Molecular phylogeny of the desert ant genus Cataglyphis (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

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.