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Ypresiomyrma
''Ypresiomyrma'' is an extinct genus of ants in the subfamily Myrmeciinae that was described in 2006. There are four species described; one species is from the Isle of Fur in Denmark, two are from the McAbee Fossil Beds in British Columbia, Canada, and the fourth from the Bol’shaya Svetlovodnaya fossil site in Russia. The queens of this genus are large, the mandibles are elongated and the eyes are well developed; a stinger is also present. The behaviour of these ants would have been similar to that of extant Myrmeciinae ants, such as solitary foraging for arthropod prey and never leaving pheromone trails. The alates were poor flyers due to their size, and birds and animals most likely preyed on these ants. ''Ypresiomyrma'' is not assigned to any tribe, and is instead generally regarded as ''incertae sedis'' within Myrmeciinae. However, some authors believe ''Ypresiomyrma'' should be assigned as ''incertae sedis'' within Formicidae. History and classification Fossils of ''Ypres ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Macabeemyrma
''Macabeemyrma'' is an extinct genus of bulldog ants in the subfamily Myrmeciinae containing the single species ''Macabeemyrma ovata'', described in 2006 from Ypresian stage (Early Eocene) deposits of British Columbia, Canada. Only a single specimen is known; a holotype queen found preserved as a compression fossil. The specimen had no wings and small portions of its legs and eyes were faintly preserved. It was a large ant, reaching in length. This ants' behaviour would have been similar to that of extant Myrmeciinae ants, such as foraging singly in search for arthropod prey and nesting in soil or in trees. ''Macabeemyrma'' shows similarities to extinct ants in the genus ''Ypresiomyrma'', and to the living ''Nothomyrmecia macrops'', but has not been conclusively assigned to any tribe, instead generally regarded as ''incertae sedis'' within Myrmeciinae. However, the sole specimen lacks definitive traits, and its classification in Myrmeciinae, and even its identity as an ant, has ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
McAbee Fossil Beds
The McAbee Fossil Beds is a Heritage Site that protects an Eocene Epoch fossil locality east of Cache Creek, British Columbia, Canada, just north of and visible from Provincial Highway 97 / the Trans-Canada Highway ( Highway 1). The McAbee Fossil Beds, comprising , were officially designated a Provincial Heritage Site under British Columbia's Heritage Conservation Act on July 19, 2012. The site is part of an old lake bed which was deposited about 52 million years ago and is internationally recognised for the diversity of plant, insect, and fish fossils found there. Similar fossil beds in Eocene lake sediments, also known for their well preserved plant, insect and fish fossils, are found at Driftwood Canyon Provincial Park near Smithers in northern British Columbia, on the Horsefly River near Quesnel in central British Columbia, and at Republic in Washington, United States. The Princeton Chert fossil beds in southern British Columbia are also Eocene, but primarily preserve an aq ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prionomyrmex Longiceps
''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. Di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prionomyrmex Janzeni
''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. Di ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Myrmeciinae
Myrmeciinae is a subfamily of the Formicidae, ants once found worldwide but now restricted to Australia and New Caledonia. This subfamily is one of several ant subfamilies which possess gamergates, female worker ants which are able to mate and reproduce, thus sustaining the colony after the loss of the queen. The Myrmeciinae subfamily was formerly composed of only one genus, ''Myrmecia'', but the subfamily was redescribed by Ward & Brady in 2003 to include two tribes and four genera: An additional three genera, one form genus, and 9 species were described in 2006 from the Early Eocene of Denmark, Canada, and Washington. Subsequently an additional fossil genus was moved from the family Rhopalosomatidae in 2018, and a new genus was described in 2021. Tribes and genera *Tribe Myrmeciini **''Myrmecia'' *Tribe Prionomyrmecini **''Nothomyrmecia'' **†''Prionomyrmex'' *Tribe ''incertae sedis'' **†''Archimyrmex'' **†'' Avitomyrmex'' **†''Macabeemyrma'' **†''Propalo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Archimyrmex
