''Cataglyphis'' 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 ...
, desert ants, in the subfamily
Formicinae
The Formicinae are a subfamily within the Formicidae containing ants of moderate evolutionary development.
Formicines retain some primitive features, such as the presence of cocoons around pupae, the presence of ocelli in workers, and littl ...
. Its most famous species is ''C. bicolor'', the
Sahara Desert ant, which runs on hot sand to find insects that died of heat exhaustion, and can, like other several other ''Cataglyphis'' species, sustain body temperatures up to 50°C.
Cataglyphis is also the name of an autonomous rover that won the NASA Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge inspired by the navigation approaches used by desert ants.
Name
It was named in 1850, with reference to the impressions of its abdomen: "Von χατά und γλυψίς der Einschnitt. Eine Andeutung auf die vielen Einschnitte oder vielmehr Eindrücke de Hinterleibs."
Description
Species of this genus are behaviourally,
morphologically, and
physiologically adapted to dry and hot habitats.
Navigational behaviour
In the Sahara, ants live where no bushes or clumps of grass are available to protect them, and where tracks are covered by wind-blown sand in seconds. The midday sun is so hot that even the permanent residents, sand lizards, insects, and a few birds, have to take shelter, but this is when, for not much more than an hour, ''Cataglyphis'' spp. are to come out of their underground nests and forage. They can withstand higher temperatures than any other insects. They pour out on to the sand and search for insects that have died of heat stress. Each ant dashes about in zigzag patterns, but as soon as one is lucky enough to find a tiny insect corpse, it has to get it back to the nest fast before the ant dies of the heat. It does not retrace the zig-zagging path of its outward journey; even if a scent trail made this possible, such a route would be time-wasting. Instead, it runs in a straight line directly back to its nest hole.
On its outward journey, it zig-zags right and left. Every time it changes direction, it lifts its head and wheels around to take a bearing on the sun. In addition, it has to remember how far it went on each straight run. When time to head for home, it has to sum all these data and come out with the precise direction needed. Some outward journeys take an ant a quarter of an hour, with sun sightings every few seconds.
In an experiment, individual ants were fitted with an apparatus that blocked direct sight of the sun, while giving a false impression of where the sun was, using a mirror. When these ants headed for home, they dashed off to a point in the desert displaced by just the amount that the mirror had shifted the sun's position.
Like ants in the ''
Crematogaster
''Crematogaster'' is an ecologically diverse genus of ants found worldwide, which are characterised by a distinctive heart-shaped gaster (insect anatomy), gaster (abdomen), which gives them one of their common names, the Saint Valentine ant. Mem ...
'' genus, ''Cataglyphis'' workers can raise their
gaster (abdomen) to a vertical position in an
acrobat
Acrobatics () is the performance of human feats of balance, agility, and motor coordination. Acrobatic skills are used in performing arts, sporting events, and martial arts. Extensive use of acrobatic skills are most often performed in acro d ...
manner. This behavior may serve as a defensive gesture in ''Crematogaster'' (acrobat) ants, but in ''Cataglyphis'' this is thought to improve mobility in desert habitats.
Distribution
At least five different species of ''Cataglyphis'' occur in the
Sahara Desert
The Sahara (, ) is a desert spanning across North Africa. With an area of , it is the largest hot desert in the world and the list of deserts by area, third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Ar ...
, which may be considered the center of distribution for this genus.
Five species also occur in
Israel
Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...
.
Some species reach into southern
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
, southern
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
,
Greece
Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
,
the former
Yugoslavia
, common_name = Yugoslavia
, life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation
, p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia
, flag_p ...
,
Hungary
Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...
, the European part of
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
, and the
Aral-
Caspian area near
Tijanchan.
Parthenogenesis
Queen ants of the species ''C. cursor'' can produce female reproductive progeny (i.e. potential new queens or
gyne
The gyne (, from Greek γυνή, "woman") is the primary reproductive female caste of social insects (especially ants, wasps, and bees of order Hymenoptera, as well as termites). Gynes are those destined to become queens, whereas female workers ...
s) by
parthenogenesis
Parthenogenesis (; from the Greek + ) is a natural form of asexual reproduction in which the embryo develops directly from an egg without need for fertilization. In animals, parthenogenesis means the development of an embryo from an unfertiliz ...
