ASIAN
MYRMECOLOGY
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online first (online version of paper published before print issue)
DOI: 10.20362/am.018006
Asian Myrmecology 18: 018006 (1-123)
article first published online: 1/July/2025
A Checklist of Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Hainan Province, China
MATTHEW T. HAMER1*, ROGER H. LEE1,2, WANG LIU-WEI1,3, KELSEY DAVIES1, MARCO CHAN1, JOHN R. FELLOWES4 & BENOIT GUÉNARD1,5
Abstract:
Hainan Province is a tropical island identified as a global biodiversity hotspot, but limited sampling and taxonomic efforts have been conducted to catalog and describe its ant fauna. Here, we compiled valid historical records and new records based on past and recent ant surveys, to present the first checklist of ants specific to Hainan. In total, we identified 10 subfamilies, 67 genera, and 237 species, a 60% increase in the previous species checklist. A total 25 genera and 89 nominal species are newly recorded for the island, and 109 morphospecies are detected. The checklist also includes 15 exotic species, among which Pheidole megacephala (Fabricius, 1793) and Solenopsis invicta Buren, 1972 can be considered as invasive. Despite this update, we provide several lines of evidence to argue that the Hainan ant fauna remains largely understudied. Together, these findings not only highlight the rich biodiversity present but also the importance of increasing the species cataloguing rate and taxonomic work for the island. The use of additional sampling approaches, and new surveys targeting a wider geographic and ecological span might represent an efficient approach to fill this knowledge gap.
Keywords:
Asia, Biodiversity, Insects, Inventory, Invasive Species, Solenopsis invicta
Get PDF (81.0 MB) :
MATTHEW T. HAMER1*, ROGER H. LEE1,2, WANG LIU-WEI1,3, KELSEY DAVIES1, MARCO CHAN1, JOHN R. FELLOWES4 & BENOIT GUÉNARD1,5
Abstract:
Hainan Province is a tropical island identified as a global biodiversity hotspot, but limited sampling and taxonomic efforts have been conducted to catalog and describe its ant fauna. Here, we compiled valid historical records and new records based on past and recent ant surveys, to present the first checklist of ants specific to Hainan. In total, we identified 10 subfamilies, 67 genera, and 237 species, a 60% increase in the previous species checklist. A total 25 genera and 89 nominal species are newly recorded for the island, and 109 morphospecies are detected. The checklist also includes 15 exotic species, among which Pheidole megacephala (Fabricius, 1793) and Solenopsis invicta Buren, 1972 can be considered as invasive. Despite this update, we provide several lines of evidence to argue that the Hainan ant fauna remains largely understudied. Together, these findings not only highlight the rich biodiversity present but also the importance of increasing the species cataloguing rate and taxonomic work for the island. The use of additional sampling approaches, and new surveys targeting a wider geographic and ecological span might represent an efficient approach to fill this knowledge gap.
Keywords:
Asia, Biodiversity, Insects, Inventory, Invasive Species, Solenopsis invicta
Get PDF (81.0 MB) :
Get Electronic Supplementary Material (22KB):
1School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam Road, Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
2Science Unit, School of Interdisciplinary Studies, Lingnan University, 8 Castle Peak Road, Tuen Mun, Hong Kong SAR, China
3Department of Mathematics and Computer Science, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
444 Hampden Road, Kingston KT1 3HG, UK5
5Hong Kong Biodiversity Museum, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
*Corresponding author: matt.hamer@hotmail.co.uk
