Lasius balearicus
| Lasius balearicus | ||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||
| Lasius balearicus | ||||||||||
| Talavera , Espadaler & Vila , 2014 |
Lasius balearicus is a species of ant of the genus Lasius ( garden ants). It was described as a new species in 2014after a team from the Biology Institute in Barcelonacollectedthe holotype in 2008. Cedric Alex Collingwood , an entomologist with the Royal Entomological Society , had already collected a specimenin 1982, but had not yet recognized it as a new species.
features
Lasius balearicus workers are of the subgenus Lasius s. st. relatively small, the body length is about 4 millimeters, the head length (without mandibles) is 0.88 millimeters. It is similar to the common and widespread species Lasius niger ( black garden ant ), Lasius platythorax and Lasius grandis , which are also found in the Balearic Islands. It can be distinguished from related species by the combination of the following features: body relatively light yellow-brown in color; relatively heavily bristled, especially with a high number of bristles on the dorsal side of the long shaft section of the antennae (scapus); Ratio of the length of the head to the length of the scapus. The species can also be differentiated by the sequence of the gene for subunit I of the enzyme cytochrome c oxidase, which is widely used to differentiate between species in DNA barcoding .
Ecology and diffusion
L. balearicus is restricted to the island of Mallorca . During searches in suitable habitats, it was not found on Menorca , Ibiza or in the mainland Serra d'Aitana ( Alicante province ). It is the first known endemic ant species in the Balearic Islands and the first known endemic Lasius species on a Mediterranean island at all.
The species lives exclusively in the summit region of the Serra de Tramuntana , from around 400 to 1,400 meters above sea level. The previously known distribution area of the species covers only eight square kilometers. The species lives in open, rocky habitats, often with loose shrubbery of the shrub species Hypericum balearicum and Genista valdes-bermejoi . It is absent in wooded habitats.
According to its discoverers, Lasius balearicus is an endangered species (according to the criteria of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species - "Endangered" category). They derive a population threat from the very small distribution area in the summit region. In the event of further global warming, the species would no longer have the opportunity to retreat to other regions with comparable local climates.
Systematics
Lasius balearicus belongs to the subgenus Lasius s. st. According to the genetic analyzes, the species Lasius cinereus and Lasius grandis are closely related . Using the methods of the molecular clock , the species split off from the common species base around 1.5 million years ago. At this point in time there had been no land bridge between Mallorca and mainland Spain for a long time.
swell
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Talavera, G., Espadaler, X., Vila, R .: Discovered just before extinction? The first endemic ant from the Balearic Islands (Lasius balearicus sp. Nov.) Is endangered by climate change . In: Journal of Biogeography . November 11, 2014. doi : 10.1111 / jbi.12438 .
Web links
- Unknown species: researchers find Mallorca ant on Spiegel Online, December 28, 2014