Leptogenys maxillosa

Leptogenys maxillosa (Smith, 1858) Fig. 55 Ponera maxillosa Smith, 1858: 93 (w, m) Mauritius. Malagasy. Diagnosis Body opaque dark brown to black-brown; in full-face view hypostomal teeth visible, anterior clypeal margin makes an obtuse angle medially; anterior clypeal margin with 2 long setae; mandibles falcate; median portion of clypeus projects as a lobe; tarsal claws pectinate. Material examined This species was not collected in the present study. Ecological and biological notes This species has been found associated with roadside leaf litter under shrubs (Collingwood 1985). Leptogenys maxillosa has been reported as a specialized predator of isopods in Brazil (Lattke 2011), and nest entrances can be detected by exoskeletons of their prey (Freitas 1995). Leptogenys maxillosa is a pantropical tramp species adapted to inhabiting disturbed areas, and frequently found nesting in slots and cavities of buildings in urban areas (Freitas 1995). Geographic range Leptogenys maxillosa was described originally from Mauritius and this ant is now recorded from the Afrotropical, the Neotropical (Bolton 1975) and the Malagasy (Rakotonirina & Fisher 2014) Regions. It was listed from KSA and Oman (Dhofar) by Collingwood (1985) and Collingwood & Agosti (1996).
Published as part of Sharaf, Mostafa R., Wetterer, James K., Mohamed, Amr A. & Aldawood, Abdulrahman S., 2022, Faunal composition, diversity, and distribution of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Dhofar Governorate, Oman, with updated list of the Omani species and remarks on zoogeography, pp. 1-106 in European Journal of Taxonomy 838 (1) on page 89, DOI: 10.5852/ejt.2022.838.1925, http://zenodo.org/record/7094306
{"references":["Smith F. 1858. Catalogue of Hymenopterous Insects in the Collection of the British Museum. Part VI. Formicidae. British Museum, London. https: // doi. org / 10.5962 / bhl. title. 20858","Collingwood C. A. 1985. Hymenoptera: Fam. Formicidae of Saudi Arabia. Fauna of Saudi Arabia 7: 230 - 302.","Lattke J. E. 2011. Revision of the New world species of the genus Leptogenys Roger (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Ponerinae). Arthropod Systematics & Phylogeny 69: 127 - 264.","Freitas A. 1995. Nest relocation and prey specialization in the ant Leptogenys propefalcigera Roger (Formicidae: Hymenoptera) in an urban area in southeastern Brazil. Insectes Sociaux 42: 453 - 456. https: // doi. org / 10.1007 / BF 01242173","Bolton B. 1975. A revision of the ant genus Leptogenys Roger (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the Ethiopian region with a review of the Malagasy species. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History). Entomology 31: 235 - 305. Available from https: // www. biodiversitylibrary. org / page / 2355462 [accessed 25 Jul. 2022].","Rakotonirina J. C. & Fisher B. L. 2014. Revision of the Malagasy ponerine ants of the genus Leptogenys Roger (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zootaxa 3836: 1 - 163. https: // doi. org / 10.11646 / zootaxa. 3836.1.1","Collingwood C. A. & Agosti D. 1996. Formicidae (Insecta: Hymenoptera) of Saudi Arabia (part 2). Fauna of Saudi Arabia 15: 300 - 385."]}