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 Based on 165 scientific papers, specimens deposited in collections, and unpublished surveys, a total of 659 valid species and subspecies from 84 genera and 12 subfamilies is presented.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.
References
Alonso, L. & Agosti, D. (2000) Biodiversity studies, monitoring, and ants: an overview. In: Agosti, D., Majer, J., Alonso, L. & Schultz, T. (Eds.), Ants: standard methods for measuring and monitoring biodiversity. Smithsonian Institution Press., Washington, D.C., pp. 1–8.
Antmaps (2019) Available from: http://www.antmaps.org. (accessed 5 July 2019)
Bestelmeyer, B.T., Agosti, D., Alonso, L.E., Brandão, C.R.F, Brown, Jr. W.L., Delabie, J.H.C. & Silvestre, R. (2000) Field techniques for the study of ground-dwelling ants: an overview, description, and evaluation. In: Agosti, D.D., Majer, J.D., Alonso, L.E., Schultz, T.R. (Eds.), Ants: Standard Methods for Measuring and Monitoring Biodiversity. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, pp. 222–144.
Boggan, J., Funk, V., Kelloff, C., Hoff, M., Cremers, G. & Feuillet, C. (1997) Checklist of the plants of the Guianas (Guyana, Surinam, French Guiana). Smithsonian’s Biological Diversity of the Guianas Program. Washington, 238 pp.
Bolton, B. (2019) An online catalog of the ants of the world. Available from: http://antcat.org (accessed 26 March 2019)
Brandão, C. (1991) Adendos ao catálogo abreviado das formigas da região Neotropical (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Revista Brasileira de Entomologia, 35 (2), 319–412.
Broseet, A. & Charles-Dominique, P. (2009) The bats from French Guiana: a taxonomic, faunistic and ecological approach. Mammalia, 54 (4), 509–560.
https://doi.org/10.1515/mamm.1990.54.4.509
Brühl, C., Eltz, T. & Linsenmair, K. (2003) Size does matter-effects of tropical rainforest fragmentation on the leaf litter ant community in Sabah, Malaysia. Biodiversity and Conservation, 12 (7), 1371–1389.
https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1023621609102
Brûlé, S. (2011) Etat des connaissances sur les Buprestes de Guyane (Coleoptera, Buprestoidea). In: Touroult, J. (Ed.), Contribution à l’étude des Coléoptères de Guyane, tome III. ACOREP-France, Paris, pp. 46–70. [http://www.acorep.fr/documentation.html]
Brûlé, S. & Touroult, J. (2014) Insects of French Guiana: a baseline for diversity and taxonomic effort. ZooKeys, 434, 111–130.
https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.434.7582
Crist, T. (2009) Biodiversity, species interactions and functional roles of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in fragmented landscapes: a review. Myrmecological News, 12, 3–13.
Dejean, A., Corbara, B., Orivel, J., Snelling, R.R., Delabie, J.H.C & Belin-Depoux, M. (2000) The importance of ant gardens in the pioneer vegetal formations of French Guiana (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Sociobiology, 35 (3), 425–439
Dejean, A., Quilichini, A., Delabie, J.H.C, Orivel, J., Corbara, B. & Gibernau, M. (2004) Influence of its associated ant species on the life history of the myrmecophyte Cordia nodosa in French Guiana. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 20 (6), 701–704.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S026646740400183X
Dejean, A., Delabie, J.H.C., Corbara, B., Azémar, F., Groc, S., Orivel, J. & Leponce, M. (2012) The ecology and feeding habits of the arboreal trap-jawed ant Daceton armigerum. PLoS ONE, 7 (6), 1–8.
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0037683
Dejean, A., Céréghino, R., Leponce, M., Rossi, V., Roux, O., Compin, A., Delabie, J.H.C. & Corbara, B. (2015) The fire ant Solenopsis saevissima and habitat disturbance alter ant communities. Biological Conservation, 187, 145–153.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2015.04.012.
