ZooKeys 413: 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

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The taxonomy of the Tetramorium naganum, T. plesiarum, T. schaufussii, and T. severini species groups are revised for the Malagasy region. A total of 31 species are treated, of which 22 are newly described and nine redescribed. This increases the richness of the hyper-diverse genus Tetramorium in the Malagasy region to 106 species, which makes it the most species-rich genus in the region. Twenty-nine of the treated species are endemic to Madagascar, one is endemic to the Comoros, and one species is found predominantly in Madagascar but also on the island of Reunion. The T. naganum species group contains five species, which are mainly distributed in the rainforests and montane rainforests of eastern and northern Madagascar: T. alperti sp. n., T. dalek sp. n., T. enkidu sp. n., T. gilgamesh sp. n., and T. naganum Bolton, 1979. The T.plesiarum species group holds five species: T. bressleri sp. n., T. hobbit sp. n., T. gollum sp. n., T. mars sp.n., and T. plesiarum Bolton, 1979. All five are arid-adapted species occurring in the southwest and west of Madagascar. The second-most species-rich group in the region is the T. schaufussii species group with 20 species, most of which inhabit rainforests or montane rainforests of eastern and northern Madagascar. This group includes two species complexes each containing ten species: the T. cognatum complex with the species T. aspis sp. n., T. camelliae sp. n., T. cognatum Bolton, 1979, T. freya sp. n., T. gladius sp. n., T.karthala sp. n., T. myrmidon sp. n., T. proximum Bolton, 1979, T. rumo sp. n., and T. tenuinode sp. n.; and the T. schaufussii complex with the species T. merina sp. n., T. monticola sp. n., T. nassonowii Forel, 1892 stat. n., T. obiwan sp. n., T. pseudogladius sp. n., T. rala sp. n., T. schaufussii Forel, 1891, T. sikorae Forel, 1892 (=T. latior (Santschi, 1926)), T. scutum sp. n., T. xanthogaster Santschi, 1911. The last group treated in this study is the T. severini species group, which contains only the species T. severini (Emery, 1895). This very conspicuous species is widely distributed in the rainforests and montane rainforests of eastern and northern Madagascar. All four groups are fully revised with group diagnoses, illustrated species-level identification keys, and detailed descriptions for all species that include multifocused montage images and distribution maps.

Contents

Introduction.............................................................................................................. 4
Abbreviations of depositories..................................................................................... 5
Material and methods............................................................................................... 5
Synopsis of Malagasy Tetramorium species treated in this study................................. 7
Revision of the Tetramorium naganum species group........................................... 8
Tetramorium naganum species group................................................................... 8
Identification key to species of the T. naganum species group (workers)...... 10
Tetramorium alperti Hita Garcia & Fisher sp. n........................................... 11
Tetramorium dalek Hita Garcia & Fisher sp. n............................................. 15
Tetramorium enkidu Hita Garcia & Fisher sp. n.......................................... 19
Tetramorium gilgamesh Hita Garcia & Fisher sp. n...................................... 22
Tetramorium naganum Bolton..................................................................... 26
Revision of the Tetramorium plesiarum species group......................................... 30
Tetramorium plesiarum species group................................................................. 30
Identification key to species of the T. plesiarum species group (workers)...... 31
Tetramorium bressleri Hita Garcia & Fisher sp. n......................................... 33
Tetramorium gollum Hita Garcia & Fisher sp. n.......................................... 39
Tetramorium hobbit Hita Garcia & Fisher sp. n........................................... 42
Tetramorium mars Hita Garcia & Fisher sp. n............................................. 46
Tetramorium plesiarum Bolton..................................................................... 50
Revision of the Tetramorium schaufussii species group........................................ 55
Tetramorium schaufussii species group................................................................ 55
Key to species complexes of the Tetramorium schaufussii species group........ 57
Tetramorium cognatum species complex....................................................... 57
Identification key to species of the T. cognatum species complex (workers)....58
Tetramorium aspis Hita Garcia & Fisher sp. n........................................ 61
Tetramorium camelliae Hita Garcia & Fisher sp. n................................. 65
Tetramorium cognatum Bolton, 1979..................................................... 68
Tetramorium freya Hita Garcia & Fisher sp. n....................................... 76
Tetramorium gladius Hita Garcia & Fisher sp. n.................................... 79
Tetramorium karthala Hita Garcia & Fisher sp. n.................................. 82
Tetramorium myrmidon Hita Garcia & Fisher sp. n............................... 86
Tetramorium proximum Bolton, 1979.................................................... 90
Tetramorium rumo Hita Garcia & Fisher sp. n...................................... 97
Tetramorium tenuinode Hita Garcia & Fisher sp. n.............................. 101
Tetramorium schaufussii species complex.............................................. 107
Identification key to species of the T. schaufussii species complex (workers).....108
Tetramorium merina Hita Garcia & Fisher sp. n.................................. 111
Tetramorium monticola Hita Garcia & Fisher sp. n.............................. 116
Tetramorium nassonowii Forel, 1892 stat. n......................................... 121
Tetramorium obiwan Hita Garcia & Fisher sp. n................................. 125
Tetramorium pseudogladius Hita Garcia & Fisher sp. n........................ 129
Tetramorium rala Hita Garcia & Fisher sp. n....................................... 132
Tetramorium schaufussii Forel, 1891.................................................... 136
Tetramorium scutum Hita Garcia & Fisher sp. n.................................. 143
Tetramorium sikorae Forel, 1892.......................................................... 146
Tetramorium xanthogaster Santschi, 1911............................................ 150
Revision of the Tetramorium severini species group.......................................... 156
Tetramorium severini species group............................................................ 156
Tetramorium severini (Emery, 1895).......................................................... 157
Acknowledgements................................................................................................ 168
References............................................................................................................. 168

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