Osmia - Journal of Hymenopterology - Revue d'Hyménopterologie - Biodiversity, Entomology, Hymenoptera, Hyménoptères
Published June 17, 2022 | Version v1
Journal article Open

The previous concept of the cosmopolitan pest ant Tapinoma melanocephalum (Fabricius, 1793) includes two species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Tapinoma)

Authors/Creators

  • 1. Senckenberg Museum of Natural History, Görlitz, Germany

Description

Tapinoma melanocephalum (Fabricius, 1793), known under the vernacular name Ghost Ant and being a widely distributed cosmopolitan tramp species with significant pest status, has been considered long-since to represent a single species. Yet, investigation of 83 worker samples from the whole globe provided evidence that the Ghost Ant consists of two species: 8.4 % of the samples belonged to the new species T. pithecorum sp. nov. whereas 91.6 % were classified as T. melanocephalum. Absence of mixed samples indicates that T. melanocephalum and T. pithecorum sp. nov. do not represent morphs of the same species. T. pithecorum sp. nov. is known from a greenhouse finding in Germany and outdoor populations from the south of the Arabian Peninsula, Pakistan, India, Malaysia and the Fiji and Christmas Islands. The phenotypical separation of the new species from other minute Tapinoma species of Orientalic, Indo-Australian and Australasian origin is very clear, allowing identification even by evaluation of z-stack photos. A detailed argumentation is presented that Tapinoma pellucida (Smith, 1857), T. coronatum (Forel, 1908), T. malesianum (Forel, 1913), T. australis (Santschi, 1928), T. australe (Santschi, 1928), T. luffae (Kurian, 1955), T. wallacei (Guerrero, 2018) and T. jerdoni nom. nov. should be considered as synonyms of T. melanocephalum. Synomymies of T. melanocephalum and T. pithecorum sp. nov. with T. indicum (Forel, 1895) and Tapinoma minutum (Mayr, 1862) are clearly excluded by morphometric data. Diagrams of principal component analyses, photos, a key as well as a morphometric table to separate these four species are presented. In a concluding section, is argued that the true number of species related to these four species is much larger than presently known and a warning is given regarding careless use of pigmentation characters in ant identification. 

La précédente conception de la fourmi ravageuse cosmopolite Tapinoma melanocephalum (Fabricius, 1793) comprend deux espèces (Hyménoptères : Formicidae : Tapinoma)

Tapinoma melanocephalum (Fabricius, 1793), une espèce cosmopolite connue sous le nom vernaculaire de fourmi fantôme, au statut de ravageur et largement distribuée, a longtemps été considérée comme n’étant qu’une seule espèce. Pourtant, une enquête sur 83 échantillons d’ouvrières du monde entier a fourni la preuve que la fourmi fantôme se compose de deux espèces : 8,4 % des échantillons appartenaient à la nouvelle espèce T. pithecorum sp. nov. tandis que 91,6 % ont été classés comme T. melanocephalum. L’absence de spécimens intermédiaires indique que T. melanocephalum et T. pithecorum sp. nov. ne représentent pas des morphes de la même espèce. T. pithecorum sp. nov. est connue d’une serre située en Allemagne et par des populations vivant en extérieur du sud de la péninsule arabique, du Pakistan, de l’Inde, de la Malaisie et des îles Fidji et Christmas. La séparation phénotypique de la nouvelle espèce des autres espèces de Tapinoma d’origine orientale, indo-australienne et australasienne est très claire. Une argumentation est présentée au sujet de Tapinoma pellucida (Smith, 1857), T. coronatum (Forel, 1908), T. malesianum (Forel, 1913), T. australis (Santschi, 1928), T. australe (Santschi, 1928), T. luffae (Kurian, 1955), T. wallacei (Guerrero, 2018) et T. jerdoni nom. nov. qui doivent être considérées comme des synonymes de T. melanocephalum. Les synomymies de T. melanocephalum et T. pithecorum sp. nov. avec T. indicum (Forel, 1895) et Tapinoma minutum (Mayr, 1862) ont été exclues par les données morphométriques. Dans une partie conclusive, il est soutenu que le nombre réel d’espèces en lien avec ces quatre espèces est beaucoup plus grand que ce que l’on connaît actuellement et un avertissement est donné au sujet de l’utilisation des caractères de pigmentation dans l’identification des fourmis.

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