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 Lepisiota spinisquama ( Kuznetsov-Ugamsky, 1929 ) ( Figure 6 (a–c)) Acantholepis frauenfeldi subsp. spinisquama Kuznetsov-Ugamsky, 1929: 483 , fig. 3 (w.) Kazakhstan . Palaearctic. Diagnosis Worker . Antennal scapes when laid back from their insertions surpassing posterior margin of head by more than half of its length; propodeal spines short, acute and curved; petiole bituberculate; pronotum with a single pair of long hairs; body smooth and shining black, antennae, tibiae and tarsi yellowish. Material examined Yemen , Socotra Island , Qalansyia, 25 April 2014 , 26 m, (M. R . Sharaf leg.), 12.68401°N , 53.49052° E (3 w, KSMA ); Yemen , Socotra Island , Dixam, 24 April 2014 , 656 m, (M. R . Sharaf leg.), 12.49320° N , 53.99145°E (3 w, KSMA ); Yemen , Socotra Island , Qoaher (himihil RD), 23 April 2014 , 124 m, (M. R . Sharaf leg.), 12.58561°N , 54.27643°E (10 w, KSMA ); Yemen , Socotra Island , Himihil Protectorate, 23 April 2014 , 330 m, (M. R . Sharaf leg.), 12.58204°N , 54.29057°E (16 w KSMA ); Yemen , Socotra Island , Haydibo, Erheno, 19 April 2014 , 33 m, (M. R . Sharaf leg.), 12.65023°N , 54.04016°E (15 w, KSMA ); Yemen , Socotra Island , W. Ayhift, 20 April 2014 , 38 m, (M. R . Sharaf leg.), 12.61906°N , 53.94005°E (12 w, KSMA ); Yemen , Socotra Island , Himihil Protectorate, 23 April 2014 , 372 m, (M. R . Sharaf leg.), 12.57615°N , 54.30651°E (12 w, KSMA , 1 w, CASC ) . Geographic range This species has a wide distribution in central Asia but on the Arabian Peninsula it has been recorded only in Oman and Socotra ( Collingwood 1985 ; Collingwood and Agosti 1996 ; Collingwood et al. 2004 ). Ecological and biological notes Lepisiota spinisquama was collected from dry soil under a date palm tree by sifting. A colony was found nesting under a stone in Dixam Plateau . A nest was collected from under a dead palm tree where the soil had a high degree of humidity and was rich in organic material. Another colony was found under a stone where exoskeletons of minor workers of a yellow Camponotus sp. were present. Workers were observed foraging on the trunk of Boswellia carteri Flueck. (Burseraceae) where many worker of Trichomyrmex mayri (Forel) were also found at the trunk base and the soil was dry. Several mealybugs ( Hemiptera : Pseudococcidae ) were observed under the bark of the tree. The species was also found nesting under a stone with several dead tenebrionid beetles and a species of the family Lygaeidae (Hemiptera) . Several workers of L . spinisquama were foraging on ground where soil was sandy and dry. Several individuals were collected from a dry leaf litter by sifting. A nest was located in a relatively moist, compact clay soil under a stone. Previous observations indicate that this species apparently prefers dry habitats.