A Neotropical complex of Ripersiella species

 We describe five new Neotropical species of Ripersiella living in association with Acropyga ants: R. campensis sp. nov. , R. illicians sp. nov. , R. montanae sp. nov. , R. pediandensis sp. nov. , and R. telalia sp. nov. We also redescribe R. andensis and R. colombiensis based on type specimens a...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:ZooKeys 2022-09 (2), p.1
Main Authors: Schneider, Scott A, LaPolla, John S
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Ants
Behavior
Environmental aspects
Identification and classification
Mealy bugs
Morphology (Animals)
Mutualism (Biology)
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary: We describe five new Neotropical species of Ripersiella living in association with Acropyga ants: R. campensis sp. nov. , R. illicians sp. nov. , R. montanae sp. nov. , R. pediandensis sp. nov. , and R. telalia sp. nov. We also redescribe R. andensis and R. colombiensis based on type specimens and other collections. Together, these seven species form a morphologically similar group that we informally refer to as the andensis -complex of Ripersiella . All members of the andensis -complex are confirmed or are speculated to be mutualists of Acropyga ants. We discuss the implications of these associations and provide an identification key to the Neotropical species of Ripersiella that are lacking bitubular cerores, including the new species. Keywords: Coccoidea , mutualism, root mealybug, taxonomy, trophobiosis
ISSN:1313-2989
1313-2970
DOI:10.3897/zookeys.1123.90141