Aphaenogaster

Aphaenogaster
Temporal range: Lutetian - Recent
A. swammerdami worker
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Tribe: Stenammini
Genus: Aphaenogaster
Mayr, 1853
Type species
Aphaenogaster sardoa
Mayr, 1853
Diversity[1]
200 species
Synonyms
  • Deromyrma Forel, 1913
  • Nystalomyrma Wheeler, 1916

Aphaenogaster is a genus of myrmicine ants. About 200 species have been described, including 18 fossil species.[1] They occur worldwide except from South America south of Colombia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Antarctica.[2]

They are often confused with Pheidole or Pheidologeton. These two have major and minor workers, while Aphaenogaster has only a single worker caste. Pheidole has three-segmented clubs on its antennae, while Aphaenogaster has four segments and a larger body size. Pheidologeton has 11-segmented antennae, while the antennae in Aphaenogaster are 12-segmented.[3]

In Australia, they often build dense, conspicuous nests.[4] Nest entrances are generally funnel-shaped with diameters up to 4 cm, which resulted in the common name funnel ants. These nests can be a serious problem for golfers or on pastures and unsealed airstrips, because the fragile surface easily collapses under pressure.[3] Where it occurs, Aphaenogaster bioturbation is an important soil and landscape process.[4]

Aphaenogaster probably gets most of its food from tended aphids on the roots of plants, which explains that they are rarely seen on the surface. The funnel-shaped openings could play a role in trapping arthropods, which are also eaten.[3]

