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Brownimecia
''Brownimecia'' is an extinct genus of ants, the only genus in the tribe Brownimeciini and subfamily Brownimeciinae of the Formicidae. Fossils of the single identified species, ''Brownimecia clavata'', are known from the Middle Cretaceous of North America. The genus is one of several ants described from Middle Cretaceous ambers of New Jersey. ''Brownimecia'' was initially placed in the subfamily Ponerinae, until it was transferred to its own subfamily in 2003; it can be distinguished from other ants due to its unusual sickle-like mandibles and other morphological features that makes this ant unique among the Formicidae. The ant is also small, measuring , and a stinger is present in almost all of the specimens collected. The morphology of the mandibles suggest a high level of feeding specialization. History and classification ''Brownimecia'' is known from three adult fossils: the holotype—specimen number AMNH NJ-667—collected by Yale Goldman; the paratype; and a third descri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New Jersey Amber
New Jersey Amber, sometimes called Raritan amber, is amber found in the Raritan and Magothy Formations of the Central Atlantic (Eastern) coast of the United States. It is dated to the Late Cretaceous, Turonian age, based on pollen analysis of the host formations. It has been known since the 19th century, with several of the old clay-pit sites now producing many specimens for study. It has yielded a number of organism fossils, including fungi, plants, tardigrades, insects and feathers. The first identified Cretaceous age ant was described from a fossil found in New Jersey in 1966. Occurrence Though named after New Jersey, the fossil-bearing strata of the Raritan and overlying Magothy formations are also exposed in several neighboring U.S. states, including Maryland through south and central New Jersey, across Staten Island and Long Island (coastal areas of New York state), to a northern exposure at Martha's Vineyard, an island of Massachusetts. Of the two formations that New Je ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barry Bolton
Barry Bolton is an English myrmecologist, an expert on the classification, systematics, and taxonomy of ants, who long worked at the Natural History Museum, London. He is known especially for monographs on African and Asian ants, and for encyclopaedic global works, including the ''Identification Guide to Ant Genera'' (1994), ''A New General Catalogue of Ants of the World'' (1995, updated in 2007), ''Synopsis and Classification of Formicidae'' (2003), and ''Bolton's Catalogue of Ants of the World: 1758-2005'' (2007). Now retired, Bolton is a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society and Myrmecologist, Biodiversity Division, Department of Entomology, Natural History Museum, London. Recognition At least 21 species of ants are named in Bolton's honour: * '' Anochetus boltoni'' * '' Anomalomyrma boltoni'' * '' Cataulacus boltoni'' * '' Chimaeridris boltoni'' * '' Cryptomyrmex boltoni'' * '' Daceton boltoni'' * '' Leptanilla boltoni'' * '' Loweriella boltoni'' * '' Meranoplus bolto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Year
A year or annus is the orbital period of a planetary body, for example, the Earth, moving in its orbit around the Sun. Due to the Earth's axial tilt, the course of a year sees the passing of the seasons, marked by change in weather, the hours of daylight, and, consequently, vegetation and soil fertility. In temperate and subpolar regions around the planet, four seasons are generally recognized: spring, summer, autumn and winter. In tropical and subtropical regions, several geographical sectors do not present defined seasons; but in the seasonal tropics, the annual wet and dry seasons are recognized and tracked. A calendar year is an approximation of the number of days of the Earth's orbital period, as counted in a given calendar. The Gregorian calendar, or modern calendar, presents its calendar year to be either a common year of 365 days or a leap year of 366 days, as do the Julian calendars. For the Gregorian calendar, the average length of the calendar year (t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amblyoponinae
Amblyoponinae is a subfamily of ants in the poneromorph subfamilies group containing 13 extant genera and one extinct genus. The ants in this subfamily are mostly specialized subterranean predators. Adult workers pierce the integument (non lethally) of their larvae and pupa to imbibe haemolymph, earning them the common name Dracula ant. Identification Amblyoponinae is characterized by these worker characters: eyes small or absent, situated behind midlength of side of head; anterior margin of clypeus with specialized dentiform setae; promesonotal suture flexible; petiole very broadly attached to abdominal segment 3 and without a distinct posterior face; postpetiole absent; sting present and well developed. Systematics The subfamily was formerly considered a tribe within Ponerinae, but was elevated to its own subfamily in 2003 when Barry Bolton divided Ponerinae into six subfamilies. *Amblyoponinae Forel, 1893 ** Amblyoponini Forel, 1893 *** ''Adetomyrma'' Ward, 1994 *** '' Ambl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gaster (insect Anatomy)
The gaster is the bulbous posterior portion of the metasoma found in hymenopterans of the suborder Apocrita ( bees, wasps and ants). This begins with abdominal segment III on most ants, but some make a constricted postpetiole out of segment III, in which case the gaster begins with abdominal segment IV. Certain ants in the genus '' Cataglyphis'', specifically ''Cataglyphis bicolor'' and ''Cataglyphis fortis'', have a cubiform petiole that allows them to decrease their inertia Inertia is the idea that an object will continue its current motion until some force causes its speed or direction to change. The term is properly understood as shorthand for "the principle of inertia" as described by Newton in his first law ... (and therefore increase their speed) by raising their gaster into an upright position. References Insect anatomy {{insect-anatomy-stub de:Gaster ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Specific Name (zoology)
