''Peronomyrmex'' is a rare

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 ...

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 Myrmicinae. Its three species are known from the east coast of Australia. With only five specimens in total, collected from four localities, ''Peronomyrmex'' is one of the world's most rare ant genera. ''Peronomyrmex'' was first described with the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specime ...

''P. overbecki'' by Emery (1920), based on a single worker from

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

. The genus remained

monotypic 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 "unispe ...

until 2002 when Shattuck & Hinkley described ''P. bartoni'' from central

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. Shattuck (2006) described a third species, ''P. greavesi'' from northern

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

. The ''P. greavesi'' specimen was originally collected in 1937, but subsequently placed in the collections of the

Museum of Comparative Zoology A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make thes ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

, United States, where it remained until it was rediscovered in 2004. Little is known about their biology, but they are likely nocturnal, arboreal, and have cryptic habits, which partially explains their infrequent collection. More species of this genus are likely to be discovered in the future.

Species

*'' Peronomyrmex bartoni'' Shattuck & Hinkley, 2002 –

*'' Peronomyrmex greavesi'' Shattuck, 2006 –

*'' Peronomyrmex overbecki'' Viehmeyer, 1922 –

and

References

External links

* Myrmicinae Ant genera Hymenoptera of Australia {{myrmicinae-stub