Messor eglalae

Messor eglalae Sharaf, 2007b PDF: 239, figs. 5, 6 (w.) EGYPT. Palearctic. AntCat AntWiki

Holotype : 1 worker, Egypt , Zaranik , North Sinai , 7.V.2003 ; N: 31.08 ; E: 33.48 ; M.R.Sharaf ; Paratype : 1 worker, Zaranik , North Sinai , 4.V.2003 ; N: 3 1.08 ; E: 33.48 ; M.R.Sharaf .

Measurements of Holotype: TL: 8.8; HL: 1.9; HW: 1.9; SL: 1.7; SI: 89.4; CI: 100

Type-locality: Egypt, Zaranik, North Sinai.

Diagnosis: (Figures 5, 6) Unicolorous black, tarsi, funiculus and mandibles reddish. Head as long as braod with dense granulate sculpture; the area between frontal carinae and infront and back of the eyes with longitudinal striations; the area adjacent to the antennal insertions with pale pubescence; underside of head with long J-shaped hairs; antennal scape with dense short hairs; mandibles edentate, shining, with strong longitudinal striae and few sparse short hairs; clypeus with reddish lateral parts and longitudinal striations; eyes relatively large; occiput straight with abundant pairs of short hairs. Alitrunk sides with strong granulate sculpture whereas its dorsum with strong irregular sculpture; propodeal spines short and abrupt; propodeal spiracles well developed; the whole alitrunk dorsum with abundant short yellow hairs. Petiole and postpetiole with very fine granulate sculpture and abundant hairs. Gaster smooth and shining, with abundant short yellow pilosity.

Affinities: This species cannot be separated from Bolton's key in (1982) on the Afrotropical Messor or from Collingwood and Agosti's key in (1996) on the Arabian Messor . It resembles M. muraywahus Collingwood & Agosti (1996) which was described from Saudi Arabia in the following characters: the first finicular segment distinclty longer than the second; first gaster tergite hairy with long pale hairs; occiput has four or five prjecting hairs at each side of the midline; genae below the eyes with few short projecting hairs. But differ from the mentioned species by the following characters: propodeum armed with two well developed and relatively long acute spines; subcephalic hairs more profuse forming a distinct psammophore; Petiole and postpetiole pilosity more abundant, eight pairs of hairs on the petiole and eleven pairs on the postpetiole.

Etymology: This species is named after the name of Mrs. Eglal H. El-Saadany (mother of the last author, Mostafa Sharaf).

Affinities: This species is one of the smallest Pheidole species recoded from Egypt. It appears taxonomically closest to P. minuscula Bernard , 1951 which was described from North west Africa. Both species are much smaller in size and all body dimensions as compared to the recoded species from Arabia and middle east, but P. fadlin. sp. is consistently smaller than P. minuscula , HL<0.5 mm (=0.48) versus HL<1 mm, HW<0.5 mm (0.41) versus HW <1 mm (0.84).