Hita Garcia Francisco, Fischer Georg, Liu Cong, Audisio Tracy L, Alpert Gary D, Fisher Brian L, Economo Evan P
Biodiversity and Biocomplexity Unit, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Onna-son, Okinawa, Japan.
Entomology Department, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2017 Mar 22;12(3):e0172641. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0172641. eCollection 2017.
We explore the potential of x-ray micro computed tomography (μCT) for the field of ant taxonomy by using it to enhance the descriptions of two remarkable new species of the ant genus Terataner: T. balrog sp. n. and T. nymeria sp. n.. We provide an illustrated worker-based species identification key for all species found on Madagascar, as well as detailed taxonomic descriptions, which include diagnoses, discussions, measurements, natural history data, high-quality montage images and distribution maps for both new species. In addition to conventional morphological examination, we have used virtual reconstructions based on volumetric μCT scanning data for the species descriptions. We also include 3D PDFs, still images of virtual reconstructions, and 3D rotation videos for both holotype workers and one paratype queen. The complete μCT datasets have been made available online (Dryad, https://datadryad.org) and represent the first cybertypes in ants (and insects). We discuss the potential of μCT scanning and critically assess the usefulness of cybertypes for ant taxonomy.
我们通过使用X射线显微计算机断层扫描（μCT）来增强对蚁属Terataner的两个非凡新物种：Balrog蚁新种（T. balrog sp. n.）和Nymeria蚁新种（T. nymeria sp. n.）的描述，从而探索其在蚂蚁分类学领域的潜力。我们为在马达加斯加发现的所有物种提供了一份基于工蚁的带插图的物种鉴定检索表，以及详细的分类描述，其中包括诊断、讨论、测量数据、自然历史数据、高质量拼接图像和这两个新物种的分布图。除了传统的形态学检查外，我们还基于容积μCT扫描数据进行了虚拟重建，用于物种描述。我们还为正模工蚁和一只副模蚁后提供了3D PDF、虚拟重建的静态图像以及3D旋转视频。完整的μCT数据集已在网上公开（Dryad，https://datadryad.org），代表了蚂蚁（和昆虫）的首个数字标本。我们讨论了μCT扫描的潜力，并批判性地评估了数字标本在蚂蚁分类学中的实用性。
