Abstract
The present study represents a taxonomic revision of the P. bessonii species-group from Madagascar. Eighteen members of this group are recognized and described, and an illustrated identification key to this group is also presented. One name is raised to species level: P. decollata Forel, 1892 stat. nov. We also redescribe worker castes and designate lectotypes for P. bessonii Forel, 1891, P. decollata Forel, 1892, P. grallatrix Emery, 1899, P. madecassa Forel, 1892, and P. oswaldi 1891. The following 13 new species are described: Pheidole antsahabe sp. nov., Pheidole atsirakambiaty sp. nov., Pheidole clara sp. nov., Pheidole flammea sp. nov., Pheidole flavodepressa sp. nov., Pheidole mantadioflava sp. nov., Pheidole maro sp. nov., Pheidole ovalinoda sp. nov., Pheidole similis sp. nov., Pheidole tenebrovulgaris sp. nov., Pheidole uranus sp. nov., Pheidole voreios sp. nov., Pheidole zirafy sp. nov.
References
Dalla Torre, K.W. (1893) Catalogus Hymenopterorum hucusque descriptorum systematicus et synonymicus. Vol. 7. Formicidae (Heterogyna). W. Engelmann, Leipzig, 289 pp.
https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.8794
Eguchi, K. (2008) A revision of Northern Vietnamese species of the ant genus Pheidole (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae). Zootaxa, 1902 (1), 1–118.
https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.1902.1.1
Forel, A. (1891) Histoire naturelle des Hyménoptères. Deuxième partie: Les Formicides. In: Grandidier, A. (Ed.), Histoire physique, naturelle, et politique de Madagascar. L’Imprimerie Nationale, Paris, pp. 1–280.
Forel, A. (1892) Nouvelles espèces de Formicides de Madagascar (récoltées par M. Sikora). Première série. Annales de la Société Entomologique de Belgique, 36, 516–535.
Forel, A. (1905) Miscellanea myrmécologiques II (1905) Annales de la Société Entomologique de Belgique, 49, 155–185.
Fischer, G. & Fisher, B.L. (2013) A revision of Pheidole Westwood (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the islands of the Southwest Indian Ocean and designation of a neotype for the invasive Pheidole megacephala. Zootaxa, 3683 (4), 301–356.
https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3683.4.1
Fischer, G., Hita Garcia, F. & Peters, M.K. (2012) 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. Zootaxa, 3232 (1), 1–43.
https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3232.1.1
Fisher, B.L. (2000) The Malagasy fauna of Strumigenys. In: Bolton, B (Ed.), The ant tribe Dacetini. American Entomological Society, Philadelphia, pp. 612–696.
Fisher, B.L. & Peeters, C. (2019) Ants of Madagascar: a guide to the 62 genera. Association Vahatra, Antananarivo, 260 pp.
Hita Garcia, F. & Fisher, B.L. (2011) The ant genus Tetramorium Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the Malagasy region—introduction, definition of species groups, and revision of the T. bicarinatum, T. obesum, T. sericeiventre and T. tosii species groups. Zootaxa, 3039 (1), 1–72.
https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3039.1.1
Hita Garcia, F. & Fisher, B.L. (2012a) The ant genus Tetramorium Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the Malagasy region—taxonomy of the T. bessonii, T. bonibony, T. dysalum, T. marginatum, T. tsingy, and T. weitzeckeri species groups. Zootaxa, 3365 (1), 1–123.
https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3365.1.1
Hita Garcia, F. & Fisher, B.L. (2012b) The ant genus Tetramorium Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the Malagasy region—taxonomic revision of the T. kelleri and T. tortuosum species groups. Zootaxa, 3592 (1), 1–85.
https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3592.1.1
Hita Garcia, F. & Fisher, B.L. (2014) The hyper-diverse ant genus Tetramorium Mayr (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in the Malagasy region—taxonomic revision of the T. naganum, T. plesiarum, T. schaufussii, and T. severini species groups. ZooKeys, 413, 1–170.
https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.512.9860
Hita Garcia, F. & Fisher, B.L. (2015) Taxonomy of the hyper-diverse ant genus Tetramorium Mayr in the Malagasy region (Hymenoptera, Formicidae, Myrmicinae)—first record of the T. setigerum species group and additions to the Malagasy species groups with an updated illustrated identification key. ZooKeys, 512, 121–153.
https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.512.9860
Longino, J.T. (2009) Additions to the taxonomy of New World Pheidole (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zootaxa, 2181 (1), 1–90.
https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.2181.1.1
Longino, J.T. (2019) Pheidole (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of Middle American wet forest. Zootaxa, 4599 (1), 1–126.
https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4599.1.1
Rakotonirina, J.C., Csősz, S. & Fisher, B.L. (2016) Revision of the Malagasy Camponotus edmondi species group (Hymenoptera, Formicidae, Formicinae): integrating qualitative morphology and multivariate morphometric analysis. ZooKeys, 572, 81–154.
https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.572.7177
Rakotonirina, J.C., Csősz, S. & Fisher, B.L. (2017) Taxonomic revision of the Malagasy Camponotus grandidieri and niveosetosus species groups (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) using qualitative and quantitative morphology. Zootaxa, 4238 (2), 203–245.
https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4238.2.2
Rakotonirina, J.C. & Fisher, B.L. (2018) Taxonomic revision of the Malagasy Camponotus subgenus Mayria Hymenoptera, Formicidae) using qualitative and quantitative morphology. Zootaxa, 4438 (1), 1–58.
https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4438.1.1
Rasoamanana, N., Csősz, S. & Fisher, B.L. (2017) Taxonomic revision of imitating carpenter ants, Camponotus subgenus Myrmopytia (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of Madagascar, using morphometry and qualitative traits. ZooKeys, 681, 119–152.
https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.681.13187
Salata, S. & Fisher, B.L. (2020a) Pheidole Westwood, 1839 (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) of Madagascar—an introduction and a taxonomic revision of eleven species groups. ZooKeys, 905, 1–235.
https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.905.39592
Salata, S. & Fisher, B.L. (2020b) Taxonomic revision of the Pheidole sikorae species-group (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from Madagascar. ZooKeys, 949, 1–185.
https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.949.51269
Tennekes, M. (2018) “tmap: Thematic Maps in R.” Journal of Statistical Software, 84 (6), 1–39.
https://doi.org/10.18637/jss.v084.i06
Wang. W.Y., Yamada, A. & Eguchi, K. (2018) First discovery of the mangrove ant Pheidole sexspinosa Mayr, 1870 (Formicidae: Myrmicinae) from the Oriental region with redescriptions of the worker, queen and male. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology, 66, 652–663.
Wilson, E.O. (1955) A monographic revision of the ant genus Lasius. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology, 113, 1–201.
Wilson, E.O. (2003) Pheidole in the New World: A Dominant, Hyperdiverse Ant Genus. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 794 pp.