Brachyponera sennaarensis
Creators: name: Sharaf, Mostafa R.
name: Abdel-Dayem, Mahmoud S.
name: Mohamed, Amr A.
name: Fisher, Brian L.
name: Aldawood, Abdulrahman S.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2020
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Formicidae
Brachyponera
Brachyponera sennaarensis

description: <i>Brachyponera sennaarensis</i> (Mayr, 1862) (Fig. 26 A–C, 27 A–C) <i>Ponera sennaarensis</i> Mayr, 1862: 721 (w.) Sudan. Afrotropic. <b> <i>Diagnosis</i>. Worker.</b> Dark brown to black-brown, with antennae, tibiae, and tarsi reddish. In full-face view head with convex sides and concave posterior margin; eyes relatively large; metanotal groove deeply impressed; petiole a high and thick node with a straight anterior surface and convex posterior surface; first and second gastral tergites separated by a distinct constriction characteristic of ponerine ants; gaster ending with a powerful sting. All body surfaces covered with fine and dense pubescence. <b> <i>Material examined</i>.</b> Qatar, Rawdet Rashed, 12.iii. 2005, 25°14.006‘N, 51°12.286’E, (M.S. Abdel-Dayem leg.), 3w; Al-Rayyan, 14.iii.2005, 25°18’N, 51°25’E, (M.S. Abdel-Dayem leg.), 25w; Al Dkakhira Park, 14.iii.2005, 25°43.65’N, 51°32.052’E, (M.S. Abdel-Dayem leg.), 9w; Al-Rayyan, 17.iii.2005, 25°18’N, 51°25’E, (M.S. Abdel-Dayem leg.), 11w; Al-Dohuil, 18-8.iii.2005, 25°22’N, 51°29’E, (M.S. Abdel-Dayem leg.), 31w, (KSMA). <b> <i>Geographic distribution</i>.</b> <i>Brachyponera sennaarensis</i> is an African native species originally described from Sudan, and spreads eastwardly from the Arabian Peninsula to Iran and India (Wetterer 2013). This ponerine ant is widely spread in all countries of the Arabian Peninsula (Collingwood 1985, Collingwood and Agosti 1996, Collingwood <i>et al.</i> 2011) and the Socotra Archipelago (Sharaf <i>et al.</i> 2017). It was recorded from Qatar by Wetterer (2013). <b> <i>Ecological and biological notes</i>.</b> <i>Brachyponera sennaarensis</i> has the ability to invade a diverse range of habitats including moist soils around date palm trees, leaf litter, public gardens, under rocks and objects associated with moist soils, and any habitat close to human settlements (Collingwood 1985, Collingwood and Agosti 1996, Wetterer 2013). In Socotra Archipelago, Sharaf <i>et al.</i> (2017) found a colony under a rock next to a dragon blood tree <i>Dracaena cinnabari</i> Balf. f. (Asparagaceae). <i>Brachyponera sennaarensis</i> is a predaceous scavenger feeding on insects (Lachaud and Dejean 1994, Collingwood and Agosti 1996) and the seeds of tropical plants (Levieux and Diomande 1978). [Table 1]
description: Published as part of <i>Sharaf, Mostafa R., Abdel-Dayem, Mahmoud S., Mohamed, Amr A., Fisher, Brian L. &amp; Aldawood, Abdulrahman S., 2020, A Preliminary Synopsis of the Ant Fauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Qatar with Remarks on the Zoogeography, pp. 533-560 in Annales Zoologici 70 (4)</i> on page 554, DOI: 10.3161/00034541anz2020.70.4.005, http://zenodo.org/record/4433537
description: {"references": ["Mayr, G. 1862. Myrmecologische Studien. Verhandlungen der Zoologisch-Botanischen Gesellschaft in Wien, 12: 649 - 776.", "Wetterer, J. K. 2013. Geographic spread of the samsum or sword ant, Pachycondyla (Brachyponera) sennaarensis (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Myrmecological News, 18: 13 - 18.", "Collingwood, C. A. 1985. Hymenoptera: Fam. Formicidae of Saudi Arabia. Fauna of Saudi Arabia, 7: 230 - 302.", "Collingwood, C. A. and Agosti, D. 1996. Formicidae (Insecta: Hymenoptera) of Saudi Arabia (Part 2). Fauna of Arabia, 15: 300 - 385.", "Collingwood, C. A., Agosti, D., Sharaf, M. R. &amp; A. van Harten. 2011. Order Hymenoptera, family Formicidae. Arthropod Fauna of the UAE, 4: 405 - 474.", "Sharaf, M. R., Fisher, B. L., Collingwood, C. A. and S. A. Aldawood. 2017. Ant fauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the Socotra Archipelago (Yemen): zoogeography, distribution and description of a new species. Journal of Natural History, 51: 317 - 378.", "Lachaud, J. P. and A. Dejean. 1994. Predatory behavior of a seed-eating ant: Pachycondyla sennaarensis. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata, 72: 145 - 155.", "Levieux, J. and T. Diomande. 1978. La nutrition des fourmis granivores. II. Cycle d'activite &amp; regime alimentaire de Pachycondylas ennaarensis (MAYR). Insectes Sociaux, 25: 187 - 196."]}