Taxonomic overview of the hyperdiverse ant genusTetramoriumMayr (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in India with descriptions and X-ray microtomography of two new species from the Andaman Islands

Abstract

With 600 described species, the ant genusTetramoriumrepresents one of the most species-rich ant radiations. However, much work remains to fully document the hyperdiversity of this remarkable group.Tetramorium, while globally distributed, is thought to have originated in the Afrotropics and is particularly diverse in the Old World. Here, we focus attention on theTetramoriumfauna of India, a region of high biodiversity value and interest for conservation. We overviewTetramoriumdiversity in India by providing a species list, accounts of all species groups present, an illustrated identification key to IndianTetramoriumspecies groups and notes on the IndianTetramoriumfauna. Further, we describe two new species,Tetramorium krishnanisp. n. andTetramorium jarawasp. n. from the Andaman Islands archipelago and embed them into currently recognizedTetramorium tonganumandTetramorium inglebyispecies groups. We also provide illustrated species level keys for these groups. Along with detailed species descriptions and high-resolution montage images of types, we provide 3D cybertypes of the new species derived from X-ray micro-computed tomography.