Ant fauna (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of the Socotra Archipelago (Yemen): zoogeography, distribution and description of a new species Author Sharaf, Mostafa R. Author Fisher, Brian L. Author Collingwood, Cedric A. Author Aldawood, Abdulrahman S. text Journal of Natural History 2017 J. Nat. Hist. 2017-01-27 51 5 - 6 317 378 http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2016.1271157 journal article 55739 10.1080/00222933.2016.1271157 f91a0e7b-c4c5-458a-858a-9de4cf82e13f 1464-5262 5184295 89612083-9CE6-48E8-8975-1CE5334E098B Cardiocondyla minutior Forel, 1899 ( Figure 10 (a–c)) Cardiocondyla nuda var. minutior Forel, 1899: 120 (w.) Hawaii . Oceania. Diagnosis Worker . Eyes small, with distinct microsetae; posterior margin of head straight or very weakly concave; anterior clypeal margin with feeble median concavity; mesosomal outline in profile nearly straight or feebly convex; metanotal groove weakly impressed or entirely absent; propodeal spines short and acute; petiole in profile with concave anterior face and rounded node; petiolar node in dorsal view circular and as long as broad; postpetiole low, with a completely flat sternite and without anteroventral bulge. Head, mesosoma, petiole and postpetiole varying from dirty yellow to dark dirty brown, gaster brown to blackish brown. Material examined Yemen , Socotra Island , Dixam ( W. Zereg ), 24 April 2014 , 279 m, (M. R . Sharaf leg.), 12.46868°N , 54.01091°E (18 w, KSMA ); Yemen , Socotra Island , Himihil Protectorate, 23 April 2014 , 355 m, (M. R . Sharaf leg.), 12.58954°N , 54.30570°E (12w, KSMA ); Yemen , Socotra Island , W. Jo’ o, 21 April 2014 , 196 m, (M. R . Sharaf leg.), 12.54038°N , 54.17186°E (2 w, KSMA ); Yemen , Socotra Island , W. Sakhalof , 27 April 2014 , 48 m, (M. R . Sharaf leg.), 12.63311°N , 54.05632°E (5 w, KSMA ); Yemen , Socotra Island , Lehanoh, 22 April 2014 , 931 m, (M. R . Sharaf leg.), 12.57583°N , 54.04836°E (10 w, KSMA ); Yemen , Socotra Island , Dehejamo, 22 April 2014 , 563 m, (M. R . Sharaf leg.), 12.59049°N , 54.05205°E (1 w, KSMA ) . Geographic range This species was originally described from Hawaii ( Forel 1899 ) and is a cosmopolitan tramp species ( Seifert 2003 ). Our collections represent a new record for Socotra Archipelago. Ecological and biological notes The nesting and foraging behaviours of Cardiocondyla minutior are diverse. Workers were found in leaf litter under a date palm tree where the soil was moist and rich in accumulations of domestic livestock waste. Several specimens were observed foraging in leaf litter on a mountainside near a drainage where the soil was moist and supported diverse plant cover but was dominated by Adiantum capillus-veneris L. ( Pteridaceae ). A number of workers were found foraging in dry leaf litter under a small Fagonia tree ( Zygophyllaceae ). Several workers were found nesting in the moist basal leaves of a date palm tree trunk where hundreds of Hypoponera punctatissima ( Roger, 1859 ) workers cooccurred.