''Stereomyrmex'' is a
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 ...
of
myrmicine 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. Two of the described species are known from only a single worker, making this one of the rarest groups of ants in the world.
[Australian Ants Online]
Genus ''Stereomyrmex''
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Biology
The single specimen of ''S. anderseni'' was caught in a pitfall trap, and nothing is known about its biology.
Systematics
''Stereomyrmex'' is probably the sister taxon to '' Romblonella''. Closely related genera are '' Leptothorax'' and '' Cardiocondyla''.[
]
Description
''S. dispar'' is 3.2 mm long and black, with yellowish brown mandibles, antennae, legs and terminal segments of gaster. ''S. anderseni'' is only 2 mm long, has a very different petiolar
In botany, the petiole () is the stalk that attaches the leaf blade to the stem, and is able to twist the leaf to face the sun. This gives a characteristic foliage arrangement to the plant. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole in som ...
and postpetiolar structure and is paler in color.[
]
Distribution
''S. dispar'' has been described from a single worker, taken in 1933 on Bellona Island
Bellona Island is an island of the Rennell and Bellona Province, in the Solomon Islands. Its length is about and its average width . Its area is about . It is almost totally surrounded by high cliffs, consisting primarily of raised coral lim ...
, Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capit ...
; no other specimen has since been found, and it is unlikely that the species is truly endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...
to Bellona. ''S. anderseni'' is known from a single worker as well.[Emery, Carlo (1901): Ameisen gesammelt in Ceylon von Dr. W. Horn 1899. ''Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift'' 1901: 113-122]
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Names
The genus was originally named in honor of Maurice Willows Jr., who collected the type specimen of ''S. dispar''.[Wheeler, William M. (1934): Formicidae of the Templeton Crocker Expedition, 1933. ''Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences'' 21(4): 173-181]
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/ref> ''S. anderseni'' was collected by A.N. Andersen. ''S. horni'' was collected by W. Horn.
Species
* '' Stereomyrmex anderseni'' (Taylor, 1991) — King Edward River, Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
* '' Stereomyrmex dispar'' (Wheeler, 1934) — Bellona, Solomon Islands
* '' Stereomyrmex horni'' Emery, 1901 — Sri Lanka
References
External links
*
Myrmicinae
Ant genera
Hymenoptera of Asia
Hymenoptera of Australia
{{myrmicinae-stub