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Type: Article
Published: 2019-09-27
Page range: 509–543
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First checklist of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of French Guiana

Laboratório de Sistemática e Biologia de Formigas, Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Avenida Coronel Francisco Heráclito dos Santos, s/n, Caixa Postal 19020, CEP 81531-980, Curitiba, PR, Brazil
Laboratório de Sistemática e Biologia de Formigas, Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Avenida Coronel Francisco Heráclito dos Santos, s/n, Caixa Postal 19020, CEP 81531-980, Curitiba, PR, Brazil
Laboratório de Mirmecologia, Convênio UESC-CEPEC, Centro de Pesquisas do Cacau, Caixa Postal 7, CEP 45600-000, Itabuna, BA, Brazil. Departamento de Ciencias Agrárias e Ambientais, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, 45662-000, Ilhéus, BA, Brazil
Ecolab, Université de Toulouse, CNRS, INPT, UPS, Toulouse, France CNRS, UMR EcoFog, AgroParisTech, Cirad, INRA, Université des Antilles, Université de Guyane, Campus agronomique, BP316, 97310 Kourou, France
CNRS, UMR EcoFog, AgroParisTech, Cirad, INRA, Université des Antilles, Université de Guyane, Campus agronomique, BP316, 97310 Kourou, France
CNRS, UMR EcoFog, AgroParisTech, Cirad, INRA, Université des Antilles, Université de Guyane, Campus agronomique, BP316, 97310 Kourou, France
CNRS, UMR EcoFog, AgroParisTech, Cirad, INRA, Université des Antilles, Université de Guyane, Campus agronomique, BP316, 97310 Kourou, France
Biodiversity Monitoring & Assessment, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences (RBINS), Rue Vautier 29, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium. Behavioural & Evolutionary Ecology, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Av. F.D. Roosevelt 50, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium
Laboratório de Sistemática e Biologia de Formigas, Departamento de Zoologia, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Avenida Coronel Francisco Heráclito dos Santos, s/n, Caixa Postal 19020, CEP 81531-980, Curitiba, PR, Brazil
Hymenoptera Formicidae rainforest Guiana Shield distribution Amazon

Abstract

We provide here a checklist of the ants of French Guiana, an overseas department of France situated in northern South America, with a very low human population density and predominantly covered by old-growth tropical rainforests. Based on 165 scientific papers, specimens deposited in collections, and unpublished surveys, a total of 659 valid species and subspecies from 84 genera and 12 subfamilies is presented. Although far from complete, these numbers represent approximately 10% of the ant diversity known to occur in the Neotropical realm. Additionally, three ant genera and 119 species are reported for the first time for French Guiana. Finally, five species are recognized as erroneous records for the the department in the literature. This checklist significantly expands the basic knowledge of the ants in the Guiana Shield, one of the world’s most important biodiversity hotspots.

 

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