Myrmeciinae is a subfamily of the
Formicidae,
ants
Ants are Eusociality, eusocial insects of the Family (biology), family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the Taxonomy (biology), order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from Vespoidea, vespoid wasp ancestors in the Creta ...
once found worldwide but now restricted to
Australia and
New Caledonia. This subfamily is one of several ant subfamilies which possess
gamergates, female worker ants which are able to mate and reproduce, thus sustaining the colony after the loss of the queen.
The Myrmeciinae subfamily was formerly composed of only one genus, ''
Myrmecia'', but the subfamily was redescribed by Ward & Brady in 2003 to include two tribes and four genera:
An additional three genera, one form genus, and 9 species were described in 2006 from the Early Eocene of Denmark, Canada, and Washington.
Subsequently an additional fossil genus was moved from the family
Rhopalosomatidae in 2018, and a new genus was described in 2021.
Tribes and genera
*Tribe
Myrmeciini
**''
Myrmecia''
*Tribe
Prionomyrmecini
**''
Nothomyrmecia''
**†''
Prionomyrmex''
*Tribe ''incertae sedis''
**†''
Archimyrmex''
**†''
Avitomyrmex''
**†''
Macabeemyrma
''Macabeemyrma'' is an extinct genus of bulldog ants in the subfamily Myrmeciinae containing the single species ''Macabeemyrma ovata'', described in 2006 from Ypresian stage (Early Eocene) deposits of British Columbia, Canada. Only a single spe ...
''
**†''
Propalosoma''
**†''
Tyrannomecia''
**†''
Ypresiomyrma
''Ypresiomyrma'' is an extinct genus of ants in the subfamily Myrmeciinae that was described in 2006. There are four species described; one species is from the Isle of Fur in Denmark, two are from the McAbee Fossil Beds in British Columbia, Cana ...
''
*Form genus (for species belonging to the subfamily but not identifiable to current genera)
**†''
Myrmeciites''
The
Late Aptian Crato Formation
The Crato Formation is a geologic formation of Early Cretaceous (Aptian) age in northeastern Brazil's Araripe Basin. It is an important Lagerstätte (undisturbed fossil accumulation) for palaeontologists. The strata were laid down mostly during ...
genus ''
Cariridris'' is sometimes included in Myrmeciinae, though it has also been classified as an
Ampulicidae genus. Two undescribed specimens in the
Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart are known, suggesting a myrmeciine affinity.
[Martill, D.M., Bechly, G. and Loveridge, R.F. (2007). ''The Crato fossil beds of Brazil: window into an ancient world.'' Cambridge University Press. , ]
Classification
The subfamily Myrmeciinae was established by Italian entomologist
Carlo Emery
Carlo Emery (25 October 1848, Naples – 11 May 1925) was an Italian entomologist. He is remembered for Emery's rule, which states that insect social parasites are often closely related to their hosts.
Early in his career Carlo Emery pursue ...
in 1877 under the original name Myrmeciidae. It was named after the genus ''Myrmecia'', the type genus of the subfamily. In 1882, the subfamily was treated as a tribe by French entomologist
Ernest André within the former ant family Myrmicidae, but it would later be moved to the family Poneridae in 1905.
See also
*
List of ''Myrmecia'' species
References
External links
*
*
Ant subfamilies
Taxa named by Carlo Emery
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