''Myrmoteras'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...
of
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 ...
s in the subfamily
Formicinae
The Formicinae are a subfamily within the Formicidae containing ants of moderate evolutionary development.
Formicines retain some primitive features, such as the presence of cocoons around pupae, the presence of ocelli in workers, and little ...
and the
sole member of the
tribe
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confli ...
Myrmoteratini. They have enormous eyes, a character found in other ancient genera, and extremely elongated mandibles with eight to 16 teeth. These work as trap-jaws and can open up to 270°.
Description
While the elongated mandibles look superficially similar to those of the
basal ''
Myrmecia
Myrmecia can refer to:
* ''Myrmecia'' (alga), genus of algae associated with lichens
* ''Myrmecia'' (ant), genus of ants called bulldog ants
* Myrmecia (skin), a kind of deep wart on the human hands or feet
See also
* '' Copromorpha myrmecias'' ...
'', the mechanism is, as a whole, totally dissimilar and is rather convergent to that of the
ponerine
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 fu ...
genera ''
Anochetus'' and ''
Odontomachus
''Odontomachus'' is a genus of ants commonly called trap-jaw ants found in the tropics and subtropics throughout the world.
Overview
Commonly known as trap-jaw ants, species in ''Odontomachus'' have a pair of large, straight mandibles capabl ...
'', and the
myrmicine ''
Strumigenys''. The trigger mechanism of the trap-jaw-like mandibles of ''Myrmoteras'' consists of two hairs. Other trap-jawed genera are ''
Daceton'', ''
Acanthognathus
''Acanthognathus'' is a genus of ants that are found in tropical Central and South America.Brown, W. L., Jr., & W. W. Kempf (1969). ''A Revision of the Neotropical Dacetine Ant Genus Acanthognathus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae.'' Psyche 76(2): 87-10 ...
'', ''
Orectognathus'', ''
Microdaceton'', and ''
Epitritus''.
Distribution
''Myrmoteras'' occurs in the Indo-Malayan region.
[Creighton, William S. (1930): A Review of the Genus ''Myrmoteras'' (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). ''Journal of the New York Entomological Society'' 38: 177-193]
PDF
Species
*''
Myrmoteras arcoelinae''
Agosti, 1992
*''
Myrmoteras bakeri''
Wheeler, 1919 —
Borneo
Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and ea ...
*''
Myrmoteras barbouri''
Creighton, 1930 —
Java
Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mos ...
*''
Myrmoteras baslerorum
''Myrmoteras'' is a genus of ants in the subfamily Formicinae and the Monotypic taxon, sole member of the tribe (biology), tribe Myrmoteratini. They have enormous eyes, a character found in other ancient genera, and extremely elongated mandibles ...
''
Agosti, 1992
*''
Myrmoteras binghamii''
Forel, 1893 —
Burma
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
*''
Myrmoteras brachygnathum''
Moffett, 1985
*''
Myrmoteras brigitteae''
Agosti, 1992
*''
Myrmoteras ceylonicum''
Gregg, 1957 —
Sri Lanka
*''
Myrmoteras chondrogastrum''
Moffett, 1985
*''
Myrmoteras concolor''
Bui, Eguchi & Yamane, 2013
*''
Myrmoteras cuneonodum''
Xu, 1998
*''
Myrmoteras danieli''
Agosti, 1992
*''
Myrmoteras diastematum''
Moffett, 1985
*''
Myrmoteras donisthorpei''
Wheeler, 1916 — Borneo
*''
Myrmoteras elfeorum''
Agosti, 1992
*''
Myrmoteras estrudae''
Agosti, 1992
*''
Myrmoteras glabrum''
Zettel & Sorger, 2011
*''
Myrmoteras indicum''
Moffett, 1985
*''
Myrmoteras insulcatum''
Moffett, 1985
*''
Myrmoteras iriodum''
Moffett, 1985
*''
Myrmoteras ivani''
Agosti, 1992
*''
Myrmoteras jacquelinae''
Agosti, 1992
*''
Myrmoteras jaitrongi''
Bui, Eguchi & Yamane, 2013
*''
Myrmoteras karnyi''
Gregg, 1954
*''
Myrmoteras marianneae''
Agosti, 1992
*''
Myrmoteras maudeae''
Agosti, 1992
*''
Myrmoteras mcarthuri''
Zettel & Sorger, 2011
*''
Myrmoteras mjoebergi''
Creighton, 1930 — Borneo
*''
Myrmoteras morowali''
Moffett, 1985
*''
Myrmoteras namphuong''
Bui, Eguchi & Yamane, 2013
*''
Myrmoteras nicoletteae''
Agosti, 1992
*''
Myrmoteras opalinum''
Bui, Eguchi & Yamane, 2013
*''
Myrmoteras scabrum''
Moffett, 1985
*''
Myrmoteras susanneae''
Agosti, 1992
*''
Myrmoteras tomimasai''
Bui, Eguchi & Yamane, 2013
*''
Myrmoteras tonboli''
Agosti, 1992
*''
Myrmoteras toro''
Moffett, 1985
*''
Myrmoteras williamsi''
Wheeler, 1919 —
Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
*''
Myrmoteras wolasi''
Moffett, 1985
References
External links
Formicinae
Ant genera
{{formicinae-stub