Paraponera

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Paraponera
Paraponera clavata casent0003165 profile 1.jpg
P. clavata , or bullet ant, the sole extant member of the subfamily
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Paraponerinae
Emery, 1901
Tribe: Paraponerini
Emery, 1901
Genus: Paraponera
F. Smith, 1858
Type species
Formica clavata
Diversity [1]
2 species

Paraponera is a genus of ants and the only genus in the subfamily Paraponerinae. [2] The name means "near- Ponera ". [3]

Contents

It consists of two species: the extant Paraponera clavata , also known as a bullet ant, found in the Neotropics, and the very small [4] fossil species Paraponera dieteri known from Dominican amber (Early Miocene; 16-19 million years ago). [5] Bullet ants are so named for the pain caused by their venomous stings. The intensely painful sting is toxic to invertebrates as well as vertebrates and a major component is the neurotoxic peptide poneratoxin. [6]

Species

Related Research Articles

<i>Paraponera clavata</i> Species of ant

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<i>Strongylognathus</i> Genus of ants

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

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

Prionomyrmex is an extinct genus of bulldog ants in the subfamily Myrmeciinae of the family Formicidae. It was first described by Gustav Mayr in 1868, after he collected a holotype worker of P. longiceps in Baltic amber. Three species are currently described, characterised by their long mandibles, slender bodies and large size. These ants are known from the Eocene and Late Oligocene, with fossil specimens only found around Europe. It is suggested that these ants preferred to live in jungles, with one species assumed to be an arboreal nesting species. These ants had a powerful stinger that was used to subdue prey. In 2000, it was suggested by Cesare Baroni Urbani that the living species Nothomyrmecia macrops and a species he described both belonged to Prionomyrmex, but this proposal has not been widely accepted by the entomological community. Instead, scientists still classify the two genera distinctive from each other, making Nothomyrmecia a valid genus.

<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.

<i>Cephalotes alveolatus</i> Extinct species of ant

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<i>Cephalotes caribicus</i> Extinct species of ant

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<i>Cephalotes dieteri</i> Extinct species of ant

Cephalotes dieteri is an extinct species of ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae known from two Middle Miocene fossils found in amber on Hispaniola. At the time of description, C. dieteri was one of seven fossil ant species placed in the Cephalotescoffeae clade.

<i>Cephalotes hispaniolicus</i> Extinct species of ant

Cephalotes hispaniolicus is an extinct species of ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae known from a single Middle Miocene fossil found in amber on Hispaniola. At the time of description C. hispaniolicus was one of six ant species placed in the Cephalotesmultispinosus clade.

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

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<i>Tatuidris</i> Genus of ants

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<i>Proceratium</i> Genus of ants

Proceratium is a rare genus of ants in the subfamily Proceratiinae. It is the type genus of the tribe Proceratiini, which in addition to Proceratium consists of two even rarer genera: the extant Discothyrea and the fossil genus Bradoponera.

<i>Leptanilloides</i> Genus of ants

Leptanilloides is a genus of ants in the subfamily Dorylinae. Leptanilloides is an uncommonly collected genus with subterranean habits in the New World Andean and sub-Andean tropics.

<i>Calyptomyrmex</i> Genus of ants

Calyptomyrmex is a genus of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae. The genus is distributed from Africa to India and east to New Caledonia. They are mainly found in the rainforest, where they forage alone or in small numbers.

<i>Gigantiops</i> Genus of ants

Gigantiops is a South American genus of jumping ants in the subfamily Formicinae. The genus contains the single species Gigantiops destructor, which is also the sole member of the tribe Gigantiopini. They have the largest eyes among all ants, are known for their ability to jump, and have the highest number of chromosomes of any member of the subfamily Formicinae (2n=78).

<i>Emeryopone</i> Genus of ants

Emeryopone is a small genus of ants in the subfamily Ponerinae. The genus is distributed in Asia, from Israel to Indonesia. Little is known about their biology, and males remain unknown.

Acanthognathus poinari is an extinct species of ant in the subfamily Myrmicinae known from a single possibly Miocene fossil found on Hispaniola. A. poinari is the first species of the ant genus Acanthognathus to have been described from fossils found in Dominican amber and is one of several species of Acanthognathus found in the Greater Antillas.

<i>Anochetus corayi</i> Extinct species of ant

Anochetus corayi is an extinct species of ant in the subfamily Ponerinae known from one possibly Miocene fossil found on Hispaniola. A. corayi is one of eight species in the ant genus Anochetus to have been described from fossils found in Dominican amber and is one of a number of Anochetus species found in the Greater Antillies.

<i>Paraponera dieteri</i> Extinct species of ant

Paraponera dieteri is an extinct species of Miocene ant in the genus Paraponera. The fossils of the species were found in the Dominican amber and were described by Baroni Urbani in 1994. The fossils are now in the collection of the State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart.

References

  1. Bolton, B. (2014). "Paraponera". AntCat. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  2. "Genus: Paraponera". antweb.org. AntWeb . Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  3. Wheeler, George C. (1956). Myrmecological Orthoepy and Onomatology (PDF). University of North Dakota Press. pp. 4, 17.
  4. Baroni Urbani, C. (1994). "The identity of the Dominican Paraponera (Amber Collection Stuttgart: Hymenoptera, Formicidae. V: Ponerinae, partim)". Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde. Serie B (Geologie und Paläontologie): 1–9.
  5. "Species: †Paraponera dieteri". antweb.org. AntWeb . Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  6. Aili, Samira R.; Touchard, Axel; Petitclerc, Frédéric; Dejean, Alain; Orivel, Jérôme; Padula, Matthew P.; Escoubas, Pierre; Nicholson, Graham M. (2017). "Combined Peptidomic and Proteomic Analysis of Electrically Stimulated and Manually Dissected Venom from the South American Bullet Ant Paraponera clavata". Journal of Proteome Research. 16 (3): 1339–1351. doi:10.1021/acs.jproteome.6b00948. hdl: 10453/123916 . PMID   28118015.