Corresponding authors: Albena Lapeva-Gjonova (
Academic editor: Sebastian Salata
The Bulgarian myrmecofauna is one of the richest in the Balkans. This is a result of both the physicogeographical and paleoecological features of the area, as well as relatively well-studied fauna. The earliest myrmecological paper on Bulgarian fauna, listing 54 species, was published 130 years ago. The publication was later followed by numerous new faunistic records and three comprehensive reviews that significantly widened knowledge on the ant diversity from this country. The most recent checklist was released 12 years ago and considered 163 ant species from 40 genera.
This work provides an updated checklist of 195 ant species from 43 genera occurring in Bulgaria. Since the last Bulgarian catalogue of ants, 44 species have been added, while 24 species have been synonymised or excluded after critical analysis of the last taxonomic revisions. Additionally, we discuss the status and distribution of 12 species described from Bulgaria, 23 species considered endemic and subendemic for this country, 19 species with conservation status and four non-native species.
Bulgaria is amongst the Balkan countries with the richest ant fauna. There are several factors that favour the existence of more than 190 ant species. The country is located in the south-eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula, considered as an important hotspot of biodiversity in Europe, with 96 types of habitats referring to three biogeographical regions – Black Sea, Continental and Alpine (
The earliest paper on the myrmecofauna of Bulgaria was published 130 years ago, when Auguste Forel (1848–1931), a Swiss myrmecologist, recorded 54 ant species from various regions of the country and described three species as new to science (
Since the publication of the most recent catalogue, 44 more species have been added to the list. Some of them are new faunistic findings for the country, while others are new species mentioned for Bulgaria in taxonomic works covering also the Balkan myrmecofauna (e.g.
The updated list of Bulgarian ants in the present study brings together the scattered information from numerous taxonomic and faunistic publications, justifies exclusion of some dubious and erroneous records and highlights the importance of such inventories for assessment and conservation of biological diversity.
The current checklist is based on the available taxonomic and faunistic literature concerning the Bulgarian myrmecofauna. Publications since the last Bulgarian catalogue of ants (
The genera in the list are arranged by subfamilies and tribes. The species are listed alphabetically and by subgenera (if available) as their actual names are generally agreed with the Online catalogue of the ants of the world by
Vu D2
LR/NT, Corine (Annex 4)
LR/NT, Corine (Annex 4)
LR/NT, Corine (Annex 4)
LR/NT, Corine (Annex 4)
LR/NT, Corine (Annex 4), BBA (2002) Annexes 2 and 3
Corine (Annex 4)
Vu A2c
Vu D2
Vu D2
Vu A2c
Vu A2c
Vu D2
Vu D2
Vu D2
Vu D2
Vu D2
Vu D2
LR/LC
The current checklist contains 195 species of ants from Bulgaria belonging to six subfamilies and 43 genera. This places Bulgaria amongst the European countries with the highest richness of ant species after Greece (315), Spain (275), Italy (267) and France (215), despite its significantly smaller area (
The distribution of species by subfamilies and genera is typical of European myrmecofauna. The richest in genera and species is the subfamily
In this study, records for 24 previously reported species have been re-assessed following taxonomic revisions or reconsideration of available material. The list of excluded species from the current list with remarks and references is given in Table
Due to lack of their exact locality in Bulgaria, four species, namely
Ant specimens from Bulgaria have been used as holotypes and paratypes for 12 species. Descriptions of three species (
The Bulgarian myrmecofauna includes 23 endemic and subendemic species, which constitute nearly 12% of all registered ant species in the country. These species are distributed in the two large subfamilies, namely - 17 from
The presence of rare species and those of great importance for the environment determines the high conservation importance of the ants found in the territory of Bulgaria. In total, 19 ant species have conservation status. Almost all of them (18) are included in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (
An up-to-date assessment of the conservation status of the regional myrmecofauna is needed to reflect both status and taxonomic changes. Thus, potential candidates, such as
So far, the presence of exotic ant species in Bulgaria is relatively low. These are four species -
Ant research in Bulgaria dates back to 1892, has continued with variable intensity over the decades and has resulted in 195 species at present (Fig.
This study was supported by the National Science Fund of the Republic of Bulgaria, grant No. KP-06-N-51/6 from 11.11.2021. Our thanks also go to the reviewers and Sebastian Salata for their suggestions for improving the manuscript.
Number of newly-reported ant species from Bulgaria by decades (only currently valid species are considered).
Ant species excluded from the list of Bulgaria.
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a junior synonym of |
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a junior synonym of |
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occurs in Western Europe (France, Spain) ( |
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known from Afghanistan, Cyprus, Greece (Aegean Islands, Dodecanese), Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Syria and Turkey ( |
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distributed in the Iberian Peninsula and France; the records from Bulgaria are based on misidentification and refer to |
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the records from Bulgaria ( |
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a junior synonym of |
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a junior synonym of |
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a Western Mediterranean species as the records from Bulgaria ( |
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a junior synonym of |
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distributed only in the western part of the Mediterranean Basin ( |
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distributed only in the western part of the Mediterranean Basin ( |
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found only in the Western Palaearctic ( |
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restricted to Armenia, Georgia, Iran, Kazakhstan and Turkey ( |
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a western Mediterranean species and it is likely that data from the Balkans refer to |
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most likely endemic to Crete ( |
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known from the north-western and western Mediterranean regions; its records from Bulgaria ( |
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so far, confirmed findings from the western Mediterranean to the Western Balkans (Croatia) ( |
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a junior synonym of |
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known from Central and West Europe: Italy, Austria, Germany and further west; only two species from |
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a junior synonym of |
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a western Mediterranean species; data from the Balkans refer to |
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restricted to Czech Republic and Slovakia; |