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Promyopias
''Promyopias'' is an Afrotropical genus of ant in the subfamily Ponerinae containing the single species ''Promyopias silvestrii''. The rare genus has previously been regarded as a separate genus, as a subgenus and as a provisional synonymy, but was reinstated at genus-rank in 2008. Description ''Promyopias'', known from the Afrotropics, is uncommon but widely distributed. Its diet, presumably termites but not actually demonstrated, may be more restricted or specialized than in '' Centromyrmex''. The morphology of the mandible is unique and immediately identifies ''Promyopias silvestrii''. Males are unknown. Taxonomy Santschi (1914) initially associated ''Promyopias'' with '' Myopias'', the latter a moderately sized genus widespread in the Oriental, Malesian and Austral regions, because of supposed overall similarities in the form of the mandible and clypeus. It now seems certain that these similarities are the result of convergence through the development of similar predatory ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ponerinae
Ponerinae, the ponerine ants, 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 functional egg-layers in several species of ponerine ants. In such queenless species, the reproductive status of workers can only be determined through ovarian dissections. Description and identification Ponerinae are most easily identified from other subfamilies by possessing a single-segmented petiole and the gaster usually being constricted between the first and second segments. ''Odontomachus'' lack this constriction, but these can be identified from their elongate, straight mandibles attached close together along the front margin of the head and with teeth only at the mandible tips. They are rare examples of stinging ants. Females have 12-segmented antennae, whereas males have 13-segmented antennae. Behavi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Afrotropical
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 tropics, tropical climate. A broad belt of deserts, including the Atlantic coastal desert, 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 and subtropical grasslands, savannas, and shrublands, 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 sho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malesian
Malesia is a biogeographical region straddling the Equator and the boundaries of the Indomalayan and Australasian realms. It is a phytogeographical floristic region in the Paleotropical kingdom. It was first recognized as a distinct region in 1857 by Heinrich Zollinger, a Swiss botanist and explorer. The precise boundaries used to define Malesia vary. The broadly defined area used in ''Flora Malesiana'' consists of the countries of Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei, the Philippines, Timor-Leste and Papua New Guinea. The original definition by the World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions (WGSRPD) covered a similar area, but New Guinea and some offshore islands were split off as Papuasia in its 2001 version. Floristic region Malesia was first recognized as a distinct floristic region in 1857 by Heinrich Zollinger, a Swiss botanist and explorer. In 1948 and 1950, Cornelius G. G. J. van Steenis developed the idea of Malesia, and put forward plans for a '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zootaxa
''Zootaxa'' is a peer-reviewed scientific mega journal for animal taxonomists. It is published by Magnolia Press (Auckland, New Zealand). The journal was established by Zhi-Qiang Zhang in 2001 and new issues are published multiple times a week. From 2001 to 2020, more than 60,000 new species have been described in the journal accounting for around 25% of all new taxa indexed in The Zoological Record in the last few years. Print and online versions are available. Temporary suspension from JCR The journal exhibited high levels of self-citation and its journal impact factor of 2019 was suspended from ''Journal Citation Reports'' in 2020, a sanction which hit 34 journals in total. Biologist Ross Mounce noted that high levels of self-citation may be inevitable for a journal which publishes a large share of new species classification. Later that year, this decision was reversed and it was admitted that levels of self-citation are appropriate considering the large proportion of p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
Gaster (insect Anatomy)
The gaster () is the bulbous posterior portion of the metasoma found in hymenopterans of the suborder Apocrita (bees, wasps and ants). This begins with abdomen, abdominal segment III on most ants, but some make a constricted Petiole (insect anatomy) , postpetiole out of segment III, in which case the gaster begins with abdominal segment IV. The gaster in ants contains what is sometimes called the "social stomach," which is named for the fact that food can be carried within it and then shared with other members of the colony. It also contains the ant's heart as well as the rest of their digestive system. In the ant subfamily Formicinae, the gaster houses an acidiphore which they can use to spray formic acid. Certain ants in the genus ''Cataglyphis'', including ''Cataglyphis bicolor'' and ''Cataglyphis fortis'', have a cubiform petiole that allows them to decrease their inertia (and therefore increase their speed) by raising their gaster into an upright position. The ant speci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Setae
