Taxonomy of the ant genus Pheidole Westwood (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the Afrotropical zoogeographic region: definition of species groups and systematic revision of the Pheidole pulchella group

Fischer, Georg; Garcia, Francisco Hita; Peters, Marcell K.

doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3232.1.1

Cited by 23 publications

(29 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Minor workers nurse the brood, and major workers defend the nest. The diet of Carebara includes mites, entomobryid collembolans and arthropod eggs (Wilson 1962, 1986), and according to Fischer (2012), six Carebara species from Kenya (Kakamega forest) have specialized predatory diets.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Taxonomy of the ant genus Carebara Westwood (Formicidae, Myrmicinae) in the Malagasy Region

Azorsa¹,

Fisher²

2018

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The genus Carebara is revised for the Malagasy region, and based on the examination of over 10,000 specimens, twenty-three species are recognized. Twenty one of these are described as new (C. bara sp. n., C. berivelo sp. n., C. betsi sp. n., C. creolei sp. n., C. demeter sp. n., C. dota sp. n., C. hainteny sp. n., C. hiragasy sp. n., C. jajoby sp. n., C. kabosy sp. n., C. lova sp. n., C. mahafaly sp. n., C. malagasy sp. n., C. omasi sp. n., C. placida sp. n., C. raberi sp. n., C. salegi sp. n., C. sampi sp. n., C. tana sp. n., C. tanana sp. n., C. vazimba sp. n.), and two are redescribed, C. grandidieri Forel (= C. voeltzkowi Forel n. syn.) and C. nosindambo Forel. A lectotype is designated for C. nosindambo. C. creolei sp. n. is known only from Mauritius and Seychelles, C. grandidieri Forel is distributed in Comoros, Madagascar and Mayotte, and the other twenty-one species are endemic to Madagascar. Most of the Carebara species recorded in this work are endemic to a specific habitat (ecoregion), but some of them (C. bara sp. n., C. grandidieri Forel, C. jajoby sp. n., C. kabosy sp. n., and C. nosindambo Forel) are widespread within Madagascar across all major habitats. The worker caste of Carebara can be differentiated from other genera in the Myrmicinae subfamily by the presence of the following combination of characters: antennae of eight to eleven segments, with a two-segmented club; anterior clypeal margin without central isolated seta (rarely present in some species or specimens), and usually with four distinct setae; mandibles with four to seven teeth (except in one species from Ghana - C. crigensis with three teeth); and palp formula 2,2 or 1,2. We report that almost all Carebara species found in the Malagasy region have intermediates (distinct forms) in the major worker subcaste, with the largest major workers showing remnants of queen flight sclerites and ocelli. The widespread presence of intermediates in the major worker subcaste expands the morphological boundaries of Carebara. We present an overview of the natural history of Carebara in the Malagasy region, an illustrated key for the identification of the known Malagasy species of Carebara, as well as high-resolution images and distribution maps. Unique identifiers are used for all specimens studied, including type material, and the raw data that forms the basis of this study are available on www.antweb.org (open access).

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Taxonomy of the ant genus Carebara Westwood (Formicidae, Myrmicinae) in the Malagasy Region

Azorsa¹,

Fisher²

2018

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“…from Madagascar is unknown ( Figure 1C). The situation is further complicated by the fact that most known hosts for Paussus are Afrotropical Pheidole, a hyperdiverse group of morphologically similar species in need of revision [28], making species identifications particularly challenging. However, Paussus are specialized predators of the host ants, so genomic analyses of their gut contents (which are now beginning) will substantially assist in identifying Paussus host ants in the future.…”

Section: Host Ant Associations and Putative Ecomorphsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Explosive Adaptive Radiation and Extreme Phenotypic Diversity within Ant-Nest Beetles

