Publication Type: | Journal Article |
Year of Publication: | 2015 |
Authors: | T. Delsinne, Sonet, G., Donoso, D. |
Journal: | European Journal of Taxonomy |
Volume: | 143 |
Issue: | 143 |
Pagination: | 1 - 35 |
Date Published: | 2015 |
ISSN: | 2118-9773 |
Keywords: | Army ant syndrome, DNA barcoding, male description, metatibial gland, subterranean ants |
Abstract: | Two new species of Leptanilloides are described: L. copalinga Delsinne & Donoso sp. nov., and L. prometea Delsinne & Donoso sp. nov., based on workers collected in the leaf litter and soil of the Andes of southern Ecuador. Both species belong to the L. biconstricta species-group (formally diagnosed here). The metatibial gland, considered a synapomorphy for Dorylinae, is observed in L. prometea sp. nov. but seems absent in L. copalinga sp. nov. We provide a COI DNA barcode for both species and a revised key for the worker caste of all known species in the genus. We also describe a single male identified as a potential new Leptanilloides species on the basis of morphology. Furthermore, its mitochondrial COI gene sequence does not match any previously barcoded species. However, we refrain from giving it a specific name because of our lack of knowledge about the worker caste. So far, half of the 14 Leptanilloides species have been discovered above 1500 m in the mountain forests or páramos of the Ecuadorian Andes, confirming, if needed, the biological significance of these threatened habitats. |
URL: | http://www.europeanjournaloftaxonomy.eu/index.php/ejt/article/view/265 |
Full Text |
Two new species of Leptanilloides Mann, 1823 (Formicidae: Dorylinae) from the Andes of southern Ecuador
JEMU_Andant_project
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