Cataglyphis sabulosa Kugler, 1981

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 : 21

Cataglyphis sabulosa Kugler, 1981

Fig. 13

Cataglyphis sabulosa Kugler, 1981: 84 (w, q, m) Israel. Palearctic.

Diagnosis

Color yellow to orange-brown; gaster frequently brown; first funicular segment nearly 1.5 × as long as second; propodeal dorsum passing in a curve into equally long declivity; petiole squamiform, convex anteriorly and straight posteriorly; third maxillary palp fringed with long curved setae; head, mesosoma, petiole, gaster, and coxae usually with dense white-silvery pubescence.

Material examined

This species was not collected during the present study.

Ecological and biological notes

Cataglyphis sabulosa is a desert species that builds nests in the sand at a depth of about 20 cm, where alate males and dealate queens occur ( Kugler 1981). The species seems to be a preferred diet of the lizard, Acanthodactylus schreiberi Boulenger, 1878 (Lacertidae) .

Geographic range

A species originally described from Israel and recorded from Egypt ( Kugler 1981), Oman, KSA ( Collingwood 1985), UAE, and Yemen ( Collingwood & Agosti 1996). Collingwood (1985) recorded this species from Dhofar based on a single worker.

Figures

Fig. 13. Cataglyphis sabulosa Kugler, 1981, paratype, worker (CASENT0903289, AntWeb.org (Alexandra Westrich)). A. Body in profile. B. Head in full-face view. C. Distribution map.