Abstract
A list of morphological characters to separate Iberoformica and Formica (Serviformica) (F. fusca species group) is provided. Sexual forms of Formica gerardi Bondroit are described based on Iberian material and reinstated into the subgenus Serviformica based on genetic data and morphological characters. The status of †F.horrida Wheeler, 1915 is assessed.
Highlights
IntroductionIberoformica subrufa (Roger, 1859) constitutes the monotypic genus Iberoformica (Tinaut, 1990) endemic to the Iberian Peninsula and the Mediterranean coast of southern France (Bernard, 1967). Roger (1859) included this species into the genus Formica together with Formica cinerea Mayr, 1853 and Formica fusca Linnaeus, 1758, into the Serviformica subgenus/fusca species group
We propose in this paper that, with the data available, Iberoformica is properly a monotypic genus with a single species, I. subrufa, and we propose to exclude F. gerardi from Iberoformica and reinstate it into the genus Formica, subgenus Serviformica
In an earlier study the karyotype of F. gerardi had been studied with a haploid chromosome number of n=27, (Lorite et al, 1998)
Summary
Iberoformica subrufa (Roger, 1859) constitutes the monotypic genus Iberoformica (Tinaut, 1990) endemic to the Iberian Peninsula and the Mediterranean coast of southern France (Bernard, 1967). Roger (1859) included this species into the genus Formica together with Formica cinerea Mayr, 1853 and Formica fusca Linnaeus, 1758, into the Serviformica subgenus/fusca species group. Bernard (1967) synonymized Formica gerardi Bondroit, 1917 and Formica pyrenaea Bondroit, 1918 with I. subrufa (= Formica subrufa Roger, 1859) despite its pilosity and the fact of being the most xerophilous species in the Formica genus. According to Tinaut (1990), I. subrufa should be considered under a subgenus or species group different from those defined for Formica based on the finding of the smaller males and with other differential characters presented in this article. We describe the sexual forms of F. gerardi, which add even more evidence to our proposal, supported by genetic data
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