''Myrmoteras'' 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 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 ...
and the
sole member of the
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 ...
Myrmoteratini. They have enormous eyes, a character found in other ancient genera, and extremely elongated mandibles with eight to 16 teeth. These work as trap-jaws and can open up to 270°.
Description
While the elongated mandibles look superficially similar to those of the
basal ''
Myrmecia'', the mechanism is, as a whole, totally dissimilar and is rather convergent to that of the
ponerine genera ''
Anochetus
''Anochetus'' is a genus of small, carnivorous ants found in the tropics and subtropics
The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical and climate zones immediately to the north and south of the tropics. Geographically part of the ...
'' and ''
Odontomachus
''Odontomachus'' is a genus of ants commonly called trap-jaw ants found in the tropics and subtropics throughout the world.
Overview
Commonly known as trap-jaw ants, species in ''Odontomachus'' have a pair of large, straight mandible (insect) ...
'', and the
myrmicine ''
Strumigenys
''Strumigenys'' is a genus of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae.
Biology
''Strumigenys'' form small nests in soil, under or between rocks, or in and under logs or under cattle dung. Some species nest in association with other ants such as '' Both ...
''. The trigger mechanism of the trap-jaw-like mandibles of ''Myrmoteras'' consists of two hairs. Other trap-jawed genera are ''
Daceton'', ''
Acanthognathus
''Acanthognathus'' (Greek: = thorn, = jaw) is a genus of ants that are found in tropical Central America, Central and South America.Brown, W. L., Jr., & W. W. Kempf (1969). ''A Revision of the Neotropical Dacetine Ant Genus Acanthognathus (Hyme ...
'', ''
Orectognathus
''Orectognathus'' is a genus of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae.
Species
*''Orectognathus alligator'' Taylor, 1980
*''Orectognathus antennatus'' Smith, 1854
*''Orectognathus biroi'' Szabó, 1926
*''Orectognathus chyzeri'' Emery, 1897
*''Orecto ...
'', ''
Microdaceton'', and ''
Epitritus''.
Distribution
''Myrmoteras'' occurs in the Indo-Malayan region.
[Creighton, William S. (1930): A Review of the Genus ''Myrmoteras'' (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). ''Journal of the New York Entomological Society'' 38: 177-193]
PDF
Species
*''
Myrmoteras arcoelinae''
Agosti, 1992
*''
Myrmoteras bakeri''
Wheeler, 1919 —
Borneo
Borneo () is the List of islands by area, third-largest island in the world, with an area of , and population of 23,053,723 (2020 national censuses). Situated at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, it is one of the Greater Sunda ...
*''
Myrmoteras barbouri''
Creighton, 1930 —
Java
Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...
*''
Myrmoteras baslerorum''
Agosti, 1992
*''
Myrmoteras binghamii''
Forel, 1893 —
Burma
Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and ha ...
*''
Myrmoteras brachygnathum''
Moffett, 1985
*''
Myrmoteras brigitteae''
Agosti, 1992
*''
Myrmoteras ceylonicum''
Gregg, 1957 —
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
*''
Myrmoteras chondrogastrum''
Moffett, 1985
*''
Myrmoteras concolor''
Bui, Eguchi & Yamane, 2013
*''
Myrmoteras cuneonodum''
Xu, 1998
*''
Myrmoteras danieli''
Agosti, 1992
*''
Myrmoteras diastematum''
Moffett, 1985
*''
Myrmoteras donisthorpei''
Wheeler, 1916 — Borneo
*''
Myrmoteras elfeorum''
Agosti, 1992
*''
Myrmoteras estrudae''
Agosti, 1992
*''
Myrmoteras glabrum''
Zettel & Sorger, 2011
*''
Myrmoteras indicum''
Moffett, 1985
*''
Myrmoteras insulcatum''
Moffett, 1985
*''
Myrmoteras iriodum''
Moffett, 1985
*''
Myrmoteras ivani''
Agosti, 1992
*''
Myrmoteras jacquelinae''
Agosti, 1992
*''
Myrmoteras jaitrongi''
Bui, Eguchi & Yamane, 2013
*''
Myrmoteras karnyi''
Gregg, 1954
*''
Myrmoteras marianneae''
Agosti, 1992
*''
Myrmoteras maudeae''
Agosti, 1992
*''
Myrmoteras mcarthuri''
Zettel & Sorger, 2011
*''
Myrmoteras mjoebergi''
Creighton, 1930 — Borneo
*''
Myrmoteras morowali''
Moffett, 1985
*''
Myrmoteras namphuong''
Bui, Eguchi & Yamane, 2013
*''
Myrmoteras nicoletteae''
Agosti, 1992
*''
Myrmoteras opalinum''
Bui, Eguchi & Yamane, 2013
*''
Myrmoteras scabrum''
Moffett, 1985
*''
Myrmoteras susanneae''
Agosti, 1992
*''
Myrmoteras tomimasai''
Bui, Eguchi & Yamane, 2013
*''
Myrmoteras tonboli''
Agosti, 1992
*''
Myrmoteras toro''
Moffett, 1985
*''
Myrmoteras williamsi''
Wheeler, 1919 —
Philippines
The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
*''
Myrmoteras wolasi''
Moffett, 1985
References
External links
Formicinae
Ant genera
{{formicinae-stub