Abteilung Bodenzoologie; Senckenberg Gesellschaft für Naturforschung; 02826 Görlitz; Germany.
Moscow State Pedagogical University; Kibalchicha str.; 6; korp. 3; Moscow; 129278; Russia.
Zootaxa. 2023 Jul 21;5318(4):474-488. doi: 10.11646/zootaxa.5318.4.2.
Megalothorax incertus Börner, 1903 is the second species of Megalothorax to have been discovered. The brevity of the original description left the species insufficiently defined. In this work, we redescribe M. incertus from topotypes (Sicily) and describe a new species of the incertus-group: M. boerneri sp. nov. (France). We report the presence of M. incertus sensu nov. in France and Russia and validate a previous record from China based on molecular data. New records are also provided for a third species of the incertus-group, M. perspicillum Schneider & D'Haese, 2013. Novel DNA data (28S rDNA, 16S rDNA, COI) are provided for the three species. The interactive key of the Megalothorax species of the world is updated. The three species are distinguished on subtle morphological characteristics and are found to be well-separated on the molecular based phylogenetic tree. Megalothorax incertus sensu nov. joins M. perspicillum, M. minimus Willem, 1900 and M. willemi Schneider & D'Haese, 2013 in the club of widespread Megalothorax species in the Palearctic, and can be found in co-occurrence with them. Thus, the ecological distinction between those species remains unprecise.
未定巨胸蚁 Megalothorax incertus Börner, 1903 是第二种被发现的巨胸蚁。原始描述的简短性使得该物种没有得到充分的定义。在这项工作中，我们从模式产地（西西里岛）重新描述了 M. incertus，并描述了一个未定组的新种：M. boerneri sp. nov.（法国）。我们报告了在法国和俄罗斯存在 M. incertus sensu nov.，并基于分子数据验证了之前在中国的记录。未定组的第三个种 M. perspicillum Schneider & D'Haese, 2013 也有新的记录。为这三个种提供了新的 DNA 数据（28S rDNA、16S rDNA、COI）。世界巨胸蚁物种的交互式关键信息已更新。这三个种在微妙的形态特征上有所区分，并且在基于分子的系统发育树上也很好地区分开来。Megalothorax incertus sensu nov. 与 M. perspicillum、M. minimus Willem, 1900 和 M. willemi Schneider & D'Haese, 2013 一起成为了古北界广泛分布的巨胸蚁物种之一，并且可以与它们共同存在。因此，这些物种之间的生态区别仍然不明确。
