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“Ants of Africa and Madagascar is a seminal contribution to ant classification, opening up the last and least explored of the three great tropical continental faunas. The opportunities it provides for ecology and sociobiology are immense.”—Edward O. Wilson, University Research Professor Emeritus, Harvard University
“Ants of Africa and Madagascar is an extremely valuable reference resource. The authors have done a superb job of collating and summarizing the current state of knowledge so that specialists and nonspecialists alike will be able to learn from it and put it to practical use.”—Peter G. Hawkes, Professional Natural Scientist in Zoological Science and manager of AfriBugs
List of contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction to the Ant Genera
Family Formicidae: The Ants
Afrotropical and Malagasy Subfamilies
Key to Afrotropical and Malagasy Subfamilies (Workers)
Subfamily Accounts
Afrotropical and Malagasy Genera
Key to Afrotropical Genera (Workers)
Key to Malagasy Genera (Workers)
Genus Accounts
Glossary
References
Index
About the author
Brian L. Fisher is curator at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco and adjunct professor at the University of California, Berkeley.
Barry Bolton was formerly a myrmecologist at the Natural History Museum, London (1971–2004). He is now retired from the museum and works as an independent researcher.
Summary
Across the Afrotropical and Malagasy regions, ants are one of the most conspicuous and ecologically dominant animal groups. From driver ants to weaver ants, there are over 2,000 species in Africa alone and over 600 in Madagascar.
Ants of Africa and Madagascar introduces readers to the fascinating and diverse ant fauna of the Afrotropical and Malagasy regions. Featuring illustrated keys to subfamilies, separate keys to Afrotropical and Malagasy ant genera, and distribution maps, it also describes diagnostic characters, explores ant ecology and natural history, and includes a list of all currently recognized ant species in the regions. This detailed guide is an essential tool for entomologists and myrmecologists working with and learning about this diverse population of Formicidae.
