Lasius niger, (Linnaeus) (Linnaeus, 1758)

Boudinot, Brendon E., Borowiec, Marek L. & Prebus, Matthew M., 2022, Phylogeny, evolution, and classification of the ant genus Lasius, the tribe Lasiini and the subfamily Formicinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), Systematic Entomology 47, pp. 113-151 : 137-138

3. Species group of niger (L. s. str. Part 2/3)

( Figs 8C , 9C )

Constituent species (50), subspecies (1): Holarctic (1): niger * [e]; Nearctic (5): americanus [e], crypticus Wilson [e], neoniger Emery [e], sitiens Wilson [e], xerophilus Mackay and Mackay [e]; Palaearctic (45, 1): alienus [e], balearicus Talavera et al. [], bombycina Seifert and Galkowski.

[e], casevitzi Seifert and Galkowski [e], chinensis Seifert [e], cinereus Seifert [e], coloratus Santschi [e], creticus Seifert [e], cyperus Seifert [e], emarginatus (Olivier) [e], flavescens Forel [e], flavoniger Seifert [e], grandis Forel [e], hayashi Yamauchi and Hayashida [e], hikosanus Yamauchi [], hirsutus Seifert [], illyricus Zimmermann [e], japonicus Santschi [e], kabaki Seifert [e], karpinisi Seifert [e], koreanus Seifert [e], kritikos Seifert [e], lawarai Seifert [e], longipalpus Seifert [e], magnus Seifert [e], maltaeus Seifert [e], mauretanicus Seifert [e], niger pinetorum Ruzsky [], nigrescens Stitz [e], obscuratus Stitz [e], paralienus Seifert [e], persicus Seifert [e], piliferus Seifert [e], platythorax Seifert [e], productus Wilson [e], psammophilus Seifert [e], sakagamii Yamauchi and Hayashida [e], schaeferi Seifert [e], schulzi Seifert [e], sichuense Seifert [e], tebessae Seifert [e], tunisius Seifert [e], uzbeki Seifert [e], vostochni Seifert [e], wittmeri Seifert [e].

Distribution: Holarctic.

Identification: Within the niger clade, differing from the fuliginosus group similarly to the brunneus group (above); otherwise, apparently without strong or consistent differentiating conditions relative to the brunneus group ( Seifert, 2020). Roughly differing from the brunneus group in the combination of mandibles with ≥8 teeth on average within a colony plus scape and outer surface of metatibia with> 8 total standing setae. Only L. niger is truly Holarctic ( Schär et al., 2018); Nearctic and Palaearctic species are otherwise identifiable via Wilson (1955) and Seifert (2020), respectively, although more work is necessary for the American fauna.

Note 1. Our molecular sample for L. nr. americanus represents an undescribed species.

Note 2. Within the niger species group as circumscribed here, Seifert (2020) recognizes two morphometrically diagnosable complexes: that of obscuratus comprises criticus, obscuratus , piliferus , and psammophilus , while that of paralienus comprises bombycina, casevitzi, kritikos, and paralienus .

Note 3. The differentiating features relative to the brunneus group above are intended to be heuristic. See the key in Seifert (2020) for formal identification of niger group species.

4. Species incertae sedis in the clade of niger

Species (1): brevipalpus [e].

Note: The species L. brevipalpus was described by Seifert (2020) who remarked that its relationship to other ‘sensu stricto’ Lasius is uncertain due to a unique character combination, at least within the Asian fauna. We confirm placement of this species in the niger clade.

Figures

Fig. 8. Gross phenotypic synopsis of the extant species groups of Lasius, plus two phenotypically similar fossil species; all images in full-face view; scale bars = 0.5 mm. (A) Lasius brunneus (CASENT0280440); (B) Lasius fuliginosus (CASENT0179898); (C) Lasius nr. niger (CASENT0106128); (D) Lasius nr. atopus (CASENT0234858); (E) Lasius carniolicus (CASENT0280471); (F) Lasius claviger (CASENT0103542); (G) Lasius brevicornis (CASENT0280456); (H) Lasius nearcticus (CASENT0104774); (I) Lasius pallitarsis (CASENT0005405); (J) Lasius aphidicola (CASENT0280468); (K) †Lasius schiefferdeckeri (MNHNB25217); (L) †Kyromyrma neffi (AMNH-NJ1029). (Image credits: D = the authors; AntWeb: A = Will Ericson; B = Erin Prado; C = Michael Branstetter; E, G, J = Shannon Hartman; F, H = April Nobile; I = unknown; K = Vincent Perrichot; L = Dave Grimaldi & Vincent Perrichot.)

Fig. 9. Gross phenotypic synopsis of the species groups of Lasius, plus two phenotypically similar fossil species; all images in profile view; scale bars = 1.0 mm; scale bar unavailable for K. (A) Lasius brunneus (CASENT0280440); (B) Lasius fuliginosus (CASENT0179898); (C) Lasius nr. niger (CASENT0106128); (D) Lasius nr. atopus (CASENT0234858); (E) Lasius carniolicus (CASENT0280471); (F) Lasius claviger (CASENT0103542); (G) Lasius brevicornis (CASENT0280456); (H) Lasius nearcticus (CASENT0104774); (I) Lasius pallitarsis (CASENT0005405); (J) Lasius aphidicola (CASENT0280468); (K) †Lasius schiefferdeckeri (HJF013); (L) †Kyromyrma neffi (AMNH-NJ1029). (Image credits: D = the authors; AntWeb: A = Will Ericson; B = Erin Prado; C = Michael Branstetter; E, G, J = Shannon Hartman; F, H = April Nobile; I = unknown; K = Vincent Perrichot; L = Dave Grimaldi & Vincent Perrichot.)