In biology, setae (; seta ; ) are any of a number of different bristle- or hair-like structures on living organisms. Animal setae Protostomes Depending partly on their form and function, protostome setae may be called macrotrichia, chaetae, scales, or informally, hairs. The setal membrane is not cuticularized, so movement is possible. Annelid setae are stiff bristles present on the body. They allow earthworms and their relatives to attach to the surface and prevent backsliding during peristaltic motion. These hairs make it difficult to pull a worm straight from the ground. Setae in oligochaetes (the group including earthworms) are largely composed of chitin. They are classified according to the limb to which they are attached; for instance, notosetae are attached to notopodia; neurosetae to neuropodia. The setae on polychaete worms are referred to as chaeta due to their differing morphology. Crustaceans have mechano- and chemosensory setae. Setae are especially pres ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mesonotum
The mesothorax is the middle of the three segments of the thorax of hexapods, and bears the second pair of legs. Its principal sclerites (exoskeletal plates) are the mesonotum (dorsal), the mesosternum ( ventral), and the mesopleuron (lateral) on each side. The mesothorax is the segment that bears the forewings in all winged insects, though sometimes these may be reduced or modified, as in beetles ( Coleoptera) or Dermaptera, in which they are sclerotized to form the elytra ("wing covers"), and the Strepsiptera, in which they are reduced to form halteres that attach to the mesonotum. All adult insects possess legs on the mesothorax. In some groups of insects, the mesonotum is hypertrophied, such as in Diptera, Hymenoptera, and Lepidoptera), in which the anterior portion of the mesonotum (called the mesoscutum, or simply "scutum") forms most of the dorsal surface of the thorax. In these orders, there is also typically a small sclerite attached to the mesonotum that covers t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Convergent Evolution
Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last common ancestor of those groups. The cladistic term for the same phenomenon is Cladogram#Homoplasies, homoplasy. The recurrent evolution of flight is a classic example, as flying pterygota, insects, birds, pterosaurs, and bats have independently evolved the useful capacity of flight. Functionally similar features that have arisen through convergent evolution are ''analogous'', whereas ''homology (biology), homologous'' structures or traits have a common origin but can have dissimilar functions. Bird, bat, and pterosaur wings are analogous structures, but their forelimbs are homologous, sharing an ancestral state despite serving different functions. The opposite of convergence is divergent evolution, where related species evolve different trai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clypeus (arthropod Anatomy)
The clypeus is one of the sclerites that make up the face of an arthropod. In insects, the clypeus delimits the lower margin of the face, with the labrum articulated along the ventral margin of the clypeus. The mandibles bracket the labrum, but do not touch the clypeus. The dorsal margin of the clypeus is below the antennal sockets. The clypeus is often well-defined by sulci ("grooves") along its lateral and dorsal margins, and is most commonly rectangular or trapezoidal in overall shape. The post-clypeus is a large nose-like structure that lies between the eyes and makes up much of the front of the head in cicadas. In spider Spiders (order (biology), order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight limbs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude spider silk, silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and ran ...s, the clypeus is generally the area between the anterior edge of the carapace and the anterior eyes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Australia (continent)
The continent of Australia, sometimes known in technical contexts as Sahul (), Australia-New Guinea, Australinea, or Meganesia to distinguish it from the Australia, country of Australia, is located within the Southern Hemisphere, Southern and Eastern Hemisphere, Eastern hemispheres, near the Maritime Southeast Asia. The continent includes mainland Australia, Tasmania, the island of New Guinea (Papua New Guinea and Western New Guinea), the Aru Islands Regency, Aru Islands, the Ashmore and Cartier Islands, most of the Coral Sea Islands, and some other list of islands of Australia, nearby islands. Situated in the geographical region of Oceania, more specifically in the subregion of Australasia, Australia is the Continent#Area and population, smallest of the seven traditional continents. The continent includes a continental shelf overlain by shallow seas which divide it into several landmasses—the Arafura Sea and Torres Strait between mainland Australia and New Guinea, and Bass ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oriental
The Orient is a term referring to the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of the term ''Occident'', which refers to the Western world. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the continent of Asia – loosely classified into Southwest Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, Central Asia, East Asia, and sometimes including the Caucasus. Originally, the term ''Orient'' was used to designate only the Near East, but later its meaning evolved and expanded, designating also Central Asia, Southwest Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, or the Far East. The term oriental is often used to describe objects and (in a derogative manner) people coming from the Orient/eastern Asia. Etymology The term "Orient" derives from the Latin word ''oriens'', meaning "east" (lit. "rising" < ''orior'' "rise"). The use of the word for "rising" to refer to the east (where the sun rises) has analogues from many lan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