.
Parthenogenesis, in this case, involves, a process (automictic
thelytoky
Thelytoky (from the Ancient Greek, Greek θῆλυς ''thēlys'' "female" and τόκος ''tókos'' "birth") is a type of parthenogenesis and is the absence of mating and subsequent production of all female diploid offspring as for example in aph ...
) by which two haploid products of
meiosis
Meiosis () is a special type of cell division of germ cells in sexually-reproducing organisms that produces the gametes, the sperm or egg cells. It involves two rounds of division that ultimately result in four cells, each with only one c ...
fuse to form a diploid
zygote
A zygote (; , ) is a eukaryote, eukaryotic cell (biology), cell formed by a fertilization event between two gametes.
The zygote's genome is a combination of the DNA in each gamete, and contains all of the genetic information of a new individ ...
that develops into a gyne. Queens can also produce female worker ants by sexual reproduction involving
fertilisation
Fertilisation or fertilization (see spelling differences), also known as generative fertilisation, syngamy and impregnation, is the fusion of gametes to give rise to a zygote and initiate its development into a new individual organism or of ...
of eggs.
Species
*''
Cataglyphis abyssinica
''Cataglyphis'' is a genus of ant, desert ants, in the subfamily Formicinae. Its most famous species is ''C. bicolor'', the Sahara Desert ant, which runs on hot sand to find insects that died of heat exhaustion, and can, like other several oth ...
''
(Forel, 1904)
*''
Cataglyphis acutinodis''
Collingwood & Agosti, 1996
*''
Cataglyphis adenensis''
(Forel, 1904)
*''
Cataglyphis aenescens''
(Nylander, 1849)
*''
Cataglyphis agostii''
Sharaf, 2007
*''
Cataglyphis albicans''
(Roger, 1859)
*''
Cataglyphis alibabae''
Pisarski, 1965
*''
Cataglyphis altisquamis''
(André, 1881)
*''
Cataglyphis arenaria''
Finzi, 1940
*''
Cataglyphis argentata''
(Radoszkowsky, 1876)
*''
Cataglyphis asiriensis''
Collingwood, 1985
*''
Cataglyphis aurata''
Menozzi, 1932
*''
Cataglyphis bellicosa''
(Karavaiev, 1924)
*''
Cataglyphis bergiana''
Arnol'di, 1964
*''
Cataglyphis bicolor
''Cataglyphis'' is a genus of ant, desert ants, in the subfamily Formicinae. Its most famous species is ''C. bicolor'', the Sahara Desert ant, which runs on hot sand to find insects that died of heat exhaustion, and can, like other several oth ...
''
(Fabricius, 1793) — Sahara Desert ant
*''
Cataglyphis bicoloripes''
Walker, 1871
*''
Cataglyphis bombycina''
(Roger, 1859) — Saharan silver ant
*''
Cataglyphis bucharica''
Emery, 1925
*''
Cataglyphis cana''
Santschi, 1925
*''
Cataglyphis cinnamomea''
(Karavaiev, 1910)
*''
Cataglyphis cugiai''
Menozzi, 1939
*''
Cataglyphis cuneinodis''
Arnol'di, 1964
*''
Cataglyphis cursor''
(Fonscolombe, 1846)
*''
Cataglyphis diehlii''
(Forel, 1902)
*''
Cataglyphis douwesi''
De Haro & Collingwood, 2000
*''
Cataglyphis elegantissima''
Arnol'di, 1968
*''
Cataglyphis emeryi''
(Karavaiev, 1911)
*''
Cataglyphis emmae''
(Forel, 1909)
*''
Cataglyphis espadaleri''
Cagniant, 2009
*''
Cataglyphis flavitibia''
Chang & He, 2002
*''
Cataglyphis flavobrunnea''
Collingwood & Agosti, 1996
*''
Cataglyphis floricola''
Tinaut, 1993
*''
Cataglyphis foreli''
(Ruzsky, 1903)
*''
Cataglyphis fortis''
(Forel, 1902) — Sahara desert
*''
Cataglyphis fossilis''
Cagniant, 2009
*''
Cataglyphis frigida''
(André, 1881)
*''
Cataglyphis gadeai''
De Haro & Collingwood, 2003
*''
Cataglyphis gaetula''
Santschi, 1929
*''
Cataglyphis glabilabia''
Chang & He, 2002
*''
Cataglyphis gracilens''
Santschi, 1929
*''
Cataglyphis hannae''
Agosti, 1994 —
Tunisia
Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...
