Microdaceton
''Microdaceton'' is an African genus of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae. The genus consists of four species restricted to the Afrotropics. They nest in the leaf litter Plant litter (also leaf litter, tree litter, soil litter, litterfall, or duff) is dead plant material (such as leaves, bark, needles, twigs, and cladodes) that has fallen to the ground. This detritus or dead organic material and its constituen ... and seems to be fairly common. However, little is known about their biology. Species * '' Microdaceton exornatum'' Santschi, 1913 * '' Microdaceton tanyspinosum'' Bolton, 2000 * '' Microdaceton tibialis'' Weber, 1952 * '' Microdaceton viriosum'' Bolton, 2000 References External links * Myrmicinae Ant genera Hymenoptera of Africa Taxa named by Felix Santschi {{myrmicinae-stub ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Microdaceton Tanyspinosum
''Microdaceton'' is an African genus of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae. The genus consists of four species restricted to the Afrotropics. They nest in the leaf litter and seems to be fairly common. However, little is known about their biology. Species * ''Microdaceton exornatum ''Microdaceton'' is an African genus of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae. The genus consists of four species restricted to the Afrotropics. They nest in the leaf litter Plant litter (also leaf litter, tree litter, soil litter, litterfall, or d ...'' Santschi, 1913 * '' Microdaceton tanyspinosum'' Bolton, 2000 * '' Microdaceton tibialis'' Weber, 1952 * '' Microdaceton viriosum'' Bolton, 2000 References External links * Myrmicinae Ant genera Hymenoptera of Africa Taxa named by Felix Santschi {{myrmicinae-stub ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Myrmicinae
Myrmicinae is a subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zo ... of ants, with about 140 extant genera; their distribution is cosmopolitan. The pupae lack cocoons. Some species retain a functional sting. The petioles of Myrmicinae consist of two nodes. The nests are permanent and in soil, rotting wood, under stones, or in trees.Goulet, H & Huber, JT (eds.) (1993) Hymenoptera of the world: an identification guide to families. Agriculture Canada. p. 224 All species of Cephalotes (within the tribe Attini) are gliding ants. Identification Myrmicine worker ants have a distinct postpetiole, i.e., abdominal segment III is notably smaller than segment IV and set off from it by a well-developed constriction; the pronotum is inflexibly fused to the rest of the meso ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Felix Santschi
Felix Santschi (1 December 1872 – 20 November 1940) was a Swiss entomologist known for discovering that ants use the sun as a compass and for describing about 2000 taxa of ants. Santschi is known for his pioneering work on the navigational abilities of ant 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 Cre ...s. In one experiment, he investigated the way harvester ants used the sky to navigate. He found that as long as even a small patch of sky was visible, the ants could return directly to the nest after gathering food. However, when the sky was completely hidden, they lost their sense of direction and began moving haphazardly. Some seventy years later it was shown that ants are guided by the polarization of light. References 1872 births 1940 deaths Swiss entomologists Myrm ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In binomial nomenclature, the genus name forms the first part of the binomial species name for each species within the genus. :E.g. ''Panthera leo'' (lion) and ''Panthera onca'' (jaguar) are two species within the genus ''Panthera''. ''Panthera'' is a genus within the family Felidae. The composition of a genus is determined by taxonomy (biology), taxonomists. The standards for genus classification are not strictly codified, so different authorities often produce different classifications for genera. There are some general practices used, however, including the idea that a newly defined genus should fulfill these three criteria to be descriptively useful: # monophyly – all descendants of an ancestral taxon are grouped together (i.e. Phylogeneti ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Subfamily
In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end botanical subfamily names with "-oideae", and zoological subfamily names with "-inae". Detarioideae is an example of a botanical subfamily. Detarioideae is a subdivision of the family Fabaceae (legumes), containing 84 genera. Stevardiinae is an example of a zoological subfamily. Stevardiinae is a large subdivision of the family Characidae, a diverse clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ... of freshwater fish. See also * International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants * International Code of Zoological Nomenclature * Rank (botany) * Rank (zoolo ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Afrotropics
The Afrotropical realm is one of the Earth's eight biogeographic realms. It includes Sub-Saharan Africa, the southern Arabian Peninsula, the island of Madagascar, and the islands of the western Indian Ocean. It was formerly known as the Ethiopian Zone or Ethiopian Region. Major ecological regions Most of the Afrotropical realm, except for Africa's southern tip, has a tropical climate. A broad belt of deserts, including the Atlantic and Sahara deserts of northern Africa and the Arabian Desert of the Arabian Peninsula, separates the Afrotropic from the Palearctic realm, which includes northern Africa and temperate Eurasia. Sahel and Sudan South of the Sahara, two belts of tropical grassland and savanna run east and west across the continent, from the Atlantic Ocean to the Ethiopian Highlands. Immediately south of the Sahara lies the Sahel belt, a transitional zone of semi-arid short grassland and vachellia savanna. Rainfall increases further south in the Sudanian Savanna, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Leaf Litter
Plant litter (also leaf litter, tree litter, soil litter, litterfall, or duff) is dead plant material (such as leaves, bark, needles, twigs, and cladodes) that has fallen to the ground. This detritus or dead organic material and its constituent nutrients are added to the top layer of soil, commonly known as the litter layer or O-horizon ("O" for "organic"). Litter is an important factor in ecosystem dynamics, as it is indicative of ecological productivity and may be useful in predicting regional nutrient cycling and soil fertility. Characteristics and variability Litterfall is characterized as fresh, undecomposed, and easily recognizable (by species and type) plant debris. This can be anything from leaves, cones, needles, twigs, bark, seeds/nuts, logs, or reproductive organs (e.g. the stamen of flowering plants). Items larger than 2 cm diameter are referred to as coarse litter, while anything smaller is referred to as fine litter or litter. The type of litterfall is m ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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AntWeb
AntWeb is the leading online database on ants: storing specimens images and records, and natural history information, and documenting over 490,000 specimens across over 35,000 taxa In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; : taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular name and ... of ants in its open source and community driven repository . It was set up by Brian L. Fisher in 2002, and cost US$30,000 to build. References External links Website Entomological databases Myrmecology {{Database-stub ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ant Genera
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 22,000 species have been classified. They are easily identified by their geniculate (elbowed) antennae and the distinctive node-like structure that forms their slender waists. Ants form colonies that range in size from a few dozen individuals often living in small natural cavities to highly organised colonies that may occupy large territories with sizeable nest that consist of millions of individuals or into the hundreds of millions in super colonies. Typical colonies consist of various castes of sterile, wingless females, most of which are workers (ergates), as well as soldiers (dinergates) and other specialised groups. Nearly all ant colonies also have some fertile males called "drones" and one or more fertile females called "queens" (gy ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |