Systematics, Evolution and Diversity in Ants

A special issue of Diversity (ISSN 1424-2818). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Diversity".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2026 | Viewed by 789

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Instituto de Ciencias Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Bogotá, Colombia
Interests: ants; hymenoptera; systematics; neotropics

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Guest Editor
Facultad de Ciencias Básicas, Universidad del Magdalena, Santa Marta, Magdalena, Colombia
Interests: Biogeography, Diversification drivers, Neglected genera of ants, Phylogeny, Taxonomy

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) are one of the most important groups of insects in the world. They have been known since the Cretaceous and, since then, they have been key protagonists in ecosystems, with almost 15,000 living species that play various roles such as predators, herbivores, fungivores, mutualists, and decomposers. Most species are highly social, although some are inquilines. The increasingly cheaper use of molecular data, as well as new data analysis techniques, has allowed for the proposal (or confirmation) of new phylogenies among the family and within each subfamily to the genus or species level, in some cases offering more robust hypotheses with fewer conflicts. Cutting-edge techniques, such as X-ray computerized microtomography, have dramatically increased knowledge of the internal morphology of some ants, in some cases offering new information for the evaluation of phylogenetic relationships. Some of these techniques have even been applied to fossil specimens, such as those preserved in amber. Furthermore, like other insects, threats of environmental deterioration such as deforestation, climate change, or mining are causing the disappearance of populations and perhaps species. For this current Special Issue of Diversity, we look forward to receiving innovative research contributions from the scientific community that will enrich our knowledge of the systematics, phylogeny, biogeography, and diversity of this important group of insects.

Dr. Fernando Fernández
Dr. Roberto José Guerrero
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • ants
  • systematics
  • phylogeny
  • diversity
  • biogeography

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

17 pages, 2444 KiB  
Article
Integrative Description of Temnothorax siculus sp. n.: A New Ant Species from Sicily, Italy (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)
by Enrico Schifani, Antonio Alicata, Matthew M. Prebus and Sándor Csősz
Diversity 2025, 17(4), 294; https://doi.org/10.3390/d17040294 - 19 Apr 2025
Viewed by 430
Abstract
The mostly Holarctic genus Temnothorax (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) is the most diverse ant genus in temperate regions. The Mediterranean, a biodiversity hotspot of rare ant species, hosts over 150 Temnothorax taxa, including several short-range endemics. Over the last few years, phylogenomic reconstructions and integrative [...] Read more.
The mostly Holarctic genus Temnothorax (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) is the most diverse ant genus in temperate regions. The Mediterranean, a biodiversity hotspot of rare ant species, hosts over 150 Temnothorax taxa, including several short-range endemics. Over the last few years, phylogenomic reconstructions and integrative taxonomy have significantly improved the understanding of global Temnothorax diversity, but much taxonomic work is still needed in the Mediterranean region. Here, we present the integrative description of a new species of the genus, discovered in the central Mediterranean island of Sicily: Temnothorax siculus sp. n. is defined and compared to congeneric species integrating morphometrics and phylogenomics. It is a ground-nesting, lowland species, of which workers were regularly observed foraging on bushes and small trees. In the global phylogeny, covering all the main lineages of the region, it belongs to the Palearctic clade and is related to the tuberum and unifasciatus complexes. Morphological separation from other Sicilian Temnothorax species can generally be achieved on qualitative characters, but we also provide morphometric discriminant functions to separate it from T. apenninicus and especially T. unifasciatus. Temnothorax siculus has been rarely collected but appears to be widespread in Sicily, and may occur in neighboring regions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Systematics, Evolution and Diversity in Ants)
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