Leptanilla revelierii raw sequence reads, CASENT0006788

Although molecular data have proven indispensable in confidently resolving the phylogeny of many insect clades, under some circumstances these data may be inaccessible. The resolution of parallel taxonomy in the ant subfamily Leptanillinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) is made problematic by the absence of molecular data for some male-based leptanilline taxa, including the monotypic genus Phaulomyrma Wheeler & Wheeler 1930. Focusing upon the considerable diversity of undescribed male leptanilline morphospecies, I infer the phylogeny of 38 putative morphospecies from across the Leptanillinae, plus an outgroup, from 11 nuclear loci and 41 discrete male morphological characters using a Bayesian total-evidence framework. Based upon the results of this analysis I synonymize Phaulomyrma with Leptanilla Emery 1870, providing a revised male-based diagnosis for the latter taxon.