''Acanthognathus'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
of
ants that are found in tropical
Central
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
and
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...
.
[Brown, W. L., Jr., & W. W. Kempf (1969). ''A Revision of the Neotropical Dacetine Ant Genus Acanthognathus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae.'' Psyche 76(2): 87-109.] There are 7 living species and 1 extinct species, ''
Acanthognathus poinari
''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 ...
'', known only from fossil records.
Description
They are reddish in colour and have long trap-jaws that can be compared to those of ''
Odontomachus''. These predatory ants live in small
colonies
In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state'' ...
that typically consist of less than 30 adults.
[
Acanthognathus has large, line-shaped jaws, each with an apical fork of 3 spiniform teeth that interlock when fully closed; Preapical dentition sometimes present but often absent. Jaws open to 170 degrees or more. Basal process of mandible a long curved spur that is minutely bifurcated apically; when the mandibles are fully closed, the basal processes intersect and are ventral to the labrum and at the apex of the labio-maxillary complex; when fully open the mandibles are held in that position by opposition of the basal processes alone. Trigger hairs arise from mandibles (one of each); trigger hairs lie flat against margin when jaws close, becoming erect when the jaws are open.
]
Taxonomy
The genus was established by Mayr (1887) to house the species '' A. ocellatus'', described from a single worker found in Brazil.ichthyologist
Ichthyology is the branch of zoology devoted to the study of fish, including bony fish ( Osteichthyes), cartilaginous fish (Chondrichthyes), and jawless fish (Agnatha). According to FishBase, 33,400 species of fish had been described as of Octobe ...
G. Duncker in 1912 for a genus of syngnathid
The Syngnathidae is a family of fish which includes seahorses, pipefishes, and seadragons (''Phycodurus'' and ''Phyllopteryx''). The name is derived from grc, σύν (), meaning "together", and (), meaning "jaw". The fused jaw is one of the tra ...
fish, but that is invalid as it is a junior homonym.[Ride, W.D.L, H.G. Cogger, C. Dupuis, O. Kraus, A. Minelli, F. C. Thompson & P.K. Tubbs, eds. (1999). ''International Code of Zoological Nomenclature.'' 4th edition. International Trust for Zoological Nomenclature. ] These are now placed in either ''Dunckerocampus
''Dunckerocampus'' is a genus of pipefishes one of two genera known as the flagtail pipefishes. This genus is native to the Indian and Pacific Oceans where they are usually found in reef environments. These species are elongated and have a maxi ...
'' or ''Doryrhamphus
''Doryrhamphus'' is a genus of pipefishes, one of the two genera colloquially known as flagtail pipefishes and are popular in the aquarium trade. The members of this genus are native to the Indian and Pacific Oceans where they inhabit reef envir ...
'', as the former sometimes is considered a subgenus of the latter.[Dawson, C. E. (1985). ''Indo-Pacific pipefishes (Red Sea to the Americas).'' Gulf Coast Research Lab., Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Indo-Pacific pipefishes (Red Sea to the Americas). i-vi + 1-230.] To further confuse, a genus of nemesiid spiders, '' Acanthogonatus'', is frequently misspelled ''Acanthognathus''.
List of species
References
External links
*
*
Myrmicinae
Ant genera
Hymenoptera of South America
Hymenoptera of North America
Taxa named by Gustav Mayr
{{myrmicinae-stub