Species

Aphaenogaster dlusskyana worker in amber
Aphaenogaster gonacantha worker
A. lepida worker and male
  • A. aktaci Kiran & Tezcan, 2008
  • †A. amphioceanica De Andrade, 1995[5]
  • A. angulata Viehmeyer, 1922
  • A. annandalei Mukerjee, 1930
  • †A. antiqua Dlussky & Perkovsky, 2002
  • A. araneoides Emery, 1890
  • †A. archaica (Meunier, 1915)
  • A. ashmeadi (Emery, 1895)
  • A. atlantis Santschi, 1929
  • †A. avita Fujiyama, 1970[6]
  • A. balcanica (Emery, 1898)
  • A. balcanicoides Boer, 2013
  • A. baogong Terayama, 2009
  • A. barbara Shattuck, 2008
  • A. barbigula Wheeler, 1916
  • A. baronii Cagniant, 1988
  • A. beccarii Emery, 1887
  • A. beesoni Donisthorpe, 1933
  • A. boulderensis Smith, 1941
  • A. burri (Donisthorpe, 1950)
  • A. caeciliae Viehmeyer, 1922
  • A. campana Emery, 1878
  • A. cardenai Espadaler, 1981
  • A. carolinensis Wheeler, 1915
  • A. cavernicola Donisthorpe, 1938
  • A. cecconii Emery, 1894
  • A. concolor Watanabe & Yamane, 1999
  • A. cristata (Forel, 1902)
  • A. crocea André, 1881
  • A. curiosa Santschi, 1933
  • A. dejeani Cagniant, 1982
  • A. depilis Santschi, 1911
  • A. depressa Bolton, 1995
  • †A. dlusskyana Radchenko & Perkovsky, 2016[2]
  • A. dlusskyi Radchenko & Arakelian, 1991
  • A. donann Watanabe & Yamane, 1999
  • †A. donisthorpei Carpenter, 1930[7]
  • A. dromedaria (Emery, 1900)
  • A. dulciniae Emery, 1924
  • †A. dumetora (Lin, 1982)
  • A. edentula Watanabe & Yamane, 1999
  • A. epirotes (Emery, 1895)
  • A. erabu Nishizono & Yamane, 1990
  • A. espadaleri Cagniant, 1984
  • A. exasperata Wheeler, 1921
  • A. fabulosa Arnol'di, 1968
  • A. fallax Cagniant, 1992
  • A. famelica (Smith, 1874)
  • A. faureli Cagniant, 1969
  • A. feae Emery, 1889
  • A. fengbo Terayama, 2009
  • A. festae Emery, 1915
  • A. finzii Müller, 1921
  • A. flemingi Smith, 1928
  • A. floridana Smith, 1941
  • A. foreli Cagniant, 1996
  • A. friederichsi Forel, 1918
  • A. fulva Roger, 1863
  • A. geei Wheeler, 1921
  • A. gemella (Roger, 1862)
  • A. georgica Arnol'di, 1968
  • A. gibbosa (Latreille, 1798)
  • A. gonacantha (Emery, 1899)
  • A. gracillima Watanabe & Yamane, 1999
  • A. graeca Schulz, 1994
  • A. haarlovi Collingwood, 1961
  • A. hesperia Santschi, 1911
  • A. holtzi (Emery, 1898)
  • A. honduriana Mann, 1922
  • A. huachucana Creighton, 1934
  • A. hunanensis Wu & Wang, 1992
  • A. iberica Emery, 1908
  • A. incurviclypea Wang & Zheng, 1997
  • A. inermita Bolton, 1995
  • A. iranica Kiran & Alipanah, 2013
  • A. irrigua Watanabe & Yamane, 1999
  • A. isekram Bernard, 1977
  • A. italica Bondroit, 1918
  • A. januschevi Arnol'di, 1976
  • A. japonica Forel, 1911
  • A. karpathica Boer, 2013
  • A. kervillei Forel, 1910
  • A. kimberleyensis Shattuck, 2008
  • A. koniari Cagniant & Galkowski, 2013
  • A. kumejimana Watanabe & Yamane, 1999
  • A. kurdica Ruzsky, 1905
  • A. laevior Emery, 1887
  • A. lamellidens Mayr, 1886
  • †A. lapidescens Zhang, 1989
  • A. ledouxi Tohmé, 1969
  • A. lepida Wheeler, 1930
  • A. lesbica Forel, 1913
  • A. leveillei Emery, 1881
  • †A.? longaeva (Scudder, 1877)[8][7]
  • A. longiceps (Smith, 1858)
  • A. loriai (Emery, 1897)
  • A. lustrans Smith, 1961
  • A. luteipes Watanabe & Yamane, 1999
  • †A. maculata Théobald, 1937
  • A. maculifrons Kiran & Tezcan, 2008
  • †A. maculipes Théobald, 1937
  • A. mariae Forel, 1886
  • A. mauritanica Dalla Torre, 1893
  • †A. mayri Carpenter, 1930[7]
  • A. mediterrae Shattuck, 2008
  • A. megommata Smith, 1963
  • A. melitensis Santschi, 1933
  • †A. mersa Wheeler, 1915
  • A. messoroides Dlussky, Soyunov & Zabelin, 1990
  • A. mexicana (Pergande, 1896)
  • A. miamiana Wheeler, 1932
  • A. miniata Cagniant, 1990
  • A. minutula Watanabe & Yamane, 1999
  • A. muelleriana Wolf, 1915
  • A. mutica Pergande, 1896
  • A. nadigi Santschi, 1923
  • A. obsidiana (Mayr, 1861)
  • A. occidentalis (Emery, 1895)
  • †A. oligocenica Wheeler, 1915
  • A. opposita (Say, 1836)
  • A. osimensis Teranishi, 1940
  • A. ovaticeps (Emery, 1898)
  • A. pallescens Walker, 1871
  • A. pallida (Nylander, 1849)
  • †A. paludosa Zhang, 1989
  • †A. pannonica Bachmayer, 1960
  • A. patruelis Forel, 1886
  • A. perplexa Smith, 1961
  • A. phalangium Emery, 1890
  • A. phillipsi Wheeler & Mann, 1916
  • A. picea (Wheeler, 1908)
  • A. picena Baroni Urbani, 1971
  • A. polyodonta Zhou, 2001
  • A. poultoni Crawley, 1922
  • A. praedo Emery, 1908
  • A. praenoda Santschi, 1933
  • †A. praerelicta De Andrade, 1995[5]
  • A. projectens Donisthorpe, 1947
  • A. pumilopuncta Zhou, 2001
  • A. punctaticeps MacKay, 1989
  • A. pythia Forel, 1915
  • A. quadrispina Emery, 1911
  • A. radchenkoi Kiran & Tezcan, 2008
  • A. reichelae Shattuck, 2008
  • A. relicta Wheeler & Mann, 1914
  • A. rhaphidiiceps (Mayr, 1877)
  • A. rifensis Cagniant, 1994
  • A. rothneyi (Forel, 1902)
  • A. rudis Enzmann, 1947
  • A. rugosoferruginea Forel, 1889
  • A. rugulosa Watanabe & Yamane, 1999
  • A. rupestris Forel, 1909
  • A. sagei (Forel, 1902)
  • A. saharensis Bernard, 1953
  • A. sangiorgii (Emery, 1901)
  • A. sardoa Mayr, 1853
  • A. schmidti Karavaiev, 1912
  • A. schurri (Forel, 1902)
  • A. semipolita (Nylander, 1856)
  • A. senilis Mayr, 1853
  • †A. shanwangensis (Hong, 1984)
  • A. sicardi Cagniant, 1990
  • A. sicula Emery, 1908
  • A. simonellii Emery, 1894
  • A. smythiesii (Forel, 1902)
  • †A. sommerfeldti Mayr, 1868
  • A. spinosa Emery, 1878
  • A. splendida (Roger, 1859)
  • A. sporadis Santschi, 1933
  • A. striativentris Forel, 1895
  • A. strioloides Forel, 1890
  • A. subcostata Viehmeyer, 1922
  • A. subexaperata Zhou, 2001
  • A. subterranea (Latreille, 1798)
  • A. subterraneoides Emery, 1881
  • A. swammerdami Forel, 1886
  • A. syriaca Emery, 1908
  • A. takahashii Wheeler, 1930
  • A. tennesseensis (Mayr, 1862)
  • A. testaceopilosa (Lucas, 1849)
  • A. texana Wheeler, 1915
  • A. theryi Santschi, 1923
  • A. tibetana Donisthorpe, 1929
  • A. tinauti Cagniant, 1992
  • A. tipuna Forel, 1913
  • A. tokarainsulana Watanabe & Yamane, 1999
  • A. torossiani Cagniant, 1988
  • A. treatae Forel, 1886
  • A. turkestanica Arnol'di, 1976
  • A. uinta Wheeler, 1917
  • A. ujhelyii Szabó, 1910
  • A. umphreyi Deyrup & Davis, 1998
  • A. wangtian Terayama, 2009
  • A. wangye Terayama, 2009
  • A. weigoldi Viehmeyer, 1922
  • A. weulersseae Cagniant, 1989
  • A. wilsoni Cagniant, 1988
  • A. xuatian Terayama, 2009

