%0 Journal Article
%T A New Species of Afrotropical Ants in the Genus Bothroponera (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Ponerinae)
%A Abdulmeneem M. A. Joma
%A William P. Mackay
%J Psyche
%D 2013
%I Hindawi Publishing Corporation
%R 10.1155/2013/917847
%X We describe a new species of Afrotropical Bothroponera from Whittlesea City, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. This species is unique among the African Bothroponera as it is the only species with a horizontal propodeal spiracle. It is also the largest species of African Bothroponera (total length 14.80¨C15.65). The clypeus lacks a medial longitudinal carina, the head is subquadrate, the sculpture is mostly foveolate, and the second gastral segment nearly lacks sculpturing. We compare the new species to the similar B. cavernosa and B. cavernosa var. montivaga. We also compare the new species to all of the other 10 taxa that belong to the cavernosa complex. A key to the cavernosa complex species of the Afrotropical Bothroponera is provided along with diagnosis, comparison, distribution, habitat, biology, and etymology for the new species. 1. Introduction 1.1. Ants of Africa and Their Importance Ants are generally considered a remarkable model for the study of population dynamics and ecosystem structure and function, especially in tropical, subtropical, and biodiversity hotspot areas, because of the ecological roles of these organisms in ecosystems. Ant species are considered keystone species in several terrestrial ecosystems and are unique in that they can interact biologically and ecologically with other organisms and display huge positive and negative effects on ecosystem [1¨C6]. They play almost all of the roles of symbiotic relationships with other organisms. Biologists study ant species for several reasons: they are easy to handle, able to survive in various habitats, adapt to extreme environments, and are small in size. Afrotropical regions are especially rich with ant species, where they disperse seeds in the Fynbos biome in South Africa [3, 7, 8]. Ant species play a central role in maintaining the vegetation at the appropriate density. Afrotropical ants are very important in optimal ecosystem management, such as Oecophylla longinoda in South Africa [9]. 1.2. Current Estimations of African Ant Diversity Studies are still insufficient to estimate the actual number of species of African ants, which includes about 16 subfamilies and 83 to 154 genera [2, 10]. The largest subfamilies are Myrmicinae with about 6983 species, Formicinae with about 3709 species, and Ponerinae with about 1250 species. Studies on the biodiversity of African ants demonstrate that these important organisms have a high species richness and great biodiversity in African ecosystems. Afrotropical ant genera have been sampled in several projects. Belshaw and Bolton [11] collected
%U http://www.hindawi.com/journals/psyche/2013/917847/