Titelangaben
Knaden, Markus ; Tinaut, Alberto ; Stökl, Johannes ; Cerdá, Xim ; Wehner, Rüdiger:
Molecular phylogeny of the desert ant genus Cataglyphis (Hymenoptera: Formicidae).
In: Myrmecological News.
Bd. 16
(2012)
.
- S. 123-132.
ISSN 1994-4136
Abstract
Since the middle of the 20th century ants of the genus Cataglyphis – inhabiting the southern part of the Palearctic region – have become model organisms for insect navigation and various other fields of biological research. Currently ca. 100 Cataglyphis species are described. However, although molecular-based phylogenetic analyses are common practice in ant systematics, to date phylogenetic analyses of Cataglyphis have been strictly morphology-based. Here we present the first molecular phylogeny based on mitochondrial DNA (754 bp) of 78 Cataglyphis specimens collected over a large part of the distributional range of the genus. By examining the same specimens based on morphological characters, we can conclude that major features of the morphology-based species-group phylogenies are supported by our molecular approach.