''Archimyrmex'' is an extinct genus of ant in the formicid subfamily Myrmeciinae, described by palaeoentomologist Theodore Cockerell in 1923. The genus contains four described species, ''Archimyrmex rostratus'', ''Archimyrmex piatnitzkyi'', ''Archimyrmex smekali'' and ''Archimyrmex wedmannae''. ''Archimyrmex'' is known from a group of Middle Eocene fossils which were found in North America, South America, and Europe. The genus was initially placed in the subfamily Ponerinae, but it was later placed in Myrmeciinae; it is now believed to be the ancestor of the extant primitive genus ''Myrmecia'' from Australia. Despite this, ''Archimyrmex'' is not a member to any tribe and is regarded as ''incertae sedis'' within Myrmeciinae. However, some authors believe ''Archimyrmex'' should be assigned as ''incertae sedis'' within Formicidae. These ants can be characterised by their large mandibles and body length, ranging from . They also have long, thin legs and an elongated mesosoma (thora ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Myrmecia (ant)
''Myrmecia'' is a genus of ants first established by Danish zoologist Johan Christian Fabricius in 1804. The genus is a member of the subfamily Myrmeciinae of the family Formicidae. ''Myrmecia'' is a large genus of ants, comprising at least 93 species that are found throughout Australia and its coastal islands, while a single species is only known from New Caledonia. One species has been introduced out of its natural distribution and was found in New Zealand in 1940, but the ant was last seen in 1981. These ants are commonly known as bull ants, bulldog ants or jack jumper ants, and are also associated with many other common names. They are characterized by their extreme aggressiveness, ferocity, and painful stings. Some species are known for the jumping behavior they exhibit when agitated. Species of this genus are also characterized by their elongated mandibles and large compound eyes that provide excellent vision. They vary in colour and size, ranging from . Although worke ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Phylogenetic Relationship
In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups of organisms. These relationships are determined by Computational phylogenetics, phylogenetic inference methods that focus on observed heritable traits, such as DNA sequences, protein amino acid sequences, or morphology. The result of such an analysis is a phylogenetic tree—a diagram containing a hypothesis of relationships that reflects the evolutionary history of a group of organisms. The tips of a phylogenetic tree can be living taxa or fossils, and represent the "end" or the present time in an evolutionary lineage. A phylogenetic diagram can be rooted or unrooted. A rooted tree diagram indicates the hypothetical common ancestor of the tree. An unrooted tree diagram (a network) makes no assumption about the ancestral line, and does n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cladogram
A cladogram (from Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an evolutionary tree because it does not show how ancestors are related to descendants, nor does it show how much they have changed, so many differing evolutionary trees can be consistent with the same cladogram. A cladogram uses lines that branch off in different directions ending at a clade, a group of organisms with a last common ancestor. There are many shapes of cladograms but they all have lines that branch off from other lines. The lines can be traced back to where they branch off. These branching off points represent a hypothetical ancestor (not an actual entity) which can be inferred to exhibit the traits shared among the terminal taxa above it. This hypothetical ancestor might then provide clues about the order of evolution of various features, adaptation, and other evolutionary narratives about ance ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Antenna (biology)
Antennae ( antenna), sometimes referred to as "feelers", are paired appendages used for sensing in arthropods. Antennae are connected to the first one or two segments of the arthropod head. They vary widely in form but are always made of one or more jointed segments. While they are typically sensory organs, the exact nature of what they sense and how they sense it is not the same in all groups. Functions may variously include sensing touch, air motion, heat, vibration (sound), and especially smell or taste. Antennae are sometimes modified for other purposes, such as mating, brooding, swimming, and even anchoring the arthropod to a substrate. Larval arthropods have antennae that differ from those of the adult. Many crustaceans, for example, have free-swimming larvae that use their antennae for swimming. Antennae can also locate other group members if the insect lives in a group, like the ant. The common ancestor of all arthropods likely had one pair of uniramous (unbranched ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
