Adetomyrma venatrix

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Adetomyrma venatrix
Adetomyrma venatrix casent0172771 profile 1.jpg
A blind worker
Adetomyrma venatrix casent0490924 dorsal 1.jpg
A winged male
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Genus: Adetomyrma
Species:
A. venatrix
Binomial name
Adetomyrma venatrix
Ward, 1994 [2]

Adetomyrma venatrix, more commonly known as the Dracula ant, so named because of its grisly feeding habits of drinking the blood of its young, is an endangered species of ants endemic to Madagascar. Workers of this species are blind. The species was described as the type species of Adetomyrma in 1994, with the genus being an atypical member of its tribe.

Contents

Description

Head of a blind worker Adetomyrma venatrix casent0172771 head 1.jpg
Head of a blind worker

Adetomyrma venatrix was described on the basis of specimens belonging to the worker caste collected from Zombitse Forest, in western Madagascar. The key characteristics of the species was the absence of a clear petiole when viewed from above due to the third abdominal tergite (the sclerite on the dorsal side) lacking a differentiated pretergite. The gaster is large and without constrictions. The ant is blind and has a long sting. It was placed with reservations in the tribe Amblyoponini as it lacks the typical characters of the group. [3] Later studies considered them as being close to the ancestral members of the Amblyoponinae and they share certain morphological features with Amblyopone pluto such as the presence of laterosclerite. [4] [5]

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Adetomyrma is a genus of ants endemic to Madagascar. Workers of this genus are blind. The type species Adetomyrma venatrix was described in 1994, with the genus being an atypical member of its tribe, the Amblyoponini. This tribe includes the Dracula ants, members of which can feed on the hemolymph of larvae and pupae.

<i>Nothomyrmecia</i> Genus of ants

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<i>Monomorium</i> Genus of ants

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<i>Prionomyrmex</i> Extinct genus of ants

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<i>Eutetramorium</i> Genus of ants

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gamergate (ant)</span> Reproductively viable female worker ant

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amblyoponinae</span> Subfamily of ants

Amblyoponinae is a subfamily of ants in the poneromorph subfamilies group containing 13 extant genera and one extinct genus. The ants in this subfamily are mostly specialized subterranean predators. Adult workers pierce the integument of their larvae and pupa to imbibe haemolymph, earning them the common name Dracula ant.

<i>Mystrium</i> Genus of ants

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<i>Adetomyrma aureocuprea</i> Species of ant

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<i>Adetomyrma cassis</i> Species of ant

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<i>Adetomyrma caudapinniger</i> Species of ant

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<i>Adetomyrma cilium</i> Species of ant

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<i>Adetomyrma bressleri</i> Species of ant

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References

  1. Social Insects Specialist Group (1996). "Adetomyrma venatrix". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 1996: e.T522A13059247. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T522A13059247.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. Ward, P. S. (1994). "Adetomyrma, an enigmatic new ant genus from Madagascar (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), and its implications for ant phylogeny" (PDF). Systematic Entomology. 19 (2): 159–175. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3113.1994.tb00585.x. S2CID   85356610.
  3. Fisher, BL (1997). "Biogeography and ecology of the ant fauna of Madagascar (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)" (PDF). Journal of Natural History. 31 (2): 269–302. doi:10.1080/00222939700770141. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 20, 2021.
  4. Perrault, Gérard H. (2004). "Étude morphoanatomique et biométrique du métasoma antérieur des ouvrières. Contribution à la systématique et à la phylogénie des fourmis (Hymenoptera : Formicidae)" (PDF). Ann. Soc. Entomol. Fr. (in French). 40 (3–4): 291–371. doi: 10.1080/00379271.2004.10697428 . S2CID   85305392. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-11-05. Retrieved 2013-11-05.
  5. Grimaldi, D; D Agosti; J M Carpenter. "New and Rediscovered Primitive Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Cretaceous Amber from New Jersey, and Their Phylogenetic Relationships" (PDF). American Museum Novitates (3208): 1–43.