Dejean, A., Petitclerc, F., Compin, A., Azémar, F., Corbara, B., Delabie, J.H.C. & Leroy, C. (2017) Hollow internodes permit a Neotropical understory plant to shelter multiple mutualistic ant species, obtaining protection and nutrient provisioning (myrmecotrophy). American Naturalist, 190 (5), E124–E131.
https://doi.org/10.1086/693782
Dejean, A., Azémar, F., Peticlerc, F., Delabie, J.H.C., Corbara, B., Leroy, C., Céréghino, R. & Compin, A. (2018) Highly modular pattern in ant-plant interactions involving specialized and non-specialized myrmecophytes. The Science of Nature (Naturwissenschaften), 105, 43.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-018-1570-0
Dejean A., Compin, A., Delabie, J.H C., Azémar, F., Corbara, B. & Leponce, M. (2019) Biotic and abiotic determinants of the formation of ant mosaics in primary Neotropical rainforests. Ecological Entomology, 44 (4), 560–570.
https://doi.org/10.1111/een.12735
Delabie, J., Céréghino, R., Groc, S., Dejean, A., Gibernau, M., Corbara, B. & Dejean, A. (2009) Ants as biological indicators of Wayana Amerindian land use in French Guiana. Comptes rendus biologies, 332 (7), 673–684.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crvi.2009.01.006
Delabie, J.H.C., da Rocha, W.D., Feitosa, R.M., Devienne, P. & Fresneau, D. (2010) Gnamptogenys concinna (F. Smith, 1858): nouvelles données sur sa distribution et commentaires sur ce cas de gigantisme dans le genre Gnamptogenys (Hymenoptera, Formicidae, Ectatomminae). Bulletin de la Société entomologique de France, 115 (3), 269–277.
Delabie, J.H.C., Groc, S. & Dejean, A. (2011) The tramp ant Technomyrmex vitiensis (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Dolichoderinae) on South America. Florida Entomologist, 94 (3), 691–692.
https://doi.org/10.1653/024.094.0335
Faynel, C. (2010) 3ème note sur les Theclinae de Guyane (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae). Lambillionea, 110 (1), 9–16.
Fernández, F. & Sendoya, S. (2004) Lista de las hormigas neotropicales. Biota Colombiana, 5 (1), 3–93.
Fichaux, M., Béchade, B., Donald, J., Weyna, A., Delabie, J.H.C., Murienne, J., Baraloto, C. & Orivel, J. (2019) Habitats shape taxonomic and functional composition of Neotropical ant assemblages. Oecologia, 189 (2), 501–513.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-019-04341-z
Folgarait, P. (1998) Ant biodiversity and its relationship to ecosystem functioning: a review. Biodiversity and Conservation, 7 (9), 1221–1244.
https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008891901953
Gasper, A.L., Eisenlohr, P.V. & Salino, A. (2016) Improving collection efforts to avoid loss of biodiversity: lessons from comprehensive sampling of lycophytes and ferns in the subtropical Atlantic Forest. Acta Botanica Brasilica, 30 (2), 166–175.
https://doi.org/10.1590/0102-33062015abb0292
Groc S., Orivel, J., Dejean, A., Martin, J., Etienne, M., Corbara, B. & Delabie, J.H.C. (2009) Baseline study of the leaf-litter ant fauna in a French Guianese forest. Insect Conservation and Diversity, 2 (3), 183–193.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1752-4598.2009.00060.x
Groc, S., Delabie, J., Fernández, F., Leponce, M., Orivel, J., Silvestre, R., Vasconcelos, H. & Dejean, A. (2013) Leaf-litter ant communities (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in a pristine Guianese rainforest: stable functional structure versus high species turnover. Myrmecological News, 19, 43–51.
Groc, S., Delabie, J.H.C., Fernandez, F., Petitclerc, F. Corbara, B., Leponce, M., Cereghino, R. & Dejean, A. (2017) Litter-dwelling ants as bioindicators to gauge the sustainability of small arboreal monocultures embedded in the Amazonian rainforest. Ecological Indicators, 82, 43–49.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2017.06.026
Guénard, B., Weiser, M., Gomez, K., Narula, N. & Economo, E. (2017) The Global Ant Biodiversity Informatics (GABI) database: a synthesis of ant species geographic distributions. Myrmecological News, 24, 83–89.
