Messor arenarius subsp. diabolus Santschi 1938

Messor arenarius diabolus Santschi, 1938

Messor arenarius diabolus Santschi, 1938: 35, fig. 5 (w.) Egypt. Palearctic.

Diagnosis. Worker. Uniform black with blackbrown mandibles, funiculus and tarsi brown-red; posterior margin of head strongly deeply concave in full-face view; body pilosity profuse, especially on the gaster.

Previous records. Doha, 02.v.1983, 5 w; Abu Samrah, 03.iv.1984, 20 w; Al Shahaniyah, 20.iii.1985, 7w, (Abdo and Shaumer 1985).

Geographic distribution. This subspecies was originally described from Egypt and seems to be endemic to the country.

Remarks. This record was mentioned in Abdo and Shaumer (1985) under the name Camponotus arenarius var. diabolus. Since there is no species of this name under the genus Camponotus, it is most likely referring to Messor arenarius diabolus. This subspecies, however, is only known from the type locality and has not been collected from any country in the Arabian Peninsula, therefore, we consider the record of Abdo and Shaumer (1985) is dubious and represents a misidentified taxon.