Amblyoponinae is a
subfamily
In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classifica ...
of
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
poneromorph subfamilies In ants, the traditional subfamily Ponerinae has been subdivided into several Poneromorph subfamilies, with several former tribes now elevated to subfamily rank. According to this analysis, some ponerine groups may be more closely related to other s ...
group containing 13 extant genera and one extinct genus. The ants in this subfamily are mostly specialized subterranean predators.
Adult workers pierce the integument (non lethally) of their larvae and pupa to imbibe haemolymph, earning them the
common name
In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...
Dracula ant.
Identification
Amblyoponinae is characterized by these worker characters: eyes small or absent, situated behind midlength of side of head; anterior margin of clypeus with specialized dentiform setae; promesonotal suture flexible; petiole very broadly attached to abdominal segment 3 and without a distinct posterior face; postpetiole absent; sting present and well developed.
Systematics
The subfamily was formerly considered a tribe within
Ponerinae
Ponerinae is a subfamily of ants in the Poneromorph subfamilies group, with about 1,600 species in 47 extant genera, including '' Dinoponera gigantea'' - one of the world's largest species of ant. Mated workers have replaced the queen as the ...
, but was elevated to its own subfamily in 2003 when
Barry Bolton
Barry Bolton is an English myrmecologist, an expert on the classification, systematics, and taxonomy of ants, who long worked at the Natural History Museum, London. He is known especially for monographs on African and Asian ants, and for encyclo ...
divided Ponerinae into six subfamilies.
*Amblyoponinae
Forel, 1893
** Amblyoponini
Forel, 1893
*** ''
Adetomyrma''
Ward, 1994
*** ''
Amblyopone
''Amblyopone'' is a genus of 10 species of ants, found in Australia, New Caledonia, New Guinea and New Zealand.Yoshimura, M.; Fisher, B.L. 2012: A revision of male ants of the Malagasy Amblyoponinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) with resurrections of ...
''
Erichson, 1842
*** †''
Casaleia''
Pagliano & Scaramozzino, 1990
*** ''
Fulakora''
Mann, 1919
*** ''
Myopopone''
Roger, 1861
*** ''
Mystrium''
Roger, 1862
*** ''
Onychomyrmex''
Emery, 1895
*** ''
Prionopelta''
Mayr, 1866
*** ''
Stigmatomma''
Roger, 1859
*** ''
Xymmer''
Santschi, 1914
References
*
External links
*
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgqK0hrZ9kM
Ant subfamilies
Extant Lutetian first appearances
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