*''
Cataglyphis harteni''
Collingwood & Agosti, 1996
*''
Cataglyphis helanensis''
Chang & He, 2002
*''
Cataglyphis holgerseni''
Collingwood & Agosti, 1996
*''
Cataglyphis humeya''
Tinaut, 1991
*''
Cataglyphis iberica''
(Emery, 1906)
*''
Cataglyphis indica''
Pisarski, 1962
*''
Cataglyphis isis''
(Forel, 1913)
*''
Cataglyphis israelensis''
Ionescu & Eyer, 2016
*''
Cataglyphis italica''
(Emery, 1906)
*''
Cataglyphis karakalensis''
Arnol'di, 1964
*''
Cataglyphis kurdistanica''
Pisarski, 1965
*''
Cataglyphis laevior''
Santschi, 1929
*''
Cataglyphis laylae''
Collingwood, 2011
*''
Cataglyphis livida''
(André, 1881)
*''
Cataglyphis longipedem''
(Eichwald, 1841)
*''
Cataglyphis lunatica''
Baroni Urbani, 1969
*''
Cataglyphis machmal''
Radchenko & Arakelian, 1991
*''
Cataglyphis marroui''
Cagniant, 2009
*''
Cataglyphis mauritanica''
(Emery, 1906)
*''
Cataglyphis minima''
Collingwood, 1985
*''
Cataglyphis nigra''
(André, 1881)
*''
Cataglyphis nigripes''
Arnol'di, 1964
*''
Cataglyphis nodus''
(Brullé, 1833) —
Dalmatia
Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...
*''
Cataglyphis oasium''
Menozzi, 1932
*''
Cataglyphis opacior''
Collingwood & Agosti, 1996
*''
Cataglyphis otini''
Santschi, 1929
*''
Cataglyphis oxiana''
Arnol'di, 1964
*''
Cataglyphis pallida''
Mayr, 1877
*''
Cataglyphis piligera''
Arnol'di, 1964
*''
Cataglyphis piliscapa''
(Forel, 1901)
*''
Cataglyphis pilisquamis''
Santschi, 1929
*''
Cataglyphis pubescens''
Radchenko & Paknia, 2010
*''
Cataglyphis rosenhaueri''
Santschi, 1925
*''
Cataglyphis rubra''
(Forel, 1903)
*''
Cataglyphis sabulosa''
Kugler, 1981
*''
Cataglyphis saharae''
Santschi, 1929
*''
Cataglyphis savignyi''
(Dufour, 1862) — Sahara desert
*''
Cataglyphis semitonsa''
Santschi, 1929
*''
Cataglyphis setipes''
(Forel, 1894)
*''
Cataglyphis shuaibensis''
Collingwood & Agosti, 1996
*''
Cataglyphis stigmata''
Radchenko & Paknia, 2010
*''
Cataglyphis tartessica''
Amor & Ortega, 2014
*''
Cataglyphis takyrica''
Dlussky, Soyunov & Zabelin, 1990
*''
Cataglyphis theryi''
Santschi, 1921
*''
Cataglyphis urens''
Collingwood, 1985
*''
Cataglyphis vaucheri''
(Emery, 1906)
*''
Cataglyphis velox''
Santschi, 1929
*''
Cataglyphis viatica''
(Fabricius, 1787)
*''
Cataglyphis viaticoides''
(André, 1881)
*''
Cataglyphis zakharovi''
Radchenko, 1997
References
Further reading
* Heusser, Daniel & Wehner, Rüdiger (2002): The visual centring response in desert ants, ''Cataglyphis fortis''. ''The Journal of Experimental Biology'' 205: 585-590
Full HTMLPDF
External links
*
* YouTube
Video of ''Cataglyphis'' catching prey in the Sahara desert
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2514739
Formicinae
Ant genera
Taxa named by Arnold Förster
Taxonomy articles created by Polbot