The ant genus Carebara Westwood (Hymenoptera, Formicidae): synonymisation of Pheidologeton Mayr under Carebara, establishment and revision of the C. polita species group.

ABSTRACT: In this paper the genus Pheidologeton Mayr, 1862 is synonymized under Carebara Westwood, 1840 and the Carebara polita group is established and revised. This species group currently includes six species from the Afrotropical region (C. madibai, C. nicotianae, C. perpusilla, C. polita, C. silvestrii, and C. villiersi) and two species from the Neotropical region (C. brevipilosa and C. urichi). The polita group clearly links Carebara and Pheidologeton, and, due to a lack of autapomorphic characters for the latter, a separation of the two genera is no longer justified. As a result Carebara is presented as a monophyletic and better defined genus that can be separated from other genera with more confidence. We present an overview of the distribution and biology of Carebara as well as images from

SUBMITTER: Fischer G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4155725 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature