Phylogeny and taxonomy of the ant genus Paratrechina (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and close relatives

Species in the diverse ant genus Paratrechina form an important component of most ant communities around the world, but its taxonomy is virtually inaccessible. The genus also contains some of the world’s most destructive invasive ant species. In order to begin a global monographic revision of this genus, the generic limits of Paratrechina and close relatives were examined with both molecular and morphological data. We present a comprehensive molecular phylogenetic analysis of the clade, based on sequence data. We informally term this clade the prenolepidomorphs. We present a taxonomic revision and phylogeny of the prenolepidomorph genera in this study.