Stereomyrmex

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Stereomyrmex
Stereomyrmex horni casent0178593 profile 1.jpg
Stereomyrmex horni worker
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Tribe: Crematogastrini
Genus: Stereomyrmex
Emery, 1901
Type species
Stereomyrmex horni
Emery, 1901
Diversity [1]
3 species
Synonyms

WillowsiellaWheeler, 1934

S. dispar worker Willowsiella.dispar.-.wheeler.svg
S. dispar worker

Stereomyrmex is a genus of myrmicine ants. Two of the described species are known from only a single worker, making this one of the rarest groups of ants in the world. [2]

Contents

Biology

The single specimen of S. anderseni was caught in a pitfall trap, and nothing is known about its biology.[ citation needed ]

Systematics

Stereomyrmex is probably the sister taxon to Romblonella . Closely related genera are Leptothorax and Cardiocondyla . [3]

Description

Stereomyrmex dispar is 3.2 mm long and black, with yellowish brown mandibles, antennae, legs and terminal segments of gaster. S. anderseni is only 2 mm long, has a very different petiolar and postpetiolar structure and is paler in color. [3]

Distribution

Stereomyrmex dispar has been described from a single worker, taken in 1933 on Bellona Island, Solomon Islands; no other specimen has since been found, and it is unlikely that the species is truly endemic to Bellona. S. anderseni is known from a single worker as well. [3] S. horni was collected under rocks in Sri Lanka. [4]

Names

The genus was originally named in honor of Maurice Willows Jr., who collected the type specimen of S. dispar. [5] S. anderseni was collected by A.N. Andersen. S. horni was collected by W. Horn.[ citation needed ]

Species

Related Research Articles

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<i>Cardiocondyla</i> Genus of ants

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<i>Romblonella</i> Genus of ants

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<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.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prionomyrmecini</span> Tribe of ants

Prionomyrmecini is an ant tribe belonging to the subfamily Myrmeciinae established by William Morton Wheeler in 1915. Two members are a part of this tribe, the extant Nothomyrmecia and the extinct Prionomyrmex. The tribe was once considered a subfamily due to the similarities between Nothomyrmecia and Prionomyrmex, but such reclassification was not widely accepted by the scientific community. These ants can be identified by their long slender bodies, powerful stingers and elongated mandibles. Fossil Prionomyrmecini ants were once found throughout Europe, possibly nesting in trees and preferring jungle habitats. Today, Prionomyrmecini is only found in Australia, preferring old-growth mallee woodland surrounded by Eucalyptus trees. Nothomyrmecia workers feed on nectar and arthropods, using their compound eyes for prey and navigational purposes. Owing to their primitive nature, they do not recruit others to food sources or create pheromone trails. Nothomyrmecia colonies are small, consisting of 50 to 100 individuals.

<i>Peronomyrmex</i> Genus of ants

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<i>Nylanderia</i> Genus of ants

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<i>Tyrannomyrmex</i> Genus of ants

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<i>Iridomyrmex anderseni</i> Species of ant

Iridomyrmex anderseni is an ant species of the genus Iridomyrmex. Nothing is known of its biology. One single specimen has been only been collected in South Australia. The species was described by Shattuck in 1993.

<i>Notostigma carazzii</i> Species of ant

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<i>Yantaromyrmex</i> Genus of ants

Yantaromyrmex is an extinct genus of ants first described in 2013. Members of this genus are in the subfamily Dolichoderinae of the family Formicidae, known from Middle Eocene to Early Oligocene fossils found in Europe. The genus currently contains five described species, Y. constrictus, Y. geinitzi, Y. intermedius, Y. mayrianum and Y. samlandicus. The first specimens were collected in 1868 and studied by Austrian entomologist Gustav Mayr, who originally placed the fossils in other ant genera until the fossils were reviewed and subsequently placed into their own genus. These ants are small, measuring from 4 to 6 mm in length and can be characterized by their trapezoidal shaped head-capsules and oval compound eyes that are located slightly to the rear of the capsules midpoint, with no known ocelli present.

<i>Buniapone</i> Genus of ants

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Technomyrmex horni is a species of Dolichoderine ant which is a widespread species that can be found in many Indo-Australian, Oriental, and Palaearctic regions.

Aneuretellus is an extinct genus of ant in the formicid subfamily Aneuretinae, and is one of eight genera of the subfamily. The genus contains a single described species Aneuretellus deformis and is known from one Middle Eocene fossil which was found in Sakhalin in the Russian Far East.

References

  1. Bolton, B. (2014). "Stereomyrmex". AntCat. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
  2. Australian Ants Online: Genus Stereomyrmex
  3. 1 2 3 Taylor, Robert W. (1991). "Notes on the ant genera Romblonella and Willowsiella, with comments on their affinities, and the first descriptions of Australian species. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae)". Psyche: A Journal of Entomology . 97 (3–4): 281–298. doi: 10.1155/1990/29514 .
  4. Emery, Carlo (1901): Ameisen gesammelt in Ceylon von Dr. W. Horn 1899. Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift1901: 113-122. PDF
  5. Wheeler, William M. (1934): Formicidae of the Templeton Crocker Expedition, 1933. Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences21(4): 173-181. PDF