Lasius niger
Creators: name: Boudinot, Brendon E.
name: Borowiec, Marek L.
name: Prebus, Matthew M.
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2022
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Arthropoda
Insecta
Hymenoptera
Formicidae
Lasius
Lasius niger

description: 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.
description: Published as part of 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), pp. 113-151 in Systematic Entomology 47 on pages 137-138, DOI: 10.1111/syen.12522, http://zenodo.org/record/5975346