''Adetomyrma'' is a
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 bino ...
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
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to
Madagascar
Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
. Workers of this genus are blind.
The
type species
In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...
''
Adetomyrma venatrix'' was described in 1994, with the genus being an atypical member of its
tribe
The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...
, the
Amblyoponini. This tribe includes the
Dracula ants, members of which can feed on the
hemolymph
Hemolymph, or haemolymph, is a fluid, similar to the blood in invertebrates, that circulates in the inside of the arthropod's body, remaining in direct contact with the animal's tissues. It is composed of a fluid plasma in which hemolymph c ...
of larvae and pupae.
Taxonomy
''Adetomyrma'' was first described as a Malagasy endemic
monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...
genus by Ward in 1994. Ward (1994) assigned this genus to Amblyoponini within the subfamily
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 replac ...
on the basis of the worker
morphology
Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to:
Disciplines
*Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts
*Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...
of the type species ''Adetomyrma venatrix''. Later, Bolton (2003) raised this tribe to subfamily status as
Amblyoponinae.
Biology
The colonies, the first of which was found in a rotting log, may contain as many as 10,000 workers, winged males and several wingless queens (the majority of ant species feature winged queens). The workers use venom to stun their prey which are brought back to the colony for the larvae to feed upon. The colour of the winged males, a darker orange than the workers, suggests they disperse by flying to other colonies before mating.
[
]
Known species
*'' Adetomyrma aureocuprea'' Yoshimura & Fisher, 2012
*'' Adetomyrma bressleri'' Yoshimura & Fisher, 2012
*'' Adetomyrma caputleae'' Yoshimura & Fisher, 2012
*'' Adetomyrma cassis'' Yoshimura & Fisher, 2012
*'' Adetomyrma caudapinniger'' Yoshimura & Fisher, 2012
*'' Adetomyrma cilium'' Yoshimura & Fisher, 2012
*'' Adetomyrma clarivida'' Yoshimura & Fisher, 2012
*'' Adetomyrma goblin'' Yoshimura & Fisher, 2012
*'' Adetomyrma venatrix'' Ward, 1994
References
*
External links
*
*
{{Taxonbar, from=Q356489
Amblyoponinae
Ant genera
Blind animals
Hymenoptera of Africa
Endemic fauna of Madagascar