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Attine
Fungus-growing ants (tribe Attini) comprise all the known fungus-growing ant species participating in ant–fungus mutualism. They are known for cutting grasses and leaves, carrying them to their colonies' nests, and using them to grow fungus on which they later feed. Their farming habits typically have large effects on their surrounding ecosystem. Many species farm large areas surrounding their colonies and leave walking trails that compress the soil, which can no longer grow plants. Attine colonies commonly have millions of individuals, though some species only house a few hundred. They are the sister group to the subtribe Dacetina. Leafcutter ants, including ''Atta'' and ''Acromyrmex'', make up two of the genera. Their cultivars mostly come from the fungal tribe Leucocoprineae of family Agaricaceae. Attine gut microbiota is often not diverse due to their primarily monotonous diets, leaving them at a higher risk than other beings for certain illnesses. They are especially at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leafcutter Ant
Leafcutter ants are fungus-growing ants that share the behaviour of cutting leaves which they carry back to their nests to farm fungus. Next to humans, leafcutter ants form some of the largest and most complex animal societies on Earth. In a few years, the central mound of their underground nests can grow to more than across, with smaller radiating mounds extending out to a radius of , taking up and converted into 3.55 m individuals. Leafcutting groups Leafcutter ants are any of at least 55 species of leaf-chewing ants belonging to the three genera '' Atta'', '' Acromyrmex'', and '' Amoimyrmex'', within the tribe Attini. These species of tropical, fungus-growing ants are all endemic to South and Central America, Mexico, and parts of the southern United States.. Leafcutter ants can carry up to 50 times their body weight and cut and process fresh vegetation (leaves, flowers, and grasses) to serve as the nutritional substrate for their fungal cultivates. The leaf cutter an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ant–fungus Mutualism
Ant–fungus mutualism is a symbiosis seen between certain ant and fungal species, in which ants actively cultivate fungus much like humans farm crops as a food source. There is only evidence of two instances in which this form of agriculture evolved in ants resulting in a dependence on fungi for food. These instances were the attine ants and some ants that are part of the '' Megalomyrmex'' genus. In some species, the ants and fungi are dependent on each other for survival. This type of codependency is prevalent among herbivores who rely on plant material for nutrition. The fungus’ ability to convert the plant material into a food source accessible to their host makes them the ideal partner. The leafcutter ant is a well-known example of this symbiosis. Leafcutter ants species can be found in southern South America up to the United States. However, ants are not the only ground-dwelling arthropods which have developed symbioses with fungi. A similar mutualism with fungi is also not ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Escovopsis
''Escovopsis'' is a genus of seven formally acknowledged parasitic microfungus species that rely on other fungi to be their hosts. This genus formally circumscribed with a single identified species in 1990; in 2013 three other species were added. In an early 2015 published study, scientists collected five species of ''Escovopsis'' from both genera of fungus-growing ants, '' Atta'' and '' Acromyrmex'', four of which came from ant colonies in Brazil and the fifth of which came from Trinidad. These ''Escovopsis'' species included '' E. moelleri'', '' E. microspora'', '' E. weberi'', '' E. lentecrescens'', and '' E. aspergilloides''. The research revealed another ''Escovopsis'' species ('' E. trichodermoides'') isolated and derived from the lower attine ant, '' Mycocepurus goeldii''. It was determined to be a species independent of the other five species because of its complex branch system and varying conidiophores, which lack typical swelling. A se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atta Mexicana
''Atta mexicana'' is a species of leaf-cutter ant, a New world#Usage and definition, New World ant of the subfamily Myrmicinae of the genus ''Atta (ant), Atta''. This species is from one of the two genera of advanced Fungus-growing ants, attines (fungus-growing ants) within the tribe Attini. Description The queen is approximately 30 mm long, and dark brown. Workers are dark brown, with short spines. The much larger soldiers grow up to 18 mm, and are even more armored with short spines. The ants cut leaves and grow a Basidiomycota, basidiomycete fungus called Leucoagaricus gongylophorus, ''Leucoagaricus gongylophoru''s (Agaricaceae) with them. Oleic acid is one of their undertaking triggers. Distribution ''A. mexicana'' is found in Mexico (where is commonly called hormiga chicatana, hormiga podadora de hoja/''desert ant'' and mochomo), and crosses into Arizona, United States. This species is highly adaptive, and thrives in such urban areas as Puerto Vallarta. Densiti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New World
The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 33: "[16c: from the feminine of ''Americus'', the Latinized first name of the explorer Amerigo Vespucci (1454–1512). The name ''America'' first appeared on a map in 1507 by the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller, referring to the area now called Brazil]. Since the 16th century, the term "New World" has been used to describe the Western Hemisphere, often referred to as the Americas. Since the 18th century, it has come to represent the United States, which was initially colonial British America until it established independence following the American Revolutionary War. The second sense is now primary in English: ... However, the term is open to uncertainties: ..." The term arose in the early 16th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Actinomycetota
