Harpegnathos

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Harpegnathos
Harpegnathos saltator fight.jpg
Worker H. saltator killing a queen in an inter-colony conflict
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Ponerinae
Tribe: Ponerini
Genus: Harpegnathos
Jerdon, 1851
Type species
Harpegnathos saltator [1]
Jerdon, 1851
Diversity [2]
7 species
Synonyms

DrepanognathusSmith, F., 1858

Harpegnathos is a small ponerine genus of ants found in South and Southeast Asia. They are notable for their jumping ability, complex colony structure, and large to very large workers easily identifiable by their long mandibles and large eyes. [3]

Contents

Taxonomy

Head view of a Harpegnathos saltator worker, showing their characteristic long scythe-shaped mandibles Harpegnathos saltator casent0173582 head 1.jpg
Head view of a Harpegnathos saltator worker, showing their characteristic long scythe-shaped mandibles

The genus was established by Thomas C. Jerdon in 1851 to house the single species Harpegnathos saltator , found in India. [4] Believing that the name was unavailable due to homonymy, Smith (1858) [5] incorrectly erected the unnecessary replacement name Drepanognathus (now a synonym of Harpegnathos). For some time, both names were used in publications by other authors until the original name was restored. [3] The most recent species was described in 1963, making the total number of Harpegnathos species seven, with an additional four described subspecies. [2] The genus is closely related to the other genera in its tribe, Ponerini, and is probably a sister to all Ponerini. [3]

Multifunctional mandibles

The ant's mandible exhibits spatially-dependent morphology and bi-axial kinematics, which collectively allows it to perform various daily labors from hunting and attacking to carefully caring for ant eggs. [6] Regarding the spatially-dependent morphology, at the distal-to-middle part, the mandible has double-rowed, non-parallel teeth responsible for powerful clamping. At the proximal part, the mandible has a smooth concavity that is solely used for gently gripping ant eggs. [7] On the other hand, the mandible rotates about two orthogonal axes, changing the mandibular distance and configuration simultaneously. [8] The spatially-dependent morphology and bi-axial kinematics endow the ant mandible multifunctionality.

Hunting behavior

Harpegnathos is an extremely distinctive genus appearance-wise, being very reminiscent of the Myrmecia found in Australia. Like Myrmecia, Harpegnathos has very large eyes, since both hunt mostly by vision and do not lay down pheromone trails like most other ants. [9] Also like Myrmecia, they have large jaws since, owing to their lack of pheromone signals, workers are solitary hunters and must carry food back to the nest in their jaws since they also lack a social stomach. [10]

Colony structure

Harpegnathos has a complex and different colony structure compared to other genera. In the beginning, young winged queens fly out from their natal colony, mate with foreign males and start new colonies independently. What differs from other ants is that, once the short-lived founding queen dies, several daughter workers replace her as reproductives in the colony. Characteristic of several ponerine species, workers can mate (almost always with foreign males) and store sperm in the spermatheca. [3]

In H. saltator, many young workers inbreed with males from the same colony (their brothers). They fight to establish a dominance hierarchy, and a few high-ranking workers become reproductives and lay eggs, so-called gamergates. Every year, new winged queens are reared, and they disperse and start the process again. The combination of queen and gamergate reproduction results in an increased lifespan of colonies, in theory making them immortal. [3] [11]

Species

Harpegnathos alperti Harpegnathos alperti ANTWEB1008901 profile.tif
Harpegnathos alperti

Related Research Articles

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

Ponerinae, the ponerine ants, is a subfamily of ants in the Poneromorph subfamilies group, with about 1,600 species in 47 extant genera, including Dinoponera gigantea - one of the world's largest species of ant. Mated workers have replaced the queen as the functional egg-layers in several species of ponerine ants. In such queenless species, the reproductive status of workers can only be determined through ovarian dissections.

<i>Myrmecia</i> (ant) Genus of ants

Myrmecia is a genus of ants first established by Danish zoologist Johan Christian Fabricius in 1804. The genus is a member of the subfamily Myrmeciinae of the family Formicidae. Myrmecia is a large genus of ants, comprising at least 93 species that are found throughout Australia and its coastal islands, while a single species is only known from New Caledonia. One species has been introduced out of its natural distribution and was found in New Zealand in 1940, but the ant was last seen in 1981. These ants are commonly known as bull ants, bulldog ants or jack jumper ants, and are also associated with many other common names. They are characterized by their extreme aggressiveness, ferocity, and painful stings. Some species are known for the jumping behavior they exhibit when agitated.

