A peer-reviewed open-access journal ZooKeys 507: 115–150 (2015) Taxonomy of Malagasy Prionopelta 115 doi: 10.3897/zookeys.507.9303 RESEARCH ARTICLE http://zookeys.pensoft.net Launched to accelerate biodiversity research Taxonomic revision of the genus Prionopelta (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in the Malagasy region Rick Overson1, Brian L. Fisher2 1 Chicago Botanic Garden, 1000 Lake Cook Road, Glencoe, IL 60022, U.S.A. 2 Entomology, California Academy of Sciences, 55 Music Concourse Drive, San Francisco, CA 94118, U.S.A. Corresponding author: Rick Overson (
[email protected]) Academic editor: M. Borowiec | Received 30 January 2015 | Accepted 20 May 2015 | Published 9 June 2015 http://zoobank.org/83353FFD-8729-496E-9240-2EFA8FC86BCE Citation: Overson R, Fisher BL (2015) Taxonomic revision of the genus Prionopelta (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) in the Malagasy region. ZooKeys 507: 115–150. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.507.9303 Abstract In this study we revise the taxonomy of the genus Prionopelta for the Malagasy region, treating seven species, six of which are newly described (P. laurae sp. n., P. seychelles sp. n., P. subtilis sp. n., P. talos sp. n., P. vampira sp. n., P. xerosilva sp. n.), and one redescribed (P. descarpentriesi Santschi). One species, P. seychelles, is restricted to Seychelles, while the six remaining species treated are endemic to Madagascar. Keywords Afrotropical region, Madagascar, equatorial rainforest, taxonomy, Amblyoponinae, Prionopelta Introduction The genus Prionopelta Mayr, 1866 contains 21 species, including six that are newly described here. In his species-level treatment of the genus, Brown (1960) recognized ten species scattered throughout the Old and New World tropics, and later returned P.