Comparative Analysis on Palaearctic Dolichoderus quadripunctatus species group with the Proposal of a Novel Species (Formicidae
Jonghyun Park, Hong Xi, Jongsun Park
The
Dolichoderus quadripunctatus group is a taxonomic group found in the
Holarctic regions, characterized by their propodeum overhanging the petiole and
pronotum without angles. Currently four North American and two Eurasian
species have been recognized. Eurasian species is composed of European D.
quadripunctatus and east Asian D. sibiricus , separated by a large non habited
central Asian region. Based on the morphological and genetic analyses of the
two species, D. sibiricus collected from Jeonju was distinct in both morphological
and genetic features: Mitochondrial genomes of the Jeonju isolate and D.
quadripunctatus from Poland together with that of D. sibiricus isolated from
Seoul represent that D. sibiricus from Seoul was more related to the European D.
quadripunctatus than D. sibiricus from Jeomju , confirming the two population as
separate species, suggesting the two Palearctic species and a plausible
additional species. The two types of D. sibiricus could be separated by the color,
ratio of the head and the density of the punctations. Additional phylogenetic
tree constructed from COXI sequences shows i ) monophyly of both Paelearctic
and Nearctic species of the group and ii) the group’s close relation with South
East Asian species suggesting the Asian origin of D. quadripunctatus group and a
following dispersal of the group to North America.