<i>Harpegnathos saltator</i> Species of ant

Harpegnathos saltator, sometimes called the Indian jumping ant or Jerdon's jumping ant, is a species of ant found in India. They have long mandibles and have the ability to leap a few inches. They are large-eyed and active predators that hunt mainly in the early morning. The colonies are small and the difference between workers and queens is very slight.

Harpegnathos venator is a species of ant found in South and Southeast Asia in northern India and parts of Burma.

<i>Diacamma</i> Genus of ants

Diacamma is a genus of queenless ants belonging to the subfamily Ponerinae. It is distributed from India to Australia and contains about 24 species.

<i>Anochetus</i> Genus of ants

Anochetus is a genus of small, carnivorous ants found in the tropics and subtropics throughout the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green-head ant</span> Species of ant

The green-head ant is a species of ant that is endemic to Australia. It was described by British entomologist Frederick Smith in 1858 as a member of the genus Rhytidoponera in the subfamily Ectatomminae. These ants measure between 5 and 7 mm. The queens and workers look similar, differing only in size, with the males being the smallest. They are well known for their distinctive metallic appearance, which varies from green to purple or even reddish-violet. Among the most widespread of all insects in Australia, green-head ants are found in almost every Australian state, but are absent in Tasmania. They have also been introduced in New Zealand, where several populations have been established.

<i>Platythyrea</i> Genus of ants

Platythyrea is a genus of predaceous ants in the subfamily Ponerinae and the sole member of the tribe Platythyreini.

<i>Thaumatomyrmex</i> Genus of ants

Thaumatomyrmex is a Neotropical genus of ants in the subfamily Ponerinae, found from Mexico to Brazil. They are notable for their pitchfork-shaped mandibles, which they use to capture millipedes of the order Polyxenida. The genus is a specialist predator of polyxenids, and one of only two ant genera known to prey upon polyxenids.

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

A gamergate is a mated worker ant that can reproduce sexually, i.e., lay fertilized eggs that will develop as females. In the vast majority of ant species, workers are sterile and gamergates are restricted to taxa where the workers have a functional sperm reservoir ('spermatheca'). In some species, gamergates reproduce in addition to winged queens, while in other species the queen caste has been completely replaced by gamergates. In gamergate species, all workers in a colony have similar reproductive potentials, but as a result of physical interactions, a dominance hierarchy is formed and only one or a few top-ranking workers can mate and produce eggs. Subsequently however, aggression is no longer needed as gamergates secrete chemical signals that inform the other workers of their reproductive status in the colony.

<i>Dinoponera</i> Genus of ants

Dinoponera is a strictly South American genus of ant in the subfamily Ponerinae, commonly called tocandiras or giant Amazonian ants. These ants are generally less well known than Paraponera clavata, the bullet ant, yet Dinoponera females may surpass 3–4 cm (1.2–1.6 in) in total body length, making them among the largest ants in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Worker policing</span> Insects destroying eggs not laid by queen

Worker policing is a behavior seen in colonies of social hymenopterans whereby worker females eat or remove eggs that have been laid by other workers rather than those laid by a queen. Worker policing ensures that the offspring of the queen will predominate in the group. In certain species of bees, ants and wasps, workers or the queen may also act aggressively towards fertile workers. Worker policing has been suggested as a form of coercion to promote the evolution of altruistic behavior in eusocial insect societies.

<i>Myrmecia pyriformis</i> Species of ant

Myrmecia pyriformis, also known as the bull ant or inch ant, is an Australian ant. Myrmecia pyriformis belongs to the genus Myrmecia. It is abundant in many major cities of Australia, but mostly spotted in the eastern states. The species is of a similar appearance to the Myrmecia forficata.

<i>Myrmecia nigrocincta</i> Species of ant

Myrmecia nigrocincta, commonly known as the jumper ant or jumping jack, is an ant of the genus Myrmecia. The species was first described by Frederick Smith in 1858. Colonies of this ant are abundant in eastern Australia. Ants of this species are known for their ability to jump up to 10 centimetres, and they also have a powerful, venomous sting. Rather than foraging on the ground, M. nigrocincta prefer to forage in trees where they are known to pollinate certain flowers.