Moore

Robertson

2014

Current Biology

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Ant-nest beetles (Paussus) are the quintessential Trojan horses of the insect world. They hack the complex communication system of ants, allowing them to blend into the ant society and be treated as royalty, all the while preying upon the ants and the ants' brood and duping the ants into rearing their young. Here we present results of the first molecular-based phylogeny of ant-nest beetles, which reveals that this symbiosis has produced one of the most stunning examples of rapid adaptive radiation documented to date. The most recent ancestor of a Paussus clade endemic to Madagascar is only 2.6 million years old. This species gave rise to a remarkably phenotypically diverse clade of 86 extant species with a net diversification interval of 0.38-0.81 million years, a rate of radiation faster than classic textbook examples of large, recent, rapid radiations such as Anolis lizards on Caribbean islands, cichlids of the East African Great Lakes, finches on the Galápagos Islands, and Drosophila and tetragnathid spiders on the Hawaiian Islands. In order for Paussus to adapt to a new host ant species, the beetle's ability to perceive, deceive, and communicate with the new host must evolve quickly and in synchrony in both the larval and adult life stages, resulting in unusually strong selective pressure levied by their host ants. Data on host associations suggest that the history of host shifts may help explain both the striking phenotypic diversity within the Malagasy radiation and the evolution of phenotypically similar yet distantly related species in Madagascar and Africa.

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“…Passera 1994). Recent revisions of Pheidole (Eguchi 2001b; 2004b; 2008; Eguchi et al 2007; Fischer and Fisher 2013; Fischer et al 2012; Longino 2009; Longino and Cox 2009; Sarnat 2008; Wilson 2003) have advanced the taxonomy of this difficult group. Even at the pace of these past decades, it will be generations before modern identification resources will be available for the majority of known species.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Introduced Pheidole of the world: taxonomy, biology and distribution

Sarnat¹,

Fischer²,

Guénard

et al. 2015

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The objective of this study is to provide a detailed taxonomic resource for identifying and studying ants in the genus Pheidole that have established beyond their native ranges. There is an increasing need for systematists to study taxa of specific concern to 21st century environmental, food security and public health challenges. Systematics has an important role to play in both the theoretical and applied disciplines of invasion biology. Few invaders impact terrestrial ecosystems more than ants. Among the world’s 100 worst invasive species is the cosmopolitan and highly destructive Pheidole megacephala (Fabricius). Accurate identification of Pheidole megacephala is imperative for the success of screening, management and eradication programs designed to protect native ecosystems from the impacts of this destructive species. However, accurate identification of Pheidole species is difficult because of their taxonomic diversity, dimorphic worker caste and lack of taxonomic resources. Illustrated keys are included, along with the taxonomic history, taxonomic diagnoses, biological notes and risk statements for the 14 most invasive members of the genus. Global distribution maps based on over 14,000 specimen and literature records are presented for each species. These results of this work will facilitate identification of pest species, determination of climatic and habitat requirements, discovery of pest origins, horizon scanning and assessment of invasion pathways. The following new synonym is proposed, with the senior synonym listed first and the junior synonyms in parentheses: Pheidole indica Mayr (= Pheidole teneriffana Forel, and its synonyms Pheidole taina Aguayo and Pheidole voeltzkowii Forel). Pheidole navigans Forel, stat. rev., stat. n. is removed from synonymy and elevated to species rank. It is proposed that records of Pheidole moerens Forel outside of the Mesoamerica and the Caribbean refer instead to Pheidole navigans or other heterospecific taxa in the Pheidole flavens species complex. We propose that the names Pheidole anastasii Emery and Pheidole floridana Emery have been widely misapplied to North American outdoor records of Pheidole bilimeki Mayr. It is suggested that the synonymy of Pheidole lauta Wheeler be transferred from Pheidole floridana Emery to Pheidole bilimeki Mayr.

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Taxonomy of the ant genus Pheidole Westwood (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the Afrotropical zoogeographic region: definition of species groups and systematic revision of the Pheidole pulchella group

Cited by 23 publications

References 10 publications

Taxonomy of the ant genus Carebara Westwood (Formicidae, Myrmicinae) in the Malagasy Region

Taxonomy of the ant genus Carebara Westwood (Formicidae, Myrmicinae) in the Malagasy Region

Explosive Adaptive Radiation and Extreme Phenotypic Diversity within Ant-Nest Beetles

Introduced Pheidole of the world: taxonomy, biology and distribution

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