Pseudomyrmecinae is a small subfamily of ants containing three genera of slender, large-eyed arboreal ants, predominantly tropical or subtropical in distribution.[1] 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.[2]
| Pseudomyrmecinae | |
|---|---|
| |
| Pseudomyrmex gracilis (elongate twig ant) worker | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Pseudomyrmecinae Smith, 1952 |
| Tribe: | Pseudomyrmecini Smith, 1952 |
| Type genus | |
| Pseudomyrmex Lund, 1831
| |
Pseudomyrmecines 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.
Taxonomy
edit- Pseudomyrmecinae Smith, 1952
- Pseudomyrmecini Smith, 1952
- Myrcidris Ward, 1990
- Pseudomyrmex Lund, 1831
- Tetraponera Smith, 1852
- Pseudomyrmecini Smith, 1952
References
edit- ^ "Subfamily: Pseudomyrmecinae". antweb.org. AntWeb. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
- ^ Ward, Philip S.; Downie, Douglas A. (2005). "The ant subfamily Pseudomyrmecinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): phylogeny and evolution of big-eyed arboreal ants: Phylogeny and evolution of big-eyed arboreal ants". Systematic Entomology. 30 (2): 310–335. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3113.2004.00281.x.
- Ward, Philip S. (October 1990). "The ant subfamily Pseudomyrmecinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): Generic revision and relationship to other formicids". Systematic Entomology. 15 (4): 449–489. Bibcode:1990SysEn..15..449W. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3113.1990.tb00077.x.
- Chomicki, Guillaume; Ward, Philip S.; Renner, Susanne S. (22 November 2015). "Macroevolutionary assembly of ant/plant symbioses: Pseudomyrmex ants and their ant-housing plants in the Neotropics". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 282 (1819): 20152200. doi:10.1098/rspb.2015.2200. PMC 4685824. PMID 26582029.
External links
editMedia related to Pseudomyrmecinae at Wikimedia Commons