The Actinomycetota (or Actinobacteria) are a diverse phylum of Gram-positive bacteria with high GC content. They can be terrestrial or aquatic. They are of great importance to land flora because of their contributions to soil systems. In soil they help to decompose the organic matter of dead organisms so the molecules can be taken up anew by plants. While this role is also played by fungi, Actinomycetota are much smaller and likely do not occupy the same ecological niche. In this role the colonies often grow extensive mycelia, as fungi do, and the name of an important order of the phylum, Actinomycetales (the actinomycetes), reflects that they were long believed to be fungi. Some soil actinomycetota (such as '' Frankia'') live symbiotically with the plants whose roots pervade the soil, fixing nitrogen for the plants in exchange for access to some of the plant's saccharides. Other species, such as many members of the genus ''Mycobacterium'', are important pathogens. Beyond th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reproductively Isolated
The mechanisms of reproductive isolation are a collection of evolutionary mechanisms, behaviors and physiological processes critical for speciation. They prevent members of different species from producing offspring, or ensure that any offspring are sterile. These barriers maintain the integrity of a species by reducing gene flow between related species.Strickberger, M. 1978. ''Genética''. Omega, Barcelona, España, p.: 874–879. .Futuyma, D. 1998. ''Evolutionary biology'' (3ª edición). Sinauer, Sunderland. The mechanisms of reproductive isolation have been classified in a number of ways. Zoologist Ernst Mayr classified the mechanisms of reproductive isolation in two broad categories: pre-zygotic for those that act before fertilization (or before mating in the case of animals) and post-zygotic for those that act after it.Mayr, E. 1963. ''Animal species and evolution''. Harvard University Press, Cambridge. The mechanisms are genetically controlled and can appear in species w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Herbivore
A herbivore is an animal anatomically and physiologically evolved to feed on plants, especially upon vascular tissues such as foliage, fruits or seeds, as the main component of its diet. These more broadly also encompass animals that eat non-vascular autotrophs such as mosses, algae and lichens, but do not include those feeding on decomposed plant matters (i.e. detritivores) or macrofungi (i.e. fungivores). As a result of their plant-based diet, herbivorous animals typically have mouth structures ( jaws or mouthparts) well adapted to mechanically break down plant materials, and their digestive systems have special enzymes (e.g. amylase and cellulase) to digest polysaccharides. Grazing herbivores such as horses and cattles have wide flat- crowned teeth that are better adapted for grinding grass, tree bark and other tougher lignin-containing materials, and many of them evolved rumination or cecotropic behaviors to better extract nutrients from plants. A larg ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gongylidia
Gongylidia (singular gongylidium) are hyphal swellings of fungus cultivated by higher-attine genera of fungus-growing ants. This fungus no longer exists naturally outside the ant colonies. Developing larvae feed on the gongylidia and distributed throughout the colony to feed workers, soldiers, and the queen. They are ellipsoid, about 30–50 micrometres in diameter, rich in lipids and carbohydrates derived from the leaves, and are produced in clusters (called staphylae). See also * Pearl body * Leucoagaricus gongylophorus References Fungal morphology and anatomy Myrmecology {{Ant-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trachymyrmex Cornetzi
''Trachymyrmex '' is a genus of fungus-growing ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae. The genus is mainly tropical in distribution, with most species being found in Central and South America. The queens of the species appear to mate with only one male on their nuptial flight Nuptial flight is an important phase in the reproduction of most ant, termite, and some bee species. It is also observed in some fly species, such as '' Rhamphomyia longicauda''. During the flight, virgin queens mate with males and then land .... Species A number of species were moved from ''Trachymyrmex'' based on molecular phylogeny by Solomon ''et al.'' 2019. Of the species formerly included, nine were retained in ''Trachymyrmex'', while 31 of the species were moved to the new genus '' Mycetomoellerius'', and an additional nine moved to '' Paratrachymyrmex''. ''Trachymyrmex'' species *'' T. arizonensis'' *'' T. carinatus'' *'' T. desertorum'' *'' T. nogalensis'' *'' T. pakawa'' *'' T. pomonae'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fungivore
Fungivory or mycophagy is the process of organisms consuming fungi. Many different organisms have been recorded to gain their energy from consuming fungi, including birds, mammals, insects, plants, amoebas, gastropods, nematodes, bacteria and other fungi. Some of these, which only eat fungi, are called fungivores whereas others eat fungi as only part of their diet, being omnivores. Animals Mammals Many mammals eat fungi, but only a few feed exclusively on fungi; most are opportunistic feeders and fungi only make up part of their diet. At least 22 species of primate, including humans, bonobos, colobines, gorillas, lemurs, macaques, mangabeys, marmosets and vervet monkeys are known to feed on fungi. Most of these species spend less than 5% of the time they spend feeding eating fungi, and fungi therefore form only a small part of their diet. Some species spend longer foraging for fungi, and fungi account for a greater part of their diet; buffy-tufted marmosets spend up to 12% of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Insect Predators
A robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant which eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects. The first vertebrate insectivores were amphibians. When they evolved 400 million years ago, the first amphibians were piscivores, with numerous sharp conical teeth, much like a modern crocodile. The same tooth arrangement is however also suited for eating animals with exoskeletons, thus the ability to eat insects can stem from piscivory. At one time, insectivorous mammals were scientifically classified in an order called Insectivora. This order is now abandoned, as not all insectivorous mammals are closely related. Most of the Insectivora taxa have been reclassified; those that have not yet been reclassified and found to be truly related to each other remain in the order Eulipotyphla. Although individually small, insects exist in enormous numbers. Insects make up a ver ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
