Amblyoponinae is a

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

ant Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of 22 ...

s in the

poneromorph subfamilies In ants, the traditional subfamily Ponerinae has been subdivided into several Poneromorph subfamilies, with several former tribes now elevated to subfamily rank. According to this analysis, some ponerine groups may be more closely related to other s ...

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 In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...

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 Ponerinae is a subfamily of ants in the Poneromorph subfamilies group, with about 1,600 species in 47 extant genera, including ''Dinoponera gigantea'' - one of the world's largest species of ant. Mated workers have replaced the queen as the fun ...

, but was elevated to its own subfamily in 2003 when

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 encyclo ...

divided Ponerinae into six subfamilies. *Amblyoponinae Forel, 1893 ** Amblyoponini Forel, 1893 *** ''

Adetomyrma ''Adetomyrma'' is a genus of ants endemic to Madagascar. Workers of this genus are blind. The type species '' Adetomyrma venatrix'' was described in 1994, with the genus being an atypical member of its tribe, the Amblyoponini. This tribe includ ...

'' Ward, 1994 *** ''

Amblyopone ''Amblyopone'' is a genus of 10 species of ants, found in Australia, New Caledonia, New Guinea and New Zealand.Yoshimura, M.; Fisher, B.L. 2012: A revision of male ants of the Malagasy Amblyoponinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) with resurrections ...

'' Erichson, 1842 *** †''

Casaleia ''Casaleia'' is an extinct genus of ants in the formicid subfamily Amblyoponinae described by Pagliano & Scaramozzino in 1990 from fossils found in Europe. The genus contains four species dating from the Eocene to Miocene, ''Casaleia eocenica'' ...

'' Pagliano & Scaramozzino, 1990 *** ''

Fulakora ''Fulakora'' is a genus of ants in the subfamily Amblyoponinae. The genus has a worldwide distribution, and like most other amblyoponines, ''Fulakora'' species are specialized predators. It was originally described as, and for a long time conside ...

'' Mann, 1919 *** ''

Myopopone ''Myopopone'' is a genus of ants in the subfamily Amblyoponinae. The genus contains two species, one extant and one fossil. The type species ''Myopopone castanea'' is known from the Oriental and Indo-Australian regions, and China. The fossil sp ...

'' Roger, 1861 *** ''

Mystrium ''Mystrium'' is a rare genus of ants in the subfamily Amblyoponinae. First described by Roger (1862) with the description of the queen of '' M. mysticum'', the genus contains 14 species, all of which occur in the rainforests of the Old World w ...

'' Roger, 1862 *** ''

Onychomyrmex ''Onychomyrmex'' is an Australian genus of ants in the subfamily Amblyoponinae. Its three species are known from eastern Queensland, Australia. Although not true army ants, ''Onychomyrmex'' species display an army-ant life style, including group ...

'' Emery, 1895 *** ''

Prionopelta ''Prionopelta'' is a genus of ants in the subfamily Amblyoponinae. Of its 15 species, four are known from Africa, five from the Americas and six from the Indo-Pacific The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth. In a narrow s ...

'' Mayr, 1866 *** ''

Stigmatomma ''Stigmatomma'' is a genus of ants in the subfamily Amblyoponinae. The genus has a worldwide distribution, and like most other amblyoponines, ''Stigmatomma'' species are specialized predators. First described by Roger (1859), it was for a long ...

'' Roger, 1859 *** ''

Xymmer ''Xymmer'' is a genus of ant in the subfamily Amblyoponinae containing the single species ''Xymmer muticus''. Taxonomy ''Xymmer'' was first described by Santschi (1914) as a monotypic subgeneric taxon under ''Stigmatomma''. Since Santschi's orig ...

'' Santschi, 1914

References

External links

* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgqK0hrZ9kM Ant subfamilies Extant Lutetian first appearances {{ant-stub