Lista sinonímica de las hormigas neotropicales (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Abstract

Ants are conspicuous and dominant all over the globe. Their diversity and abundance both peak in the tropical regions of the world and gradually decline towards temperate latitudes. Nonetheless, certain species such as Formica can be locally abundant in some temperate countries. In the tropical and subtropical regions numerous species have been described, but many more remain to be discovered. Multiple studies have shown that ants represent a high percentage of the biomass and individual count in canopy forests. Moreover, it has been established that ants seldom organize in dominant and subdominant species assemblages, a configuration that influences the structure and dynamics of not only native forests, but also agricultural systems. About 11500 ant species of ants have been described worldwide. Of these, 3100 (30%) are present in the Neotropical Region, making it one of the richest regions worldwide in terms of ant species. Under such perspective, the present work aims to present a synonym lists of the subfamilies, tribes, genera and species of ants present in the Neotropical Region, the geographical area confined between Mexico and Chile and Argentina (including the Caribbean). In this work we present a quick-reference alphabetical checklist of the valid names of ants available until August 2004. Readers can find additional taxonomic information in the excellent catalogue by Bolton (1995), as well as in the classic abridged catalogue by Kempf (1972), subsequently updated by Brandao (1991). In the following paragraphs we offer a brief revision of some aspects of the biology of ants, rather as an excuse to mention some recent and interesting advances on the study of ants.