''Simopone'' is a
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
of predominantly arboreal
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
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 ...
Dorylinae
Dorylinae is an ant subfamily, with distributions in both the Old World and New World. Brady ''et al.'' (2014) synonymized the previous dorylomorph subfamilies (Aenictinae, Aenictogitoninae, Cerapachyinae, Ecitoninae, and Leptanilloidinae) under ...
.
The genus is widely distributed in the
Old World
The "Old World" is a term for Afro-Eurasia that originated in Europe , after Europeans became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia, which were previously thought of by the ...
tropics, with the majority of species in
Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
and
sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...
.
Taxonomy
The genus was first described by
Forel (1891), based on a ''Simopone grandidier'' specimen.
Brown (1975) revised the genus and recognized 13 species altogether. The number of species was raised to 15 by Kutter (1976, 1977) and to 38 by Bolton & Fisher (2012). Bolton & Fisher considered one of the African species described by Brown (1975), ''
S. conciliatrix'', so different from all the others in the genus that it is transferred to its own
monotypic genus
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...
, ''
Vicinopone
''Vicinopone'' is a monotypic Afrotropical genus of arboreal ants in the subfamily Dorylinae. ''Vicinopone conciliatrix'', the only species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, ...
''.
Description
''Simopone'' species are almost entirely arboreal, but on occasion foraging workers are found on the ground or in rotten logs. Prey records are extremely sparse for this genus, consisting only of ''
Crematogaster
''Crematogaster'' is an ecologically diverse genus of ants found worldwide, which are characterised by a distinctive heart-shaped gaster (abdomen), which gives them one of their common names, the Saint Valentine ant. Members of this genus are a ...
'' brood by ''S. vepres'', and the brood of ''
Terataner'' by ''S. sicaria''. Nevertheless, these two records support the general supposition by Brown (1975) that most or all members of tribe
Cerapachyini prey on other ants, or more probably the brood of other ants, but actual records are extremely rare.
Known
queens
Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
are entirely worker-like except that the
mesosoma
The mesosoma is the middle part of the body, or tagma, of arthropods whose body is composed of three parts, the other two being the prosoma and the metasoma. It bears the legs, and, in the case of winged insects, the wings.
In hymenopterans of t ...
has a full complement of flight sclerites. No queen recognizable by external
morphology
Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to:
Disciplines
*Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts
*Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...
has been seen in any Malagasy species, the queens of which are suspected to be remarkably
ergatoid
An ergatoid (from Greek '' ergat-'', "worker" + ''-oid'', "like") is a permanently wingless reproductive adult ant or termite. The similar but somewhat ambiguous term ergatogyne refers to any intermediate form between workers and standard gynes. E ...
, or perhaps even replaced by
gamergates.
Workers of most (perhaps all) species exhibit considerable size variation.
Species
* ''
Simopone amana''
Bolton & Fisher, 2012
* ''
Simopone annettae''
Kutter, 1976
* ''
Simopone bakeri''
Menozzi, 1926
* ''
Simopone brunnea
''Simopone'' is a genus of predominantly arboreal ants in the subfamily Dorylinae. The genus is widely distributed in the Old World tropics, with the majority of species in Madagascar and sub-Saharan Africa.
Taxonomy
The genus was first describ ...
''
Bolton & Fisher, 2012
* ''
Simopone chapmani''
Taylor, 1966
* ''
Simopone conradti''
Emery, 1899
* ''
Simopone consimilis''
Bolton & Fisher, 2012
* ''
Simopone dignita''
Bolton & Fisher, 2012
* ''
Simopone dryas
''Simopone'' is a genus of predominantly arboreal ants in the subfamily Dorylinae. The genus is widely distributed in the Old World tropics, with the majority of species in Madagascar and sub-Saharan Africa.
Taxonomy
The genus was first describ ...
''
Bolton & Fisher, 2012
* ''
Simopone dux''
Bolton & Fisher, 2012
* ''
Simopone elegans''
Bolton & Fisher, 2012
* ''
Simopone emeryi''
Forel, 1892
* ''
Simopone fera''
Bolton & Fisher, 2012
* ''
Simopone fulvinodis''
Santschi, 1923
* ''
Simopone grandidieri''
Forel, 1891
* ''
Simopone grandis''
Santschi, 1923
* ''
Simopone gressitti''
Taylor, 1965
* ''
Simopone inculta''
Bolton & Fisher, 2012
* ''
Simopone laevissima''
Arnold, 1954
* ''
Simopone latiscapa''
Bolton & Fisher, 2012
* ''
Simopone marleyi''
Arnold, 1915
* ''
Simopone matthiasi''
Kutter, 1977
* ''
Simopone mayri''
Emery, 1911
* ''
Simopone merita''
Bolton & Fisher, 2012
* ''
Simopone miniflava''
Bolton & Fisher, 2012
* ''
Simopone nonnihil''
Bolton & Fisher, 2012
* ''
Simopone occulta''
Bolton & Fisher, 2012
* ''
Simopone oculata''
Radchenko, 1993
* ''
Simopone persculpta''
Bolton & Fisher, 2012
* ''
Simopone rabula''
Bolton & Fisher, 2012
* ''
Simopone rex''
Bolton & Fisher, 2012
* ''
Simopone schoutedeni''
Santschi, 1923
* ''
Simopone sicaria''
Bolton & Fisher, 2012
* ''
Simopone silens''
Bolton & Fisher, 2012
* ''
Simopone trita''
Bolton & Fisher, 2012
* ''
Simopone vepres''
Bolton & Fisher, 2012
* ''
Simopone victrix''
Bolton & Fisher, 2012
* ''
Simopone wilburi''
Weber, 1949
References
*
*Brown, W.L., Jr. (1975) Contributions toward a reclassification of the Formicidae. 5. Ponerinae, tribes Platythyreini, Cerapachyini, Cylindromyrmecini, Acanthostichini, and Aenictogitini. Search Agriculture 5, ''Entomology'' (Ithaca) 15, 1–115.
*
*Kutter, H. (1976) Beitrag zur Kenntnis der Gattung ''Simopone'' Forel. ''Mitteilungen der Schweizerischen Entomologischen Gesellschaft'', 49, 273–276.
*Kutter, H. (1977) Zweiter Beitrag zur Kenntnis der Gattung ''Simopone'' Forel. ''Mitteilungen der Schweizerischen Entomologischen Gesellschaft'', 50, 173–176.
External links
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q4049511
Dorylinae
Ant genera
Hymenoptera of Africa