Integrative Description of <i>Temnothorax siculus</i> sp. n.: A New Ant Species from Sicily, Italy (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)
2025
Enrico Schifani | Antonio Alicata | Matthew M. Prebus | Sándor Csősz
The mostly Holarctic genus <i>Temnothorax</i> (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) is the most diverse ant genus in temperate regions. The Mediterranean, a biodiversity hotspot of rare ant species, hosts over 150 <i>Temnothorax</i> taxa, including several short-range endemics. Over the last few years, phylogenomic reconstructions and integrative taxonomy have significantly improved the understanding of global <i>Temnothorax</i> 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: <i>Temnothorax siculus</i> 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 <i>tuberum</i> and <i>unifasciatus</i> complexes. Morphological separation from other Sicilian <i>Temnothorax</i> species can generally be achieved on qualitative characters, but we also provide morphometric discriminant functions to separate it from <i>T. apenninicus</i> and especially <i>T. unifasciatus</i>. <i>Temnothorax siculus</i> has been rarely collected but appears to be widespread in Sicily, and may occur in neighboring regions.
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