<i>Myrmecia tarsata</i> Species of ant

Myrmecia tarsata is a bull ant species native to Australia. The species belongs to the genus Myrmecia. Their distribution is large, mainly around New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory.

<i>Megaponera</i> Genus of ants

Megaponera analis is the sole species of the genus Megaponera. They are a strictly termite-eating (termitophagous) ponerine ant species widely distributed in Sub-Saharan Africa and most commonly known for their column-like raiding formation when attacking termite feeding sites. Their sophisticated raiding behaviour gave them the common name Matabele ant after the Matabele tribe, fierce warriors who overwhelmed various other tribes during the 1800s. With some individuals reaching up to 25 millimetres (0.98 in) in length, M. analis is one of the world's largest ants.

<i>Brachyponera</i> Genus of insects

Brachyponera is a genus of ants in the subfamily Ponerinae.

<i>Hagensia</i> Genus of ants

Hagensia is a small genus of ants in the subfamily Ponerinae. Its two species are known only from coastal areas in South Africa. Workers are large (10.5–13.0 mm); queens are unknown, but gamergates occurs in both species.

Ophthalmopone is a ponerine genus of ants found in Sub-Saharan Africa. Workers are slender and large in size (8–13.5 mm). Queens seem to be absent, but gamergates present.

<i>Pseudoneoponera</i> Genus of ants

Pseudoneoponera is a ponerine genus of ants found from India to Australia, they are mostly non queen species, most of the species within the genus thrives on only gamergates.

References

  1. ↑ "Genus: Harpegnathos". antweb.org. AntWeb . Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  2. 1 2 Bolton, B. (2015). "Harpegnathos". AntCat. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Schmidt, C. A; Shattuck, S. O. (2014). "The Higher Classification of the Ant Subfamily Ponerinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), with a Review of Ponerine Ecology and Behavior". Zootaxa . 3817 (1): 1–242. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3817.1.1. PMID   24943802.
  4. ↑ Jerdon, T. C. (1851). "A catalogue of the species of ants found in Southern India". Madras Journal of Literature and Science. 17: 103–127.
  5. ↑ Smith, F. (1858). Catalogue of hymenopterous insects in the collection of the British Museum. Part VI. Formicidae. London: British Museum, 216 pp.
  6. ↑ Wei, Zhang (2020). "Multifunctional mandibles of ants: Variation in gripping behavior facilitated by specific microstructures and kinematics". Journal of Insect Physiology. 120: 103993. doi:10.1016/j.jinsphys.2019.103993. PMID   31836493. S2CID   209358666.
  7. ↑ Wei, Zhang; et, al. (2020). "A mathematical modeling method elucidating the integrated gripping performance of ant mandibles and bio-inspired grippers". Journal of Bionic Engineering. 17 (4): 732–746. doi:10.1007/s42235-020-0065-9. S2CID   220503041.
  8. ↑ Wei, Zhang; et, al. (2021). "Double-rowed teeth: design specialization of the H. venator ants for enhanced tribological stability". Bioinspiration & Biomimetics. 16 (5): 055003. doi:10.1088/1748-3190/ac124a. PMID   34233306. S2CID   235768522.
  9. ↑ Slone, Jesse D.; Pask, Gregory M.; Ferguson, Stephen T.; Millar, Jocelyn G.; Berger, Shelley L.; Reinberg, Danny; Liebig, Jürgen; Ray, Anandasankar; Zwiebel, Laurence J. (2017). "Functional characterization of odorant receptors in the ponerine ant, Harpegnathos saltator". PNAS. 114 (32): 8586–859. doi:10.1073/pnas.1704647114. PMC   5559025 .
  10. ↑ Gronenberg, W.; Liebig, J. (1999). "Smaller Brains and Optic Lobes in Reproductive Workers of the Ant Harpegnathos". Naturwissenschaften. 86: 343–345. doi:10.1007/s001140050631.
  11. ↑ Peeters, C.; Liebig, J.; Hölldobler, B. (2000). "Sexual reproduction by both queens and workers in the ponerine ant Harpegnathos saltator". Insectes Sociaux . 47 (4): 325–332. doi:10.1007/PL00001724. S2CID   8728206.
  12. ↑ General, D.E.M. (2016). "A review of the ant genus Harpegnathos Jerdon, 1851 (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in the Philippines, with the description of two new species". Halteres. 7: 99–105.
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