The ant fauna of Australia is large and diverse. As of 1999, Australia and its external territories represent 1,275 described taxa (subspecies included) divided into 103 genera and 10 subfamilies. [2] No publication since 1999 has estimated the current diversity of Australia's ant fauna, although it has considerably increased in size as the total amount of subfamilies in Australia today is around twelve. Very few species in the country are known to be invasive.
Australia is home to two-thirds of the world's subfamilies, one-third of known genera, 15% of all described species, and some genera found in Australia can be found nowhere else or they are found in neighboring countries instead. Australia's ant diversity is smaller than Central America, South America and Southeast Asia, it has roughly the same number of genera and species as the Orient and surpasses the amount of ants known in Europe, North America, Northern Asia and Northern Africa. [3] The state of Queensland has the greatest diversity of ants in the world, with more than 1,400 species known within its borders. [4] The total amount of species known in Australia could possibly be over 6,500, with only one in five ants being described. [5]
In 1999, 10 ant subfamilies were known to reside in Australia, but some of these subfamilies were later synonymised under the subfamily Dorylinae. [3] [6] Today, 12 subfamilies are known to occur in Australia, including Amblyoponinae, Dolichoderinae, Dorylinae, Ectatomminae, Formicinae, Heteroponerinae, Leptanillinae, Myrmeciinae, Myrmicinae, Ponerinae, Proceratiinae and Pseudomyrmecinae. [7]
The subfamily Myrmicinae is the largest in Australia in terms of both number of genera and species, as well as the subfamily Formicinae, which is also one of the most common subfamily of ants to be encountered. [8] [9] The subfamily Myrmeciinae consists of two genera which are only found in Australia, with the exception of a single species native to New Caledonia. [10] Only a single species of the subfamily Leptanillinae is known from Australia. [7]
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Species listed below were described in Australia as their type locality, but their true identities remain unknown.
The Formicinae are a subfamily within the Formicidae containing ants of moderate evolutionary development.
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.
Myrmicinae is a subfamily of ants, with about 140 extant genera; their distribution is cosmopolitan. The pupae lack cocoons. Some species retain a functional sting. The petioles of Myrmicinae consist of two nodes. The nests are permanent and in soil, rotting wood, under stones, or in trees.
Dolichoderinae is a subfamily of ants, which includes species such as the Argentine ant, the erratic ant, the odorous house ant, and the cone ant. The subfamily presents a great diversity of species throughout the world, distributed in different biogeographic realms, from the Palearctic, Nearctic, Afrotropical region and Malaysia, to the Middle East, Australian, and Neotropical regions.
Iridomyrmex is a genus of ants called rainbow ants first described by Austrian entomologist Gustav Mayr in 1862. He placed the genus in the subfamily Dolichoderinae of the family Formicidae. It has 79 described species and five fossil species. Most of these ants are native to Australia; others are found in Asia and Oceania, and they have been introduced to Brazil, New Zealand, and the United Arab Emirates. Fossil species are known from China, France, and the United States.
Megalomyrmex is a genus of ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae. The genus is known only from the Neotropics, where some of the species are specialized parasites or predators of Attini.
Strumigenys is a genus of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae.
Anochetus is a genus of small, carnivorous ants found in the tropics and subtropics throughout the world.
Rhytidoponera is a large genus of ants in the subfamily Ectatomminae. The genus is known from Australia and Melanesia, with New Caledonia as the most eastern limit.
Dolichoderus is a genus of ants found worldwide.
Meranoplus is an Old World genus of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae. With over 80 valid species, it is predicted that over half of the Meranoplus diversity remains undescribed, most of these from Australia.
Stigmacros is an Australian genus of small ants in the subfamily Formicinae. The genus is endemic to Australia. They are generalist predators that forage in the leaf litter, on the ground or in trees.
Arnoldius pusillus is a species of ant part of the genus Arnoldius, which is only one of the three species described in it. The species is distributed in Australia. It was described by Mayr in 1876.
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