''Stereomyrmex'' 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 ...

myrmicine Myrmicinae is a subfamily 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 ...

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. Two of the described species are known from only a single worker, making this one of the rarest groups of ants in the world.Australian Ants Online
Genus ''Stereomyrmex''
/ref>

Biology

The single specimen of ''S. anderseni'' was caught in a pitfall trap, and nothing is known about its biology.

Systematics

''Stereomyrmex'' is probably the sister taxon to '' Romblonella''. Closely related genera are ''

Leptothorax ''Leptothorax'' is a genus of small ants with mainly Holarctic distributions. The genus is notable for its widespread social parasitism, i.e. they are dependent on the help of workers from other ant species during a part or the whole of their lif ...

'' and ''

Cardiocondyla ''Cardiocondyla'' is an Old World genus of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae. Distribution Approximately 70 species are currently recognized as belonging to this genus, most of which are distributed in the Old World tropics and subtropics, but a ...

''.

Description

''Stereomyrmex dispar'' is 3.2 mm long and black, with yellowish brown mandibles, antennae, legs and terminal segments of gaster. ''S. anderseni'' is only 2 mm long, has a very different

petiolar In botany, the petiole () is the stalk that attaches the leaf blade to the stem. It is able to twist the leaf to face the sun, producing a characteristic foliage arrangement (spacing of blades), and also optimizing its exposure to sunlight. Outg ...

and postpetiolar structure and is paler in color.

Distribution

''Stereomyrmex dispar'' has been described from a single worker, taken in 1933 on

Bellona Island Bellona Island (indigenous name Mungiki) is an island within Rennell and Bellona Province, in Solomon Islands. Its length is about and its average width . Its area is about . It is almost entirely surrounded by high cliffs, consisting primaril ...

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

; no other specimen has since been found, and it is unlikely that the species is truly

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 Bellona. ''S. anderseni'' is known from a single worker as well. ''S. horni'' was collected under rocks in

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, ...

.Emery, Carlo (1901): Ameisen gesammelt in Ceylon von Dr. W. Horn 1899. ''Deutsche Entomologische Zeitschrift'' 1901: 113-122
PDF
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Names

The genus was originally named in honor of Maurice Willows Jr., who collected the type specimen of ''S. dispar''.Wheeler, William M. (1934): Formicidae of the Templeton Crocker Expedition, 1933. ''Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences'' 21(4): 173-181
PDF
/ref> ''S. anderseni'' was collected by A.N. Andersen. ''S. horni'' was collected by W. Horn.

Species

* '' Stereomyrmex anderseni'' (Taylor, 1991) —

King Edward River The King Edward River is a river in the Kimberley (Western Australia), Kimberley region of Western Australia. The headwaters of the river rise below Poonjurra Hill and flows in a northerly direction almost parallel with the Kalumburu, Western ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

* '' Stereomyrmex dispar'' (Wheeler, 1934) — Bellona, Solomon Islands * '' Stereomyrmex horni'' Emery, 1901 — Sri Lanka

References

External links

* Myrmicinae Ant genera Hymenoptera of Asia Hymenoptera of Australia {{myrmicinae-stub