References

  1. 1 2 Bolton, B. (2014). "Aphaenogaster". AntCat. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
  2. 1 2 Radchenko, A. G.; Perkovsky, E. E. (2016). "The ant Aphaenogaster dlusskyana sp. nov. (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from the Sakhalin amber—the earliest described species of an extant genus of Myrmicinae". Paleontological Journal. 50 (9): 936–946. doi:10.1134/S0031030116090136.
  3. 1 2 3 Genus Aphaenogaster Archived October 9, 2009, at the Wayback Machine.
  4. 1 2 Richards, P.J. (2009) Aphaenogaster ants as bioturbators: impacts on soil and slope processes. Earth-Science Reviews 96: 92-106.
  5. 1 2 De Andrade, M. L. (1995). "The ant genus Aphaenogaster in Dominican and Mexican amber (Amber Collection Stuttgart: Hymenoptera, Formicidae. IX: Pheidolini)". Stuttgarter Beitrage zur Naturkunde (B). 223: 1–11.
  6. ↑ Fujiyama, I. (1970). "Fossil insects from the Chojabaru Formation, Iki Island, Japan". Memoires of the Natural Science Museum, Tokyo. 3: 65–74.
  7. 1 2 3 Carpenter, F. M. (1930). "The fossil ants of North America." (PDF). Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology. 70: 1–66.
  8. ↑ Scudder, S. H. (1890). "The Tertiary insects of North America.". United States Geological Survey of the Territories, Washington: 615.
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