Leptogenys polaszeki Sharaf &amp; Akbar, sp. n.
Creators: name: Sharaf, Mostafa R.
name: Akbar, Shahid A.
name: Hathal M. Al Dhafer
name: Abdulrahman S. Aldawood
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2017
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Formicidae
Leptogenys
Leptogenys polaszeki

description: <i>Leptogenys polaszeki</i> Sharaf &amp; Akbar sp. n. Worker (Figures 1, 6A, C, E) Material. Holotype: Asir Province: Abha, Raydah, Saudi Arabia, 18.19465°N, 42.39485°E, alt. 1851 m, 06.ix.2015 (Al Dhafer leg.), Pitfall Trap (P.T.), No. 1-3-1, King Saud University Museum of Arthropods (KSMA), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. – Paratype. 1 worker, same data as the holotype (KSMA) (CASENT0922261). Measurements of holotype (paratype in brackets): EL 0.25 (0.25); HL 1.25 (1.15); HW 0.90 (0.85); PNH 0.70 (0.60); PNL 0.45 (0.50); PNW 0.45 (0.45); PW 0.65 (0.60); SL 1.35 (1.35); TL 5.75 (6.00); WL 1.90 (1.85). Indices: CI 72 (74); DNI 100 (90); EI 28 (29); LNI 156 (120); SI 150 (159). Description. Head. Slightly oval, longer than broad in frontal view, lateral margins converging posteriorly; posterior margin nearly straight in frontal view; antenna 12- segmented; scape long, extending beyond posterior margin of head by about one-third of its length; second funicular segment longer than third; in frontal view, eyes just breaking lateral sides of head in frontal view; eyes of moderate size, with a straight ventral margin and convex dorsal margin, and with 13 ommatidia in the longest row; in frontal view, mandibles subtriangular, but capable of closing tightly against the anterior margin of clypeus without a gap between them when apices overlap, and with a terminal tooth and a small basal dent; clypeus triangular with a distinct median carina and a prominent median lobe; anterior clypeal margin with a large translucent, fringing lamella. – Mesosoma. Metanotal groove deeply impressed; propodeal dorsum long, more than 2.5 x longer than descending face; metapleural gland orifice prominent. – Petiole. In profile, anterior face shorter than the posterior face and rounding to dorsum, which meets the posterior face at a right angle, posterodorsal angle not projecting posteriorly. – Sculpture. Mandible smooth and shining with scattered punctures; clypeus finely, longitudinally rugulose; cephalic surface smooth and shining with relatively pit-like punctures; promesonotum, mesonotum, and propodeal dorsum with few scattered pitlike punctures; metanotal groove cross-ribbed in dorsal view; meso-, metapleuron and descending face of propodeum transversally rugulose; petiole, and gastral tergites finely shagreened. – Pilosity. Body with long, yellow, stiff erect to suberect setae; antennae with appressed dense pubescence. – Colour. Black to brown-black; mandibles, antennae, legs, and tip of gaster brown. Male (Figures 2) A single male was collected by a pitfall trap in the type locality. This specimen is similar to the workers of <i>L. polaszeki</i> sp. n. in terms of body size, colour, sculpture and pilosity and appears to be the male caste of this species. However, a final confirmation is required. Material: Asir Province: Abha, Raydah, Saudi Arabia, 18.02915&amp;ring; N, 42.389083&amp;ring; E, alt. 1614 m, 26.viii.2014 (Al Dhafer leg.), P.T. 3-3-5, KSMA (CASENT0922262). Measurements: EL 0.36; HL 0.92; HW 0.72; PNH 0.51; PNL 0.38; PNW 0.39; SL 0.28; TL 5.52; WL 1.92. Indices: CI 78; DNI 103; EI 50; LNI 134; SI 39 (n=1). Description. Head. Longer than broad with strongly convex posterior margin in frontal view; antenna 13-segmented; scape short (SI 39); all funicular segments distinctly long- er than broad; eyes large (EL 0.5 x HW, EI 50), with a straight ventral margin and convex dorsal margin; in frontal view, mandibles reduced; clypeus broad, rectangular, with a feeble but distinct median carina. – Petiole. Like worker. – Sculpture. Mandible as worker; clypeus superficially, irregularly rugulose; cephalic surface as worker; in dorsal view, promesonotum and mesonotum finely longitudinally irregularly rugulose; propodeal dorsum transversely rugulose; petiole smooth and shining. – Pilosity. Like work- er. – Colour. As worker, but mandibles, antennae, legs, and tip of gaster yellow or yellow-brown. Etymology. The species is named in honour of Dr. Andrew Polaszek (Natural History Museum, London). Type locality (Figure 3). The Raydah Nature Reserve is a part of the