''Paraparatrechina'' is a
genus of small
ants in the
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 ...
Formicinae.
The genus contains 31 species distributed in the
tropics of Africa, Asia and Australia.
Distribution and habitat
The genus is restricted to the
Paleotropics. Thirteen species are known from the
Afrotropical
The Afrotropical realm is one of Earth's eight biogeographic realms. It includes Africa south of the Sahara Desert, the majority of the Arabian Peninsula, the island of Madagascar, southern Iran and extreme southwestern Pakistan, and the island ...
and
Malagasy regions, and twenty-five species and subspecies from Asia and Australia, although preliminary study suggests that there are many
undescribed species.
Very little is known about the biology of ''Paraparatrechina'' in the Afrotropical and Malagasy regions. They have been found in a wide range of tropical habitats from rainforests to forest clearings in sifted leaf litter, rotten logs, under stones, and from beating vegetation and fogging samples from the forest canopy.
Taxonomy
''Paraparatrechina'' was first described as a
subgenus
In biology, a subgenus (plural: subgenera) is a taxonomic rank directly below genus.
In the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, a subgeneric name can be used independently or included in a species name, in parentheses, placed between t ...
of ''
Paratrechina'' by
Donisthorpe (1947).
LaPolla ''et al.'' (2010a) elevated the formerly
synonymized subgenus to genus rank based on both
morphological and molecular data.
Description
''Paraparatrechina'' are small (typically around 1–2 mm in total length) formicine ants, which often reflect a metallic iridescence (blue, purple and pink hues have been observed) under light microscopy. In darker species, the iridescence tends to be a darker bluish-purple, while lighter colored species either show little iridescence or reflect a more pinkish-purple hue. ''Paraparatrechina'' are usually easily distinguishable from other formicine genera by a unique
mesosomal
setal pattern: two pairs of erect setae on the
pronotum, one pair on the
mesonotum and one pair on the
propodeum. ''
Nylanderia'', the genus most likely confused with ''Paraparatrechina'', never possesses a pair of erect setae on the propodeum. The mandibles of ''Paraparatrechina'' also possess five teeth, while in ''Nylanderia'' six teeth are usually present.
Species
*''
Paraparatrechina albipes
''Paraparatrechina'' is a genus of small ants in the subfamily Formicinae. The genus contains 31 species distributed in the tropics of Africa, Asia and Australia.
Distribution and habitat
The genus is restricted to the Paleotropics. Thirteen sp ...
''
(Emery, 1899)
*''
Paraparatrechina brunnella
''Paraparatrechina'' is a genus of small ants in the subfamily Formicinae. The genus contains 31 species distributed in the tropics of Africa, Asia and Australia.
Distribution and habitat
The genus is restricted to the Paleotropics. Thirteen sp ...
''
LaPolla, Cheng & Fisher, 2010
*''
Paraparatrechina bufona
''Paraparatrechina'' is a genus of small ants in the subfamily Formicinae. The genus contains 31 species distributed in the tropics of Africa, Asia and Australia.
Distribution and habitat
The genus is restricted to the Paleotropics. Thirteen sp ...
''
(Wheeler, 1922)
*''
Paraparatrechina butteli
''Paraparatrechina'' is a genus of small ants in the subfamily Formicinae. The genus contains 31 species distributed in the tropics of Africa, Asia and Australia.
Distribution and habitat
The genus is restricted to the Paleotropics. Thirteen sp ...
''
(Forel, 1913)
*''
Paraparatrechina caledonica
''Paraparatrechina'' is a genus of small ants in the subfamily Formicinae. The genus contains 31 species distributed in the tropics of Africa, Asia and Australia.
Distribution and habitat
The genus is restricted to the Paleotropics. Thirteen sp ...
''
(Forel, 1902)
*''
Paraparatrechina concinnata''
LaPolla, Cheng & Fisher, 2010
*''
Paraparatrechina dichroa''
(Karavaiev, 1933)
*''
Paraparatrechina emarginata''
(Forel, 1913)
*''
Paraparatrechina foreli''
(Emery, 1914)
*''
Paraparatrechina glabra''
(Forel, 1891)
*''
Paraparatrechina gnoma''
LaPolla, Cheng & Fisher, 2010
*''
Paraparatrechina iridescens''
(Donisthorpe, 1942)
*''
Paraparatrechina kongming''
(Terayama, 2009)
*''
Paraparatrechina koningsbergeri''
(Karavaiev, 1933)
*''
Paraparatrechina lecamopteridis''
(Donisthorpe, 1941)
*''
Paraparatrechina minutula''
(Forel, 1901)
*''
Paraparatrechina myops''
LaPolla, Cheng & Fisher, 2010
*''
Paraparatrechina nana''
(Santschi, 1928)
*''
Paraparatrechina nettae''
(Forel, 1911)
*''
Paraparatrechina oceanica''
(Mann, 1921)
*''
Paraparatrechina ocellatula''
LaPolla, Cheng & Fisher, 2010
*''
Paraparatrechina opaca''
(Emery, 1887)
*''
Paraparatrechina oreias''
LaPolla, Cheng & Fisher, 2010
*''
Paraparatrechina pallida
''Paraparatrechina'' is a genus of small ants in the subfamily Formicinae. The genus contains 31 species distributed in the tropics of Africa, Asia and Australia.
Distribution and habitat
The genus is restricted to the Paleotropics. Thirteen sp ...
''
(Donisthorpe, 1947)
*''
Paraparatrechina pusillima''
(Emery, 1922)
*''
Paraparatrechina sauteri''
(Forel, 1913)
*''
Paraparatrechina splendida''
LaPolla, Cheng & Fisher, 2010
*''
Paraparatrechina subtilis''
(Santschi, 1920)
*''
Paraparatrechina tapinomoides''
(Forel, 1905)
*''
Paraparatrechina umbranatis''
LaPolla, Cheng & Fisher, 2010
*''
Paraparatrechina weissi''
(Santschi, 1910)
References
*
External links
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q16987462
Formicinae
Ant genera