New ant records from La Réunion Island (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)
Abstract
La Réunion Island (Mascarene Archipelago, south-western Indian Ocean) hosts a largely introduced ant fauna, shaped by historical and ongoing human-mediated introductions. Despite previous inventories, the ant fauna of the Island remains incompletely documented and updated faunistic records are needed to refine species checklists and improve knowledge of regional biodiversity. Documenting new occurrences contributes to a better understanding of species distributions, biogeographic patterns and invasion dynamics on oceanic islands, which are particularly vulnerable to biological invasions. Following recent fieldwork, we report eight new species for La Réunion Island: Brachymymex australis Forel, 1901; Cardiocondyla obscurior Wheeler, 1929; Monomorium exiguum Forel, 1894; Pheidole parva Mayr, 1865; Solenopsis globularia Smith, 1858; Solenopsis gr. pygmaea, Stigmatomma cf. zwaluwenburgi Williams, 1946; and Strumigenys membranifera Emery, 1869. All are introduced species with varying invasiveness status. This work brings the total number of ants known from La Réunion Island to 62, although the presence and identification of some species cited in literature and databases needs verification. Further collections may uncover additional introduced species in urbanised and anthropogenised habitats and native species specific to La Réunion Island or the Mascarene Islands in natural ecosystems.
Related
- Life History of the Invasive Big-Headed Ant Pheidole megacephala (Hymenoptera: Formicidae).
- Influence of environmental factors on the structure of coastal fish communities of Réunion Island (South-western Indian Ocean)
- Holothurian communities of Reunion Island’s reef complex within the Natural Marine Reserve
- The "piroplasmosis-like" syndrome in cattle on Réunion Island: Spatial and temporal distribution of cases and clinical impact of co-infections
- First Ichthyological Inventory of La Pérouse Seamount, Reunion Island, Southwestern Indian Ocean: La Pérouse Expedition, 2019
BibTeX
@article{carval2026records,
title = {{New ant records from La Réunion Island (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)}},
author = {Dominique Carval and Floriane Jacquelin and Valérie Soti and Louis Paulin and Raphaël Parnaudeau and Brian L. Fisher and Thibault Ramage},
journal = {Biodiversity Data Journal},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3897/bdj.14.e188364},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05782655v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - New ant records from La Réunion Island (Hymenoptera, Formicidae)
AU - Dominique Carval
AU - Floriane Jacquelin
AU - Valérie Soti
AU - Louis Paulin
AU - Raphaël Parnaudeau
AU - Brian L. Fisher
AU - Thibault Ramage
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/07
JO - Biodiversity Data Journal
DO - 10.3897/bdj.14.e188364
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05782655v1
AB - La Réunion Island (Mascarene Archipelago, south-western Indian Ocean) hosts a largely introduced ant fauna, shaped by historical and ongoing human-mediated introductions. Despite previous inventories, the ant fauna of the Island remains incompletely documented and updated faunistic records are needed to refine species checklists and improve knowledge of regional biodiversity. Documenting new occurrences contributes to a better understanding of species distributions, biogeographic patterns and invasion dynamics on oceanic islands, which are particularly vulnerable to biological invasions. Following recent fieldwork, we report eight new species for La Réunion Island: Brachymymex australis Forel, 1901; Cardiocondyla obscurior Wheeler, 1929; Monomorium exiguum Forel, 1894; Pheidole parva Mayr, 1865; Solenopsis globularia Smith, 1858; Solenopsis gr. pygmaea, Stigmatomma cf. zwaluwenburgi Williams, 1946; and Strumigenys membranifera Emery, 1869. All are introduced species with varying invasiveness status. This work brings the total number of ants known from La Réunion Island to 62, although the presence and identification of some species cited in literature and databases needs verification. Further collections may uncover additional introduced species in urbanised and anthropogenised habitats and native species specific to La Réunion Island or the Mascarene Islands in natural ecosystems.
SN - 1314-2828
ER -