scholarly journals Review of the ant genusMeranoplusSmith, 1853 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the Arabian Peninsula with description of a new speciesM. mosalahisp. n. from Oman

PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e6287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mostafa R. Sharaf ◽  
Abdulrahman S. Aldawood

The species ofMeranoplusSmith, 1853 of the Arabian Peninsula are reviewed based on the worker caste. Two species are recognized, keyed, and illustrated by Scanning Electron Microscope images (SEM),Meranoplus mosalahiandM. pulcher, Sharaf, 2014.Meranoplus mosalahisp. n.is described from the Dhofar Governorate, Oman based on the worker caste. The new species belongs to theM. magrettii-group and closely resemblesM. pulcherSharaf, 2014 from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), from which it can be distinguished by the bicolored body, the shallowly concave anterior clypeal margin, the absence of well-developed anterior clypeal teeth, the fewer irregular longitudinal cephalic rugae, and the feeble longitudinal rugae on posterior face of petiolar node.

Zootaxa ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 4638 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
CARINA SIM-SMITH ◽  
MICHELLE KELLY

The genus Penares Gray 1867 (Tetractinellida Marshall; Astrophorina Sollas; Geodiidae Gray) is reviewed from new and existing New Zealand collections, with 75 specimens examined and registered. The only species known from New Zealand prior to this study, P. tylotaster Dendy 1924, is re-examined and re-described from the holotype, using new scanning electron microscope images. Nine new species are described from New Zealand’s Exclusive Economic Zone: P. mollis sp. nov., P. aureus sp. nov., P. vermiculatus sp. nov., P. kermadecensis sp. nov., P. turmericolor, sp. nov., P. deformis sp. nov., P. okokewae sp. nov., P. orbis sp. nov., and P. astronavis sp. nov. A specimen of P. schulzei (Dendy 1905), first described from Sri Lanka and subsequently recorded from New Caledonia, was also found in New Zealand, extending the range of this species. This study brings the total New Zealand Penares fauna to 11 species, making a significant contribution to the now, global total of 39 species. All previously described Penares species are reviewed based on their published descriptions, and species names have been corrected to their masculine form. Based on the published description of P. obtusus Lendenfeld 1907, it is recommended that this species be reassigned to the genus Stelletta Schmidt 1862. 


ZooKeys ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 898 ◽  
pp. 27-81 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mostafa R. Sharaf ◽  
Abdulrahman S. Aldawood ◽  
Francisco Hita Garcia

The genus Crematogaster is one of the most species-rich and widespread groups of ants. Despite their often-high local abundance and important ecological interactions, the taxonomy of the genus is fragmentary and in great need of modern revisionary studies. As a first step towards a revision for the Arabian fauna of Crematogaster, a review of all known species with synoptic species accounts is provided. Seventeen species are recognized and illustrated from the Arabian Peninsula, of which two new species are described: C. jacindae Sharaf & Hita Garcia, sp. nov. from the Dhofar Governorate, Oman, and C. gryllsi Sharaf & Hita Garcia, sp. nov. from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) based on the worker caste. Crematogaster jacindaesp. nov. is easily separated from the remainder of the Arabian Crematogaster fauna due to its complete lack of propodeal spines, slit-shaped propodeal spiracles, and its distinct bicoloration, whereas C. gryllsisp. nov. is readily distinguished by its unlobed postpetiolar dorsum. Furthermore, new country records are presented: C. acaciae Forel for the KSA and Yemen, and C. delagoensis Forel and C. jehovae Forel for the KSAC. antaris for Qatar, whereas C. luctans Forel is excluded from the Arabian fauna. In addition, on the basis of morphological examination of original type material, C. affabilis Forel is proposed as junior synonym of C. chiarinii Mayr, and C. striaticeps is elevated to species rank stat. nov. Furthermore, a new identification key for the Arabian species is provided, as well as distribution maps for all species.


PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e4277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mostafa Sharaf ◽  
Hathal M. Al Dhafer ◽  
Abdulrahman S. Aldawood ◽  
Francisco Hita Garcia

We revise the taxonomy of the myrmicine ants of the Monomorium monomorium species-group for the Arabian Peninsula. Six species are recognized: Monomorium aeyade Collingwood & Agosti, 1996, M. clavicorne André, 1881, M. exiguum Forel, 1894, M. holothir Bolton, 1987, M. mohammedi sp. n., and M. sarawatense Sharaf & Aldawood, 2013. On the basis of the worker caste, we describe Monomorium mohammedi sp. n. from the southwestern region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). We designate a neotype for Monomorium aeyade Collingwood & Agosti and redescribe and illustrate the worker caste. Furthermore, we provide a worker-based species identification key, distribution maps for the treated species, and ecological and biological notes, if available. Monomorium holothir is recorded for the first time from the KSA. Also, we propose M. clavicorne var. punica Santschi, 1915a as a junior synonym of M. clavicorne, as well as M. dryhimi Aldawood & Sharaf, 2011 and M. montanum Collingwood & Agosti, 1996 to be treated as junior synonyms of Monomorium exiguum.


Zootaxa ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4981 (2) ◽  
pp. 275-300
Author(s):  
BORIS SIRENKO

The genus chiton Loricella is revised. It comprises nine species. Two of these species, L. neoguinensis n. sp. and L. solomonensis n. sp., are described as new. Based on the analysis of morphological features studied using a scanning electron microscope, a revised diagnosis of the genus is provided. The characters diagnostic for this that distinguish it from the related genus Squamophora are as follows: a tubular hollow inside the dorsal scales, bristles on the dorsal side of the girdle, a wide ventral mouth region, a narrow mantle fold covered with simple longitudinally ribbed scales, smooth ventral scales, pits arranged in longitudinal rows in the central area of the tegmentum, and a bicuspid head of the major lateral teeth of the radula. 


2019 ◽  
Vol 67 (S5) ◽  
pp. S70-S80
Author(s):  
Rodolfo Elías ◽  
María Andrea Saracho-Bottero ◽  
Carol Anne Simon

Introduction: The knowledge of polychaetes in the subtropical region of Africa benefited from the activity of J. Day. However, 50 years after the publication of his Monograph of the Polychaeta of southern Africa, it is necessary to reconsider the identity of the Cirratulidae due to changes in the diagnostic characters and new approaches to the taxonomy of the group to corroborate the status of cosmopolitan species in this region. Objective: We hypothesize that biodiversity of multitentacular Cirratulidae polychaetes has been significantly underestimated in southern Africa. Methods: The present work analyzes material deposited in the Iziko museum, as well as recently collected specimens, using scanning electron microscope to identify them. Results: The material corresponds to two new species belonging to the genus Protocirrineris. Protocirrineris strandloperarum sp. nov. is characterized by having the tentacular filaments between the chaetigers 5 to 10-12 and the first pair of branchiae from chaetiger 7, and P. magalhaesi sp. nov. is characterized by having tentacular filaments between chaetigers 4-8 and the first pair of branchiae from chaetigers 2 or 3. Descriptions of these species, with light and scanning electron microscope images, are given. Schematic drawings of the two new species are shown comparatively with diagnostic characters. Conclusions: The use of new techniques enables discovery of new taxonomic characters and two new species of the genus. The diversity of Cirratulidae polychaetes is underestimated also in the subtropical and tropical regions of Africa.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document