''Perissomyrmex'' is a genus of 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 ...

Myrmicinae Myrmicinae is a subfamily of ants, with about 140 extant genera; their distribution is cosmopolitan. The pupae lack cocoons. Some species retain a functional sting. The petioles of Myrmicinae consist of two nodes. The nests are permanent and ...

. It is known from the Neotropical and

Oriental The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of ''Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the ...

realms. The genus was first described in 1947 from two workers discovered in Hoboken plant quarantine in New Jersey, United States. The ants were found in the root of a ''

Begonia ''Begonia'' is a genus of perennial flowering plants in the family Begoniaceae. The genus contains more than 2,000 different plant species. The Begonias are native to moist subtropical and tropical climates. Some species are commonly grown ind ...

'' plant that had been shipped from

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by H ...

. Due to the genus' close affinities to the exclusively

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 ...

genus ''

Pristomyrmex ''Pristomyrmex'' is a genus of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae. Distribution and habitat The genus is composed of 59 extant species restricted to the Old World tropics and a single extinct species, '' Pristomyrmex rasnitsyni'', described fr ...

'', it was thought that the ants had been brought to the US via Guatemala from the

or the

Indo-Australian all of this entry re immigration is a complete fabrication Indian Australians or Indo-Australians are Australians of Indian ancestry. This includes both those who are Australian by birth, and those born in India or elsewhere in the Indian d ...

regions. However, with the later rediscovery of ''Perissomyrmex'' in Central America, the

disjunct distribution In biology, a taxon with a disjunct distribution is one that has two or more groups that are related but considerably separated from each other geographically. The causes are varied and might demonstrate either the expansion or contraction of a s ...

could be confirmed.

Species

*'' Perissomyrmex bidentatus'' Zhou & Huang, 2006 *'' Perissomyrmex fissus'' Xu & Wang, 2004 *'' Perissomyrmex guizhouensis'' Zhou & Huang, 2006 *'' Perissomyrmex medogensis'' Xu & Zhang, 2012 *'' Perissomyrmex monticola'' Baroni Urbani & De Andrade, 1993 *'' Perissomyrmex snyderi'' Smith, 1947

References

External links

* Myrmicinae Ant genera Taxa named by Frederick Smith (entomologist) {{myrmicinae-stub