Taxonomic revision of Madagascan species of the Pheidole fervens species-group (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)

Salata, Sebastian; Fisher, Brian L.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0244195

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 25 publications

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“…The ant genus Pheidole has recently been the focus of extensive taxonomic attention in the Malagasy region. Recent work mainly by Salata and Fisher (2020a , b , 2021 ) improved the taxonomy of the genus, creating eleven new species groups and adding dozens of new species. Much less attention has been paid to the massive undescribed Pheidole fauna in the Afrotropical region, remaining poorly known with dozens of species waiting to be described.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pheidole klaman sp. nov.: a new addition from Ivory Coast to the Afrotropical pulchella species group (Hymenoptera, Formicidae, Myrmicinae)

Gómez¹,

Kouakou

Fischer

et al. 2022

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In this study the taxonomy of the Pheidole pulchella species group is updated for the Afrotropical region and the new species P. klamansp. nov. described. It is integrated into the existing taxonomic system by an updated identification key for the whole group and an update of the known distribution ranges of its members. High quality focus stacking images are provided, with X–ray micro–CT scanned digital 3D representations, of major and minor worker type specimens.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pheidole klaman sp. nov.: a new addition from Ivory Coast to the Afrotropical pulchella species group (Hymenoptera, Formicidae, Myrmicinae)

Gómez¹,

Kouakou

Fischer

et al. 2022

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Exploring the diversity of the Malagasy Ponera (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) fauna via integrative taxonomy

Csősz

Loss²,

Fisher

2023

Org Divers Evol

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The genus Ponera includes over 60 extant species worldwide. These tiny, endogeic predator ants are predominantly distributed in the Indomalaya and Australasia regions, with a few additional Holarctic species. Herein, we explore and describe the diversity of the Malagasy Ponera fauna through an integrative taxonomic approach. We obtained our morphological species hypotheses from multivariate analyses of ten continuous morphometric characters. Species boundaries and reliability of morphological clusters were tested via confirmatory Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA), cross-validation (LOOCV), and analyses of a mitochondrial COI gene fragment. According to the combined application of the analyses, altogether, three species are inferred in the Malagasy region, Ponera petila Wilson (1957), P. swezeyi Wheeler (1933), and P. adumbrans Csősz & Fisher sp. n. Ponera petila and P. swezeyi belong to the Indo-Australian Ponera tenuis group; the third species, P. adumbrans sp. n., is morphologically similar to the Papua New Guinean P. clavicornis Emery (1900). Furthermore, Linear Discriminant Analysis classified the type specimens of P. bableti Perrault (1993), along with a P. petila cluster with posterior p = 1. Therefore, we propose the new junior synonymy of P. bableti with P. petila. Madagascar’s extant biodiversity is predominantly explained by colonization events from the African continent across the Mozambique channel via rafting. However, since no native Ponera species are known from the Afrotropical continent, and the closest congeners have an almost exclusively Indo-Australian distribution, the likelihood of an Indo-Australian origin of the Malagasy Ponera fauna is implied.

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Taxonomic revision of the Pheidole megacephala species-group (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from the Malagasy Region

Salata

Fisher

2022

PeerJ

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Background The Malagasy Region, one of the top megadiversity regions, hosts one of the highest numbers of endemic and threatened organisms on earth. One of the most spectacular examples of ant radiation on the island has occurred in the hyperdiverse genus Pheidole. To this date, there are 135 described Madagascan Pheidole divided into 16 species-groups, and 97% of Malagasy species are endemic to the island. This study is a taxonomic revision of the Pheidole megacephala group, one of only two species-groups comprising a combination of native, endemic taxa and widely distributed introduced species. Methods The diversity of the Malagasy members of the megacephala group was assessed via application of qualitative morphological and DNA sequence data. Qualitative, external morphological characteristics (e.g., head shape, gaster sculpture, body colouration) were evaluated in order to create a priori grouping hypotheses, and confirm and improve species delimitation. Mitochondrial DNA sequences from cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene fragments were analyzed to test the putative species previously delimited by morphological analyses. Results We recognize three species belonging to the megacephala group: P. megacephala (Fabricius, 1793), P. megatron Fischer & Fisher, 2013 and P. spinosa Forel, 1891 stat. nov. Pheidole spinosa is redescribed and elevated to the species level. The following names are recognized as junior synonyms of P. spinosa: P. megacephala scabrior Forel, 1891 syn. nov., P. picata Forel, 1891 syn. nov., P. picata gietleni Forel, 1905 syn. nov., P. picata bernhardae Emery, 1915 syn. nov., and P. decepticon Fischer & Fisher, 2013 syn. nov. The results are supplemented with an identification key to species for major workers of the megacephala group, high-resolution images for major and minor workers, and comments on the distribution and biology of all Malagasy members of the group. Our study revealed that Pheidole megacephala, a species listed among the 100 worst invasive species worldwide, occurs in both natural and disturbed sites in the Malagasy region. The two remaining members of the megacephala group, most likely endemic to this region, are also present in anthropogenic habitats and often co-occur with P. megacephala. It appears that the Malagasy members of the group are generalists and dominant in anthropogenic habitats. Additionally, we documented the presence of supermajors in colonies of P. spinosa—a phenomenon previously not known for this group.

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Taxonomic revision of Madagascan species of the Pheidole fervens species-group (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)

Cited by 3 publications

References 25 publications

Pheidole klaman sp. nov.: a new addition from Ivory Coast to the Afrotropical pulchella species group (Hymenoptera, Formicidae, Myrmicinae)

Pheidole klaman sp. nov.: a new addition from Ivory Coast to the Afrotropical pulchella species group (Hymenoptera, Formicidae, Myrmicinae)

Exploring the diversity of the Malagasy Ponera (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) fauna via integrative taxonomy

Taxonomic revision of the Pheidole megacephala species-group (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from the Malagasy Region

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Taxonomic revision of Madagascan species of the Pheidole fervens species-group (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)

Cited by 3 publications

References 25 publications

﻿Pheidole klaman sp. nov.: a new addition from Ivory Coast to the Afrotropical pulchella species group (Hymenoptera, Formicidae, Myrmicinae)

﻿Pheidole klaman sp. nov.: a new addition from Ivory Coast to the Afrotropical pulchella species group (Hymenoptera, Formicidae, Myrmicinae)

Exploring the diversity of the Malagasy Ponera (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) fauna via integrative taxonomy

Taxonomic revision of the Pheidole megacephala species-group (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from the Malagasy Region

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Product

Resources

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Pheidole klaman sp. nov.: a new addition from Ivory Coast to the Afrotropical pulchella species group (Hymenoptera, Formicidae, Myrmicinae)

Pheidole klaman sp. nov.: a new addition from Ivory Coast to the Afrotropical pulchella species group (Hymenoptera, Formicidae, Myrmicinae)