TY - JOUR
T1 - Tetramorium albenae Salata, van Delft & Borowiec n. sp. (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)–a new inquiline ant species from the Balkan Peninsula
AU - Salata, S.
AU - van DELFT, J. P.L.
AU - van DELFT, J. J.C.W.
AU - Georgiadis, C.
AU - Borowiec, L.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Tetramorium Mayr, 1855 is a worldwide distributed and hyperdiverse ant genus consisting of almost 600 taxa manifesting various life history strategies. Species of the Tetramorium inquilinum species-group represents one of the most extreme forms of parasitism and consist of degenerate workerless social parasites of several Tetramorium species. So far, its members have been recorded in the Palearctic from montane to alpine zones and reveal an interesting disjunction in host selection observed between eastern-Mediterranean and western-Mediterranean species. We describe a fifth member of the Tetramorium inquilinum species-group: Tetramorium albenae Salata, van Delft & Borowiec sp. n. The species morphologically differs from the remaining members of the group by the combination of the following characters: dense and erect pilosity of appendages and the whole body, smooth head sculpture, predominantly smooth anepisternum and katepisternum, lack of blunt teeth on propodeum, and presence of distinct carianae on the dorsolateral margins of the propodeum. Tetramorium albenae Salata, van Delft & Borowiec sp. n. was collected in a lowland olive grove, a site so far not associated with the Tetramorium inquilinum species-group, from a nest of Tetramorium kephalosi (a new host species for the group). The data presented in this paper provide new insights into the habitat preferences of the species of the Tetramorium inquilinum species-group and extend our knowledge on the potential host species of these parasites. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:62610BFE-7BF4-44E7-ADB5-3DD6A9B759C0.
AB - Tetramorium Mayr, 1855 is a worldwide distributed and hyperdiverse ant genus consisting of almost 600 taxa manifesting various life history strategies. Species of the Tetramorium inquilinum species-group represents one of the most extreme forms of parasitism and consist of degenerate workerless social parasites of several Tetramorium species. So far, its members have been recorded in the Palearctic from montane to alpine zones and reveal an interesting disjunction in host selection observed between eastern-Mediterranean and western-Mediterranean species. We describe a fifth member of the Tetramorium inquilinum species-group: Tetramorium albenae Salata, van Delft & Borowiec sp. n. The species morphologically differs from the remaining members of the group by the combination of the following characters: dense and erect pilosity of appendages and the whole body, smooth head sculpture, predominantly smooth anepisternum and katepisternum, lack of blunt teeth on propodeum, and presence of distinct carianae on the dorsolateral margins of the propodeum. Tetramorium albenae Salata, van Delft & Borowiec sp. n. was collected in a lowland olive grove, a site so far not associated with the Tetramorium inquilinum species-group, from a nest of Tetramorium kephalosi (a new host species for the group). The data presented in this paper provide new insights into the habitat preferences of the species of the Tetramorium inquilinum species-group and extend our knowledge on the potential host species of these parasites. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:62610BFE-7BF4-44E7-ADB5-3DD6A9B759C0.
KW - Balkans
KW - Inquiline
KW - Palearctic
KW - Tetramorium
KW - new species
KW - parasitism
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U2 - 10.1080/24750263.2023.2198548
DO - 10.1080/24750263.2023.2198548
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85159194617
SN - 1125-0003
VL - 90
SP - 333
EP - 343
JO - European Zoological Journal
JF - European Zoological Journal
IS - 1
ER -