A species of ant previously unknown to science has been discovered in the Hajar Mountains – and it has been named in honour of Sharjah.
While finding new species is not necessarily unusual, the name of the new ant makes it stand out and emphasises the link to the place where it was found.
The discovery has been accompanied by a call for the area where the creature was found to be protected to ensure that the species can survive amid rapid development.
The most stringent environmental conservation measures should be implemented in to protect the new species from habitat loss Prof Mostafa Sharaf
Resembling a related ant first found in Zimbabwe more than 70 years ago, the new species was discovered in the Wadi Shees area in Sharjah emirate.
In a study published this month in the Journal of Natural History, the scientist who identified the creature, Prof Mostafa Sharaf of the Sharjah Environment and Protected Areas Authority, has named it Carebara sharjahensis.
“The most stringent environmental conservation measures should be implemented in its locality in the Hajar Mountains to protect the new species from habitat l
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