Cataglyphis laylae Cedric A. Collingwood & Donat Agosti & Mostafa R. Sharaf & Antonius van Harten 2011, nov. spec

Main Authors: Cedric A. Collingwood, Donat Agosti, Mostafa R. Sharaf, Antonius van Harten
Format: info publication-taxonomictreatment Journal
Terbitan: , 2011
Subjects:
Online Access: https://zenodo.org/record/6193761
Daftar Isi:
  • Cataglyphis laylae Collingwood nov. spec. Plates 96–103 Cataglyphis desertorum Forel, 1894, teste Collingwood, 1985; unavailable name according to Agosti (1990). Specimens examined: Holotype: 1 ☿, United Arab Emirates, al-Ain [24°13'N 55°46'E], iii.1995, leg. C.A. Collingwood (MHNG). Paratypes: 3 ☿, al-Ain zoo, 13.iii.2005, CAC. 1 ☿, Remah, 9.iii.1995, CCA. 3 ☿, Remah, resthouse, 250 m, irrigated sand dune [24°10'37"N 55°18'6"E], 18.iii.1995, leg. D. Agosti. 6 ☿, Remah, resthouse, 250 m, irrigated sand dune, nest with one entrance, [24°10'37"N, 55°18'6"E], 18.iii.1995, leg. D. Agosti. 1 ☿, Sharjah Desert Park, 5–6.x.2004, AvH; 1 ☿, 3.iii.2005, CAC. 1 ☿, al- Za'aba, 100 m, sandy soil with Rhaisa stricta [23°43'20"N, 55°33'49"E], 22.iii.1995, leg. D. Agosti. Description: A large worker from al-Ain was selected as holotype. The measurements are as follows: total length 8.40; head width 3.60; head length 4.20; scape length 3.84; funicular segment I 0.40; funicular segment II 0.23; petiole length 1.10; petiole width 0.72. Colour dark reddish brown. There are no exterior hairs on the scapes or hind tibia. The gaster, petiole and propodeum have dorsal hairs. Remarks: This species thought to correspond with C. desertorum has to be described as a new species. In fact it is one of the commonest Cataglyphis in southern Arabia. The main distinguishing feature compared with other dark Cataglyphis is the slender petiole, which has the anterior face more sloped than in other similar species such as C. niger (André, 1882) and C. savignyi (Dufour, 1862). Biology: Cataglyphus laylae nov. spec. does not appear to occur in open sandy desert and is most abundant in disturbed habitats such as man-developed plantations and open cultivated fields. Distribution: This species was recorded by Collingwood (1985) as C. desertorum from Saudi Arabia and Oman and as Cataglyphis spec. by Collingwood & Agosti (1996). Etymology: The new species is named after a village settlement called “Layla”, just north of Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) in the area where the author (CAC) first encountered it in numbers in an Acacia plantation.
  • Published as part of Cedric A. Collingwood, Donat Agosti, Mostafa R. Sharaf & Antonius van Harten, 2011, Order Hymenoptera, family Formicidae, pp. 1-70 in Arthropod fauna of the UAE 4 on page 54, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.1168586