The ant genus Tetraponera (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the Afrotropical region: taxonomic review and key to species

The arboreal ant genus Tetraponera is widely distributed in the Paleotropics. Five species groups were previously recognized in the Afrotropical region (including Madagascar), and two of these were revised. This paper provides a taxonomic treatment of the remaining species. A survey of the T. allaborans group on the African mainland leads to the recognition of fourteen species: T. clypeata (Emery) (= T. braunsi (Forel) syn. nov.); T. continua (Forel) (= T. claveaui (Santschi) syn. nov.); T. cortina sp. nov.; T. dispar sp. nov.; T. emeryi (Forel) (= T. braunsi durbanensis (Forel) syn. nov.); T. exactor sp. nov.; T. furtiva sp. nov.; T. gerdae (Stitz); T. liengmei (Forel); T. mayri (Forel); T. pedana sp. nov.; T. penzigi (Mayr) (= T. scotti Donisthorpe syn. nov. = T. zavattarii (Menozzi) syn. nov. = T. penzigi praestigiatrix Santschi syn. nov.); T. pumila sp. nov.; and T. tessmanni (Stitz). A full revision of the Malagasy species of the T. allaborans group is deferred, but the following new synonymy is established: T. hysterica (Forel) = T. hysterica inflata (Emery) syn. nov.; T. longula (Emery) = T. sahlbergii deplanata (Forel) syn. nov.; T. mandibularis (Emery) = T. flexuosa (Santschi) syn. nov.; T. morondaviensis (Forel) = T. arrogans (Santschi) syn. nov. = T. demens (Santschi) syn. nov. = T. hysterica dimidiata (Forel) syn. nov.; and T. sahlbergii = T. sahlbergii spuria (Forel) syn. nov. = T. plicatidens (Santschi) syn. nov. In the T. ambigua group the following synonymy is reinstated (syn. rev.): T. ambigua (Emery) = T. erythraea (Emery) = T. bifoveolata (Mayr) = T. angolensis Santschi; and T. ophthalmica (Emery) = T. unidens Santschi. A new species is described in the Madagascar-endemic T. grandidieri group: T. elegans sp. nov. Scrutiny of the T. natalensis group indicates the occurrence of ten species: T. andrei (Mayr), T. anthracina (Santschi), T. caffra (Santschi), T. insularis sp. nov., T. kosi sp. nov., T. mocquerysi (Andre), T. natalensis (F. Smith), T. redacta sp. nov., T. schulthessi (Santschi), and T. setosa sp. nov. T. insularis is known only from Madagascar, while the other nine species are confined to the African mainland. The following new synonymy is proposed for the T. natalensis group (senior synonym cited first): T. anthracina = T. poultoni Donisthorpe syn. nov. = T. triangularis (Stitz) syn. nov.; T. mocquerysi = T. mocquerysi biozellata (Karavaiev) syn. nov. = T. mocquerysi elongata (Stitz) syn. nov. = T. emacerata (Santschi) syn. nov. = T. triangularis illota (Santschi) syn. nov. = T. ledouxi Terron syn. nov. = T. lemoulti (Santschi) syn. nov. = T. mocquerysi lepida Wheeler syn. nov. = T. monardi (Santschi) syn. nov. = T. emacerata oberbecki (Forel) syn. nov. = T. emacerata odiosa (Forel) syn. nov.; and T. natalensis = T. angusta (Arnold) syn. nov. = T. capensis (F. Smith) syn. nov. = T. natalensis cuitensis (Forel) syn. nov. = T. mocquerysi lutea (Stitz) syn. nov. = T. natalensis obscurata (Emery) syn. nov. = T. prelli (Forel) syn. nov. = T. natalensis usambarensis (Forel) syn. nov. The extensive synonymy under T. mocquerysi and T. natalensis reflects the conviction that previous taxonomists underestimated the extent of intraspecific variation in these taxa, but further study and testing of this conclusion is warranted. An illustrated worker-and queen-based key is provided for all species of Tetraponera occurring in Africa and Madagascar, except the Malagasy members of the T. allaborans group.