Madagascar is one of the world’s most important centers of ant diversity and endemism. Despite decades of intensive collecting and taxonomic work, several key genera, subgenera, and higher-level components of the Malagasy ant fauna remain unresolved, unpublished, or only partially treated. These gaps currently represent a major bottleneck for biodiversity research, conservation planning, digital biodiversity infrastructure (e.g., specimen databases and identification tools), and the training of Malagasy scientists.

We propose a ZooKeys Topical Collection focused on establishing a robust, specimen-based taxonomic backbone for Malagasy ants. The collection will integrate traditional revisionary taxonomy with modern data resources, emphasizing clear species concepts, stable nomenclature, updated identification keys, and transparent links to curated specimen data.

This Topical Collection is intended to serve as a foundational reference for future systematic, ecological, evolutionary, and conservation research on Malagasy ants, while also supporting long-term biodiversity data infrastructure and capacity building.