Guitet, S., Cornu J., Brunaux O., Betbeder J., Carozza, J. & Richard-Hensen, C. (2013) Landform and landscape mapping, French Guiana (South America). Journal of Maps, 9 (3), 325–335.
https://doi.org/10.1080/17445647.2013.785371
Guitet, S., Pélissier, R., Brunaux, O., Jaouen, G. & Sabatier, D. (2015) Geomorphological landscape features explain floristic patterns in French Guiana rainforest. Biodiversity and Conservation, 24 (5), 1215–1237.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-014-0854-8
Heiss, E. & Moragues, G. (2009) Flat Bugs of French Guyana – a preliminary faunal list (Heteroptera, Aradidae). Linzer Biologische Beitraege, 41 (2), 1659–1675.
Hölldobler, B. & Wilson, E.O. (1990) The Ants. Belknap Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 732 pp.
Hölldobler, B. & Wilson, E.O. (2009) The superorganism: the beauty, elegance, and strangeness of insect societies. W.W. Norton and Company, New York, 576 pp.
Holway, D.A., Lach, L., Suarez, A.V., Tsutsui, N.D. & Case, T.J. (2002) The causes and consequences of ant invasions. Annual Review of Ecology Systematics, 33, 181–233
https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.33.010802.150444
Janicki, J., Narula, N., Ziegler, M., Guénard, B. & Economo, E. (2016) Visualizing and interacting with large-volume biodiversity data using client-server web-mapping applications: The design and implementation of Antmaps.org. Ecological Informatics, 32, 185–193.
Kaspari, M. (2003) Introducción a la ecología de las hormigas. In: Fernández, F. (Ed.), Introducción a las hormigas de la región Neotropical. Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, Bogotá, pp. 97–112.
Kempf, W. (1972) Catálogo abreviado das formigas da região Neotropical (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Studia Entomologica, 15 (1–4), 1–344.
Lacau, S., Groc, S., Dejean, A., de Oliviera, M. & Delabie, J. (2012) Tatuidris kapasi sp. nov.: a new armadillo ant from French Guiana. Psyche, 2012, 1–6.
https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/926089
Lach, L., Parr, C.L. & Abbott, K.L. (2010) Ant Ecology. Oxford University Press, New York, 410 pp.
Lamarre, G.P.A., Hérault, B., Fine, P.V., Vedel, V., Lupoli, R., Mesones, I. & Baraloto, C. Taxonomic and functional composition of arthropod assemblages across contrasting Amazonian forests. Journal of Animal Ecology, 85 (1), 227–239.
https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.12445
LaPolla, J., Suman, T., Sosa-Calvo, J. & Schultz, T. (2007) Leaf litter ant diversity in Guyana. Biodiversity and Conservation, 16 (2), 491–510.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-005-6229-4
Le Bail, P.Y., Covain, R., Jégu, M., Fisch-Muller, S., Vigouroux, R. & Keith, P. (2012) Updated checklist of the freshwater and estuarine fishes of French Guiana. Cybium, 36 (1), 293–319.
Mariano, C.S.F., Santos, I.S., Groc, S., Leroy, C., Malé, P.-J., Ruiz-Gonzales, M. X., Cerdan, P., Dejean, A. & Delabie, J.H.C. (2011) The karyotypes of Gigantiops destructor (Fabricius) and other ants from French Guiana (Formicidae). Annales de la Société entomologique de France, 47 (1–2), 140–146.
https://doi.org/10.1080/00379271.2011.10697705
Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle (2003-2018) Inventaire National du Patrimoine Naturel. Available from: https://inpn.mnhn.fr. (accessed 16 April 2019).
Pauly, A., Pedro, S., Rasmussen, C. & Roubik, D. (2013) Stingless bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Meliponini) of French Guiana. In: Vit, P., Pedro, S. & Roubik, D. (Eds.), Pot-Honey, A legacy of stingless bees. Springer, New York, pp. 87–97.
