Catalogue of ants of Europe, the Mediterranean Basin and adjacent regions is given with country data, list of synonyms, and comments. From the area 1261 species are rocorded. All infraspecific names, including subspecies names, are treated as synonyms although in future studies many of them can be raised to species level. Table with distribution of ant species in major regions of Europe and the Mediterranean Subregion is presented. From Europe 622 species have been recorded, from North Africa 441, Middle East 256, Turkey and transcaucasian countries 358, Iran 165, and Arabian Peninsula 304.

Catalogue of ants of Europe, the Mediterranean Basin and adjacent regions (Hymenoptera: Formicidae).

Understanding how different biodiversity components are related across different environmental conditions is a major goal in macroecology and conservation biogeography. We investigated correlations among alpha and beta taxonomic (TD), phylogenetic (PD), and functional diversity (FD) in ant communities in the five biogeographic regions most representative of western Europe; we also examined the degree of niche conservatism. We combined data from 349 ant communities composed of 154 total species, which were characterized by 10 functional traits and by phylogenetic relatedness. We computed TD, PD, and FD using the Rao quadratic entropy index, which allows each biodiversity component to be partitioned into α and β diversity within the same mathematical framework. We ran generalized least squares and multiple matrix regressions with randomization to investigate relationships among the diversity components. We used Pagel's λ test to explore niche conservatism in each biogeographic region. At the alpha scale, TD was consistently, positively related to PD and FD, although the strength and scatter of this relationship changed among the biogeographic regions. Meanwhile, PD and FD consistently matched up across regions. Accordingly, we found similar degrees of niche conservatism across regions. Nonetheless, these alpha-scale relationships had low coefficients of determination. At the beta scale, the three diversity components were highly correlated across all regions (especially TD and FD, as well as PD and FD). Our results imply that the different diversity components, and especially PD and FD, are consistently related across biogeographic regions and analytical scale. However, the alpha-scale relationships were quite weak, suggesting environmental factors might influence the degree of association among diversity components at the alpha level. In conclusion, conservation programs should seek to preserve functional and phylogenetic diversity in addition to species richness, and this approach should be applied universally, regardless of the biogeographic locations of the sites to be protected.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/ecog.01938

Relationships among taxonomic, functional, and phylogenetic ant diversity across the biogeographic regions of Europe

Tetramorium bicarinatum (Nylander, 1846) (formerly misclassified as Tetramorium guineense (Fabricius)) has long been recognized as one of the world's most broadly distributed ant species. To evaluate the worldwide spread of T. bicarinatum, I compiled published and unpublished specimen records from > 1000 sites. I documented the earliest known T. bicarinatum records for 148 geographic areas (countries, island groups, major Caribbean islands, US states, and Canadian provinces), including several areas for which I found no previously published records: Aruba, Barbuda, Belize, Comoro Islands, Grenada, Iles Eparses, Mascarene Islands, Missouri, Montserrat, Nepal, Sweden, and Tobago. Tetramorium bicarinatum is widespread throughout much of the tropics and subtropics, except for continental Africa and West Asia, where it is largely absent. In addition, T. bicarinatum is found in temperate areas inside greenhouses and heated buildings. In the past, many authors have assumed T. bicarinatum to be African in origin. However, analysis of its known distribution and those of its closest relatives indicates that T. bicarinatum originated in the Indo-Pacific. Currently, the most widely used common name for T. bicarinatum is "Guinea ant," a name based solely on the erroneous 19th century synonymy of Tetramorium bicarinatum with Pheidoleguineensis (Fabricius) described from Guinea, West Africa. This ill-chosen common name perpetuates the misconception that T. bicarinatum is from Africa. This problem is further compounded by the coincidental existence a secondary homonym Tetramorium guineense (Bernard, 1953), the valid name of an unrelated species known only from Africa. Therefore, I propose a new common name for T. bicarinatum: the penny ant, based primarily on the ant's copper-brown color, similar to that of a copper penny.

Worldwide spread of the penny ant, Tetramorium bicarinatum (Hymenoptera: Formicidae).

Fourteen exotic ant species are reported from the Balearic Islands (almost a quarter of the Balearic ant fauna). We confirm the rapid expansion of the Argentine ant, Linepithema humile, and, to a lesser extent, Cardiocondyla mauritanica on the islands, in what seems to be one of the few cases of a surface foraging ant species in coexistence with the Argentine ant in its expansion. Six species are new to the Balearic fauna (Cardiocondyla mauritanica, Paratrechina vividula, P. jaegerskioeldi, P. longicornis, Pyramica membranifera, and Tetramorium caldarium) and another one is new to the Mediterranean area (Monomorium exiguum). The unknown male of Pheidole teneriffana is here described. In the Balearic Islands, exotics are usually limited to sites under anthropogenic influence.

Exotic ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the Balearic Islands

Description of new animal species from the Iberian Peninsula and Balearic Islands (1978-1994): Taxonomic trends and systematic list During the period 1978-1994 about 2.000 new animal species have been described in the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands. A complete list of these new species for 1978-1993, taxonomically arranged, and their bibliographic references is given in an appendix. Global trends in this process of biodiversity inventory demostrate a moderate but continuous increment in the number of taxa descriptions, as well as a higher contribution of Spanish authors. The number of articles published in journals listed by the Science Citation Index, and the use of the English language, are clearly growing. Most of the different phyla, classes or orders show an extreme variation in the number of described species per year, probably due to the small absolute number of publications. Insects clearly are the most studied group, but a certain decrease in its relative importance can be observed, related to the increase of studies on poorly known groups, such as nematodes.

/pdf/descripcion-de-nuevas-especies-animales-de-la-peninsula-3yh1xg0f15.pdf

Descripción de nuevas especies animales de la península ibérica e islas baleares (1978-1994): tendencias taxonómicas y listado sistemático

Three new ant species in the genus Tetramorium have been found living outdoors in urban settings in the Iberian Peninsula: Tetramorium bicarinatum, Tetramorium caldarium and Tetramorium lanuginosum. They belong in the group of cos- mopolitan tramp species. None of the species seems to be a threat for the native fauna.

/pdf/tres-nuevas-especies-foraneas-de-hormigas-para-la-peninsula-1j2czkjshz.pdf

TRES NUEVAS ESPECIES FORANEAS DE HORMIGAS PARA LA PENiNSULA IBERICA (HYMENOPTERA, FORMICIDAE)

/pdf/descripcion-de-goniomma-baeticum-nov-sp-hym-formicidae-cjckeoke0b.pdf

Descripción de Goniomma baeticum nov. sp. (Hym., Formicidae)

/pdf/descripcion-de-messor-celiae-nov-sp-hym-formicidae-13e9z8wzkg.pdf

J. L. Reyes

Papers

TRES NUEVAS ESPECIES FORANEAS DE HORMIGAS PARA LA PENiNSULA IBERICA (HYMENOPTERA, FORMICIDAE)

Descripción de Goniomma baeticum nov. sp. (Hym., Formicidae)

Descripción de Messor celiae nov. sp. (Hym., Formicidae)