Asir Mountains and is located 10 km west of Abha City. The village of Raydah lies at 1600 m just outside the protected area. Raydah Nature Reserve has one of the last remnants of bushy juniper forests existing in Saudi Arabia, with a distinct altitudinal zonation of vegetation. The diversity of the vegetation cover of the region is exceptionally high including <i>Juniperus procera</i> (Cupressaceae), <i>Olea europaea africana</i> (Oleaceae), <i>Lycium shawii roem</i> (Solanaceae), <i>Aloe officinalis</i> (Xanthorrhoeaceae), <i>Panicum turgidum</i> (Poaceae), <i>Haloxylon salicornicum</i> (Chenopodiaceae), <i>Maerua crassifolia</i> (Capparceae), <i>Opuntia ficus-indica</i> (Cactaceae), <i>Ziziphus spina-christi</i> (Rhamnaceae), <i>Coffea arabica</i> (Rubiaceae) and <i>Acacia</i> spp. (Mimosaceae). Differential Diagnosis. <i>Leptogenys polaszeki</i> sp. n. is a member of the <i>L. sulcinoda</i> - group as defined by Bolton (1975) and cannot be identified using his key to Afrotropical species. <i>L. polaszeki</i> sp.n. is most similar to <i>L. bellii</i> Emery, 1901 from Ethiopia. The two species are uniformly black to brown-black with mandibles, antennae, legs, and tip of gaster brown. <i>L. polaszeki</i> has the metanotal groove deeply impressed in profile, whereas in <i>L. bellii</i> the metanotal groove is shallowly impressed. In addition, <i>L. polaszeki</i> has longer scapes (SI 150-159), lower dorsal petiolar node index (DNI 90-100), and lower lateral petiolar node index (LNI 120-156), versus (SI 122, DNI 127, LNI 171) for <i>L. bellii</i>. Moreover, <i>L. polaszeki</i> has smaller eyes, with 13 ommatidia in the longest row, while the eyes of <i>L. bellii</i> are larger, with about 21 ommatidia in the longest row. Superficially, <i>L. polaszeki</i> appears similar to <i>L. elegans</i> Bolton, 1975 from Nigeria, but it can be readily separated by the larger body size (TL 5.75-6.00; HL 1.15-1.25; HW 0.85-0.90), the longer scapes (SI 150-159), and the less abundant hair-pits on the body surface; while <i>L. elegans</i> has a smaller body (TL 4.50 -4.90; HL 0.96-1.02; HW 0.60 - 0.72), shorter scapes (SI 125-138), and abundant hair-pits on the body surface. <b>Key to species of the genus <i>Leptogenys</i> from the Arabian Peninsula</b> 1 In frontal view, mandibles subtriangular and feebly curved, but capable of closing tightly against the anterior margin of clypeus without a gap be- tween them (Figure 4 A); eyes smaller, with about 13 ommatidia in the longest row (Fig. 4 A); in profile, petiolar node making a right angle with the straight posterior face (Fig. 4 C); petiole as long as or little longer than broad in dorsal view (Fig. 4 E); scapes long (SI 150 – 159)........... <i>L. polaszeki</i> sp. n. – In frontal view, mandibles elongate and curvilinear, not capable of clos- ing tightly against the clypeus (Fig. 4 B), the apices leaving a large gap be- tween themselves and the clypeus when closed (Fig. 4 B); eyes larger, with about 25 ommatidia in the longest row (Fig. 4 B); petiolar node mak- ing a continuous curve with the convex posterior margin (Fig. 4 D); peti- ole at least 1.5 x broader than long in dorsal view; scapes shorter (SI 101– 110) <i>............................................................................................. L. maxillosa (Smith)</i> Remarks. The relatively few specimens of <i>Leptogenys</i> known from this region may be due to the nocturnal activity of the species. Direct collecting methods such as hand picking are not as effective as pitfall trapping. <i>Leptogenys polaszeki</i> n. sp. seems to be a rare taxon since only two specimens were collected during extensive insect surveys near the type locality, including setting more than 200 pitfall traps bimonthly over two consecutive years.
description: Published as part of <i>Mostafa R. Sharaf, Shahid A. Akbar, Hathal M. Al Dhafer &amp; Abdulrahman S. Aldawood, 2017, A new ant species of the Leptogenys sulcinodagroup (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Saudi Arabia, pp. 68-75 in Zoology in the Middle East 63 (1)</i> on pages 69-74, DOI: 10.1080/09397140.2017.1292645, http://zenodo.org/record/322820
description: {"references": ["Bolton, B. (1975): A revision of the ant genus Leptogenys Roger (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the Ethiopian region with a review of the Malagasy species. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Entomology, 31, 235 - 305."]}