Phylogeny of the ant genus Aphaenogaster (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the Iberian Peninsula, with the description of a new species

Abstract

A phylogenetic tree of the Iberian Aphaenogaster species - except for A. splendida (Roger) - and a key to the worker caste of all Iberian Aphaenogaster species are proposed. The position of A. striativentris Forel and A. cardenai Espadaler is discussed, stating the possibility that this second species may belong to a new, undescribed genus. Aphaenogaster ulibeli n. sp. is described from the Iberian Peninsula. Its closest relatives are A. gibbosa (Latreille) and A. striativentris. Its habitat seems to be restricted to caducifolia forests in the Western Central Massif.

Three endemic Aphaenogaster from the Siculo-Maltese archipelago and the Italian Peninsula: part of a hitherto unrecognized species group from the Maghreb? (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae)

“…striativentris Forel, 1895(see TINAUT & JIMÉNEZ ROJAS 1990; Antweb specimen KG00801), A. mauritanica Dalla Torre, 1893(see SANT SCHI 1932, CAGNIANT 1987 differences between the drawings of the two authors), A. nadigi Santschi, 1923(see CAGNIANT 1987. The male of the recently described A. ulibeli Gómez & Espadaler, 2018 is also known (GÓMEZ et al 2018). Some differences between males of these species may be worth a more detailed evaluation.…”

“…It comprises A. cardenai Espadaler, 1981, A. muelleriana Wolf, 1915, A. ovaticeps (Emery, 1898, A. rugosoferruginea Forel, 1889, A. splendida and A. strioloides, but striking differences emerge when comparing the males of A. splendida (see EMERY 1908), A. cardenai (see TINAUT 1986), and A. strioloides (see SANTSCHI 1923). It is to be noted that recently A. cardenai has even been suspected to belong to another unrecognized genus rather than to Aphaenogaster (GÓMEZ et al 2018). Male morphology was also overlooked in the comparisons proposed by SCHULZ (1994) when describing A. graeca Schulz, 1994, and further examples could probably be found.…”

“…In conclusion, a broad revision of the Mediterranean Aphaenogaster, aided by the use of molecular data, is surely required in order to establish a reliable framework of phylogenetic relationships among the species. Actually, only a small number of Mediterranean species have been subjects of molecular studies (BRANSTETTER et al 2016, LORITE et al 2017, GÓMEZ et al 2018, CENTORAME et al 2018. However, morphological elements suggest that A. fi orii stat.…”

“…Since BOER (2013) defi ned Aphaenogaster as a 'forgotten' genus in Europe, not many advancements have been achieved. Lately, the few molecular indications available even led to question if all the Mediterranean ant species currently attributed to Aphaenogaster truly belong to only one genus (GÓMEZ et al 2018).…”

Aphaenogaster illyrica, a new species from the mountains of the Balkan Peninsula (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)

“…Aphaenogaster Mayr, 1853 is a worldwide genus, which includes 226 species and subspecies. Among them, 128 species and subspecies are known from the Palearctic Region (Bolton 2018) and 43 from Europe (Borowiec 2014, Borowiec and Salata 2014, 2018, Salata and Borowiec 2016, Borowiec et al 2019, Gómez et al 2018). Schulz (1994) proposed the division of some west Palearctic taxa of Aphaenogaster into species groups.…”