In zoological nomenclature, the specific name (also specific epithet or species epithet) is the second part (the second name) within the scientific name of a species (a binomen). The first part of the name of a species is the name of the genus or the generic name. The rules and regulations governing the giving of a new species name are explained in the article species description. For example, the scientific name for humans is ''Homo sapiens'', which is the species name, consisting of two names: ''Homo'' is the " generic name" (the name of the genus) and ''sapiens'' is the "specific name". Historically, ''specific name'' referred to the combination of what are now called the generic and specific names. Carl Linnaeus, who formalized binomial nomenclature, made explicit distinctions between specific, generic, and trivial names. The generic name was that of the genus, the first in the binomial, the trivial name was the second name in the binomial, and the specific the proper term for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Patronym
A patronymic, or patronym, is a component of a personal name based on the given name of one's father, grandfather (avonymic), or an earlier male ancestor. Patronymics are still in use, including mandatory use, in many countries worldwide, although their use has largely been replaced by or transformed into patronymic surnames. Examples of such transformations include common English surnames such as Johnson (son of John). Origins of terms The usual noun and adjective in English is ''patronymic'', but as a noun this exists in free variation alongside ''patronym''. The first part of the word ''patronym'' comes from Greek πατήρ ''patēr'' "father" (GEN πατρός ''patros'' whence the combining form πατρο- ''patro''-); the second part comes from Greek ὄνυμα ''onyma'', a variant form of ὄνομα ''onoma'' "name". In the form ''patronymic'', this stands with the addition of the suffix -ικός (''-ikos''), which was originally used to form adjectives with the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Museum Novitates
''American Museum Novitates'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal published by the American Museum of Natural History. It was established in 1921. According to the ''Journal Citation Reports'', the journal has a 2013 impact factor The impact factor (IF) or journal impact factor (JIF) of an academic journal is a scientometric index calculated by Clarivate that reflects the yearly mean number of citations of articles published in the last two years in a given journal, as i ... of 1.636. References External links * Publications established in 1921 Open access journals American Museum of Natural History English-language journals Zoology journals Paleontology journals Geology journals Academic journals published by museums 1921 establishments in the United States {{paleontology-journal-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Type (biology)
In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally attached. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes the defining features of that particular taxon. In older usage (pre-1900 in botany), a type was a taxon rather than a specimen. A taxon is a scientifically named grouping of organisms with other like organisms, a set that includes some organisms and excludes others, based on a detailed published description (for example a species description) and on the provision of type material, which is usually available to scientists for examination in a major museum research collection, or similar institution. Type specimen According to a precise set of rules laid down in the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) and the International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICN), the scientific name of every taxon is almost al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baikuris Casei
''Baikuris'' is an extinct genus of ant in the Formicidae subfamily Sphecomyrminae, and is currently placed in the tribe Sphecomyrmini. The genus contains four described species: the type species ''Baikuris mandibularis'', along with ''Baikuris casei'', ''Baikuris maximus'', and ''Baikuris mirabilis''. History and classification The type species ''B. mandibularis'' along with ''B. mirabilis'' were identified from adults preserved as inclusion in Taimyr amber. The fossils of both species were collected on an expedition to the Taimyr peninsula. The ambers of the peninsula occur in the upper levels of the Kheta Formation, which is exposed in a number of locations in the Taimyr region. Age estimates of the Kheta Formation are between the Coniacian and Santonian, and the ambers are found consistently in the upper most units, giving a Santonian age range for the inclusions. Based on the flora and fauna of the Ledyanaya and Mutino Formations which surround the Kheta formation, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sphecomyrma Mesaki
''Sphecomyrma'' is an extinct genus of ants which existed in the Cretaceous approximately 79 to 92 million years ago. The first specimens were collected in 1966, found embedded in amber which had been exposed in the cliffs of Cliffwood, New Jersey, by Edmund Frey and his wife. In 1967, zoologists E. O. Wilson, Frank Carpenter and William L. Brown, Jr. published a paper describing and naming ''Sphecomyrma freyi''. They described an ant with a mosaic of features—a mix of characteristics from modern ants and aculeate wasps. It possessed a metapleural gland, a feature unique to ants. Furthermore, it was wingless and had a petiole which was ant-like in form. The mandibles were short and wasp-like with only two teeth, the gaster was constricted, and the middle and hind legs had double tibial spurs. The antennae were, in form, midway between the wasps and ants, having a short first segment but a long flexible funiculus. Two additional species, ''S. canadensis'' and ''S. mesaki'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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