''Myrmecia brevinoda'' is a species of
bull 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 ...
native to
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. These ants are only found in the eastern Australian states of
Queensland (only in the eastern areas),
New South Wales,
Victoria, and the
Australian Capital Territory. It was first described in 1910.
Worker ants have been known to measure 3.7 cm (1.5 in) in total length, while queens can exceed 4.0 cm (1.6 in) in length, making them one of the largest types of bull ants in Australia and in the world. Most of their bodies are dark red, with the exception of the bulbous parts of their abdomens being black.
[Wood, Gerald ''The Guinness Book of Animal Facts and Feats'' (1983) ]
See also
*
List of largest insects
Insects, which are a type of arthropod, are the most numerous group of multicellular organisms on the planet, with over a million species identified so far. The title of heaviest insect in the world has many contenders, the most frequently crowne ...
References
Myrmeciinae
Insects described in 1910
Insects of Australia
{{Myrmeciinae-stub