Acanthognathus | |
---|---|
Acanthognathus teledectus | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Arthropoda |
Class: | Insecta |
Order: | Hymenoptera |
Family: | Formicidae |
Subfamily: | Myrmicinae |
Tribe: | Dacetini |
Genus: | Acanthognathus Mayr, 1887[1] |
Type species | |
Acanthognathus ocellatus |
|
Species | |
7, see text |
Acanthognathus is a genus of ants that are found in tropical Central and South America.[2] They are reddish in colour and have long trap-jaws that can be compared to those of Odontomachus. These predatory ants live in small colonies that typically consist of less than 30 adults.[2]
Mistakenly, the name Acanthognathus was re-used by German ichthyologist G. Duncker in 1912 for a genus of Syngnathid fish,[3] but that is invalid as it is a junior homonym.[4] These are now placed in either Dunckerocampus or Doryrhamphus, as the former sometimes is considered a subgenus of the latter.[5][6] To further confuse, a genus of Nemesiid spiders, Acanthogonatus, is frequently misspelled Acanthognathus.