Cardiocondyla mauritanica Forel, 1890

(Figure 9 (a–c))

Cardiocondyla nuda var. mauritanica Forel, 1890: lxxv (w.) Tunisia. Palaearctic.

Diagnosis

Worker. Clypeus with few longitudinal rugae; mesosoma usually with well-developed microreticulum; metanotal groove shallow; propodeal spines short and blunt; postpetiole narrow, roughly hexagonal in dorsal view, with a flat sternite, and distinctly lower than petiole in profile. Colour variable, dorsal head dark brown, mesosoma, petiole and postpetiole orange brown, gaster bark brown to blackish brown.

Material examined

Yemen, Socotra Island, W. Feriho (daitab), 21 April 2014, 93 m, (M. R. Sharaf leg.), 12.44103°N, 54.15576°E (2 w, KSMA); Yemen Island, Socotra, W. Jo’ o, 21 April 2014, 196 m, (M. R. Sharaf leg.), 12.54038°N, 54.17186°E (1 w, KSMA).

Geographic range

A cosmopolitan species (Seifert 2003) and one of the most successfully distributed species of the genus. This species has been recorded from KSA (Collingwood 1985), Yemen (Collingwood and Agosti 1996) and UAE (Collingwood et al. 1997). Although this species was found in uninhabited areas of Socotra Island, it is likely to have been dispersed through the cargo and food being transported by islanders from the capital city of Haydibo into the countryside. Cardiocondyla mauritanica is recorded from Socotra Archipelago for the first time.

Ecological and biological notes

Workers were observed foraging in wet, sandy soil next to a small stream. Some specimens were found in leaf litter under a date palm where the soil was moist and rich in decayed goat and sheep faecal material.