Karyotypic data of five ant taxa from the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest

Abstract

The Brazilian Atlantic rainforest is an endangered biome and biodiversity hotspot. Ant cytogenetic studies from this biome showed remarkable chromosomal diversity among species, and provided useful insights on phylogeny, chromosomal evolution, and taxonomy. In this study, we karyotyped five ant taxa from the Atlantic rainforest. The karyotypes observed were Pheidole germaini 2n=22, Pheidole sp. flavens group 2n=20, Brachymyrmex admotus 2n=18, Camponotus atriceps 2n=40, and Odontomachus haematodus 2n=44. The data obtained for Pheidole spp. represent the first chromosomal record for the genus in Brazil and provide insights on the chromosomal evolution of P. germaini. Karyotypic information from B. admotus brings the genus back to the cytogenetic scenario after decades of neglect. No karyotype variations were observed among the C. atriceps and O. haematodus from different already studied populations, corroborating their status as good species. This study increased the cytogenetic knowledge of ants from the Brazilian Atlantic rainforest.

Keywords

• karyotype
• classical cytogenetics
• Formicidae
• biodiversity
• Brachymyrmex
• Pheidole