Pseudomyrmecinae is a small

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 ...

s containing only three

genera 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 nomenclat ...

of slender, large-eyed arboreal ants, predominantly

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

subtropical The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical zone, geographical and Köppen climate classification, climate zones to the Northern Hemisphere, north and Southern Hemisphere, south of the tropics. Geographically part of the Geographical z ...

in distribution. In the course of adapting to arboreal conditions (unlike the predominantly ground-dwelling myrmeciins), the pseudomyrmecines diversified and came to occupy and retain a much wider geographic range. Pseudomyrmecinae consists of 230 described species in three genera. Among those, 32 species live in plant domatia, making them the most diverse plant-occupying ant group worldwide. *Pseudomyrmecinae Smith, 1952 ** Pseudomyrmecini Smith, 1952 *** ''

Myrcidris ''Myrcidris'' is a genus of ant in the subfamily Pseudomyrmecinae containing a single species, ''Myrcidris epicharis''. The genus is known only from a few localities north of Manaus, Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federati ...

'' Ward, 1990 *** ''

Pseudomyrmex ''Pseudomyrmex'' is a genus of stinging, wasp-like ants in the subfamily Pseudomyrmecinae. They are large-eyed, slender ants, found mainly in tropical and subtropical regions of the New World. Distribution and habitat ''Pseudomyrmex'' is predom ...

'' Lund, 1831 *** ''

Tetraponera ''Tetraponera'' is a genus of ants in the subfamily Pseudomyrmecinae that are commonly known as slender ants and are characterized by their arboreal nature and slender bodies. The 96 described species of ''Tetraponera'' all of which live in hol ...

'' Smith, 1852

References

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External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q1350469 Ant subfamilies