Proformica nasuta, Nylander, 1856

Galkowski, Christophe, Lebas, Claude, Wegnez, Philippe, Lenoir, Alain & Blatrix, Rumsaïs, 2017, Redescription of Proformica nasuta (Nylander, 1856) (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) using an integrative approach, European Journal of Taxonomy 290 (290), pp. 1-40 : 13

Redescription of P. nasuta ( Nylander, 1856) and designation of the neotype

As the type specimen of P. nasuta is presumably lost, we propose fixation of a neotype from a nest sample collected in Beaucaire, France, terra typica of the species, and matching Nylander’s concept of P. nasuta . The original description ( Nylander 1856: 66) is based on a small worker (“ Long. 3 ‒ 3.5 mm ”) with elongated head (“ ... facies producta antice visa subrectangularis ... ”). This feature is found exclusively in minor workers. Therefore, a minor worker was selected from Beaucaire, France (colony Beaucaire 1) and designated as the neotype.

The neotype is deposited as MNHN-1598 with the labels “ FRA, N43.83544 E4.61828, Beaucaire, 9 juillet 2011, leg. R. Blatrix & C. Lebas ” and “Néotype Proformica nasuta ( Nylander, 1856) , des. Galkowski, Lebas, Wegnez, Lenoir & Blatrix, 2016” . In case of loss or destruction of this specimen, a replacement neotype can be designated from a series of ten other minor workers collected from the same nest and deposited at the MNHN. Other workers from the same nest are deposited at the following collections: AT (no. 15557), LB, SMNH, XE, ZISP and the collections of the authors. A queen from the same nest and a male from colony Tarascon 1 (a few kilometers away from the type locality) are deposited at MNHN.