Species delimitation of Pheidole sexspinosa complex in Vanuatu

Here, we present a study that involved teaching integrative taxonomy in higher education utilizing collaborative and case-based learning to provide taxonomic training to students in an evolutionary framework. Specifically, we provided students with a real taxonomic case study that focused on ants in the Pheidole sexspinosa complex from the Vanuatuan archipelago in the Southwestern Pacific region. Based on a population-level phylogeny using ultraconserved elements (UCEs) as well as quantitative morphometrics and biogeography, we delimited three new species in the Pheidole sexspinosa complex from Vanuatu that we describe here as P. epaoensis sp. nov., P. nivanuatu sp. nov., and P. tanakarensis sp. nov.