constitutes the most common species of the genus ( Sharaf et al. 2013, 2016). Nests are built in moist soil under stones next to date palm Phoenix dactylifera L. ( Arecaceae ) plantations, or close to Acacia trees in sites impacted by trash and human waste, whereas some exist next to the milkweed tree, Calotropis procera (Aiton) W.T. Aiton (Asclepiadaceae) .

Figures

Figure 25. Trichomyrmex mayri, worker, A, body in profile B, body in dorsal view C, head in full-face view, CASENT0919809 (Michele Esposito), www.AntWeb.org.