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.
Dorylinae is an ant subfamily, with distributions in both the Old World and New World. Brady et al. (2014) synonymized the previous dorylomorph subfamilies under Dorylinae., while Borowiec (2016) reviewed and revised the genera, resurrecting many genera which had previously been merged. Dorylinae genera are suggested to have evolved sometime between 102 to 74 million years ago, subsequently undergoing rapid adaptive radiation events during their early history.
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.
Plagiolepis is an ant genus of the formic acid-producing subfamily Formicinae. The genus is found in tropical and temperate regions of the Old World.
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.
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.
Lioponera is a genus of ants in the subfamily Dorylinae containing approximately 74 described species. The genus is distributed widely across the Afrotropical, Australasia, Indomalaya, Malagasy, and Palearctic bioregions. Lioponera was described by Mayr (1879) and later placed as a junior synonym of Cerapachys by Brown (1975). Lioponera was resurrected as a valid genus by Borowiec (2016) during redescription of the doryline genera.
A list of the species of Hymenoptera from New Zealand; currently listing the 'stinging wasps' (Aculeata), which includes ants, bees, and social wasps.
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