Perrault, G. (1988) Octostruma betschi, n. sp. de Guyane Française (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Revue Française d’Entomologie, 10 (4), 303–307.
Perrault, G. (1999) Heteroponera georgesi n. sp. de Guyane Française (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Bulletin de la Société Entomologique de France, 103 (5), 475–477.
Pollet, M., Leponce, M., Pascal, O., Touroult, J. & Van Calster, H. (2018) Dipterological survey in Mitaraka Massif (French Guiana) reveals megadiverse dolichopodid fauna with an unprecedented species richness in Paraclius Loew, 1864 (Diptera: Dolichopodidae). Zoosystema, 40 (21), 471–491.
https://doi.org/10.5252/zoosystema2018v40a21
Privet, K., Courtial, C., Decaens, T., Djoudi, E.A., Vedel, V., Ysnel, F. & Pétilion, J. (2018) Spider assemblage structure in a neotropical rainforest-inselberg complex: ecological and methodological insights from a small-scale intensive survey. Tropical Ecology, 59 (1), 21–34.
Radoszkowsky, O. (1884) Fourmis de Cayenne Française. Trudy Russkago Entomologicheskago Obshchestva, 18, 30–39.
Roy, M., Schimann, H., Braga-Neto, R., Da Silva, R. A., Duque, J., Frame, D., Wartchow, F. & Neves, M.A. (2016) Diversity and distribution of ectomycorrhizal fungi from Amazonian lowland white-sand forests in Brazil and French Guiana. Biotropica, 48, 90–100.
https://doi.org/10.1111/btp.12297
Sambhu, H. & Nankishore, A. (2018) Butterflies (Lepidoptera) of Guyana: A compilation of records. Zootaxa, 4371 (1), 1–187.
https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4371.1.1
Santos, B.F. & Hoppe, J.P.M. (2018) Filling gaps in species distributions through the study of biological collections: 415 new distribution records for Neotropical Cryptinae (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae). Revista Brasileira de Entomologia, 62 (4), 288–291.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rbe.2018.09.001
Schmidt, M., Dejean, A. (2018) A dolichoderine ant that constructs traps to collectively ambush prey: convergent evolution with a myrmicine genus. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 124 (1), 41–46.
https://doi.org/10.1093/biolinnean/bly028
Ter Steege, H., Sabatier, D., Castellanos, H., Van Andel, T., Duivenvoorden, J., Adalardo de Oliveira, A., EK, R., Lilwah, R., Maas, P. & Mori, S. (2000) An analysis of the floristic composition and diversity of Amazonian forests including those of the Guiana Shield. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 16 (6), 801–828.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266467400001735
Thiollay, J. (1989) Area requirements for the conservation of rain forest raptors and game birds in French Guiana. Conservation Biology, 3 (2), 128–137.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.1989.tb00065.x
Thiollay, J. (2002) Avian diversity and distribution in French Guiana: Patterns across a large forest landscape. Journal of Tropical Ecology, 18 (4), 471–498.
https://doi.org/10.1017/S026646740200233X
Turney, S. Cameron, E.R., Cloutier, C.A. & Buddle, C.M. (2015) Non-repeatable science: assessing the frequency of voucher specimen deposition reveals that most arthropod research cannot be verified. PeerJ, e1168.
https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.1168
Ward, P.S. (2007) Phylogeny, classification, and species-level taxonomy of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zootaxa, 1668, 549–563.
https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.1668.1.26
Ward, P.S. (2009) Taxonomy, phylogenetics, and evolution. In: Lach, L., Parr, C. & Abbott, K. (Eds.), Ant Ecology. Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 3–17.
Ward, P.S. (2014) The phylogeny and evolution of ants. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution and Systematics, 45, 23–43.
https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-120213-091824
Wilson, E. (2003) Pheidole in the New World: A dominant, hyperdiverse ant genus. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, 794 pp.