Taxonomy of the ant genus Proceratium Roger (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in the Afrotropical region with a revision of the P. arnoldi clade and description of four new species

Abstract

The taxonomy of the genus Proceratium Roger is updated for the Afrotropical region. We give an overview of the genus in the region, provide an illustrated identification key to the three clades (Proceratium arnoldi, Proceratium stictum and Proceratium toschii clades) and revise the Proceratium arnoldi clade. Four new species from the Proceratium arnoldi clade are described as new: Proceratium sokoke sp. n. from Kenya, Proceratium carri sp. n. from Mozambique, and Proceratium nilo sp. n. and Proceratium sali sp. n. from Tanzania. In order to integrate the new species into the existing taxonomic system we present an illustrated identification key to distinguish the seven Afrotropical species of the Proceratium arnoldi clade. In addition, we provide accounts for all members of the Proceratium arnoldi clade including detailed descriptions, diagnoses, taxonomic discussions, distribution data and high quality montage images.

A rare ant on Samoa: first record of the cryptic subfamily Proceratiinae (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) and description of a new Proceratium Roger species

“…Measurements were recorded in millimetres to three decimal places and rounded to two decimal places for presentation. The measurements and indices used in this study follow Hita Garcia et al (2014Garcia et al ( , 2015 who introduced a few new measurements and indices to Proceratium taxonomy:…”

“…Many species live hypogaeically, nest in soil, leaf litter, rotten wood, under deep-set stones (Brown 1958a, Baroni Urbani and de Andrade 2003, Fisher 2005, but also in tree branches (Brown 1974). Due to cryptic lifestyles and local rarity uncertainties about their biologies and biogeographic distributions are high (Baroni Urbani and deAndrade 2003, Hita Garcia et al 2014). Specialised predatory behaviour has been documented in both Discothyrea and Proceratium.…”

“…According to Hita Garcia et al (2014) the taxonomy of the genus is in a moderately good condition, with a relatively recent global revision by Baroni Urbani and de Andrade (2003) providing a valuable basis for smaller taxonomic updates and regional revisions (Bharti and Wachkoo 2014, Fisher 2005b, Hita Garcia et al 2014, Hita Garcia et al 2015, Xu 2006. For Japan Onoyama and Yoshimura (2002) provided a taxonomic revision for the genus, raising the number of Proceratium species from three to four.…”

Systematics of the ant genus Proceratium Roger (Hymenoptera, Formicidae, Proceratiinae) in China – with descriptions of three new species based on micro-CT enhanced next-generation-morphology

“…However, based on recent molecular phylogenetic results, the monophyly of the genus appears doubtful (Borowiec et al 2017). While globally distributed, with the majority of species occurring in warm and sufficiently wet climates, the geographic record is very patchy (Baroni Urbani and de Andrade 2003, Hita Garcia et al 2014, Guénard et al 2017). Specimens are only rarely collected, usually in leaf litter or soil samples.…”

“…The authors also refined the internal species clades originally erected by Brown (1958) and grouped the genus in eight internal clades that reflect the relationships of a morphology-based phylogeny (Baroni Urbani and de Andrade 2003). Nevertheless, the account on the genus is far from complete, as can be seen in the few single species descriptions (Fisher 2005, Liu et al 2015a) and regional revisions published since then (Xu 2006, Hita Garcia et al 2014, 2015). Considering the cryptic lifestyle and extreme rarity in collections, it is very likely that many more species await discovery and formal taxonomic treatment.…”