DOCSLIB.ORG

Phylogeny of the Ants: Diversification in the Age of Angiosperms

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Phylogeny of the Ants: Diversification in the Age of Angiosperms REPORTS 22. Y. Nonaka et al., Eur. J. Biochem. 229, 249 (1995). 28. N. Gompel, B. Prud’homme, P. J. Wittkopp, V. Kassner, Supporting Online Material 23. H. E. Bulow, R. Bernhardt, Eur. J. Biochem. 269, 3838 S. B. Carroll, Nature 433, 481 (2005). www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/312/5770/97/DC1 (2002). 29. J. Piatigorsky, Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 842, 7 (1998). Materials and Methods 24. M. Weisbart, J. H. Youson, J. Steroid Biochem. 8, 1249 30. M. J. Ryan, Science 281, 1999 (1998). Figs. S1 and S7 (1977). 31. We thank S. Sower and S. Kavanaugh for agnathan Tables S1 to S4 25. Y. Li, K. Suino, J. Daugherty, H. E. Xu, Mol. Cell 19, 367 plasma and explant cultures, D. Anderson and References and Notes (2005). B. Kolaczkowski for technical expertise, and P. Phillips for 26. J. M. Smith, Nature 225, 563 (1970). manuscript comments. Supported by NSF-IOB-0546906, 27. J. W. Thornton, E. Need, D. Crews, Science 301, 1714 NIH-F32-GM074398, NSF IGERT DGE-0504627, and a 2 December 2005; accepted 13 February 2006 (2003). Sloan Research Fellowship to J.W.T. 10.1126/science.1123348 eroponerinae, Paraponerinae, Ponerinae, and Phylogeny of the Ants: Diversification Proceratiinae; our results exclude Ectatomminae and Heteroponerinae but add Agroecomyrmecinae. in the Age of Angiosperms The latter is represented by a single extant species, Tatuidris tatusia, and two fossil genera, and its Corrie S. Moreau,1* Charles D. Bell,2 Roger Vila,1 S. Bruce Archibald,1 Naomi E. Pierce1 placement within the poneroid clade is entirely novel. Both Ectatomminae and Heteroponerinae We present a large-scale molecular phylogeny of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), based on nested within the formicoid clade. Although the 4.5 kilobases of sequence data from six gene regions extracted from 139 of the 288 described poneroid clade received less support in the extant genera, representing 19 of the 20 subfamilies. All but two subfamilies are recovered as maximum likelihood and maximum parsimony monophyletic. Divergence time estimates calibrated by minimum age constraints from 43 fossils analyses (Table 1), it was strongly supported in indicate that most of the subfamilies representing extant ants arose much earlier than previously the Bayesian analysis (100% bpp). It seems proposed but only began to diversify during the Late Cretaceous to Early Eocene. This period likely that the five included subfamilies form also witnessed the rise of angiosperms and most herbivorous insects. a monophyletic group or, alternatively, a basal polytomy, but in either case they remain outside nts are a ubiquitous and dominant fea- subfamily (Leptanillinae) and sister to all other both the leptanilloid and the formicoid clades. ture of the terrestrial landscape, playing ants; the poneroid clade, containing 5 sub- The inclusion of Heteroponerinae within the A key roles in symbiotic interactions, soil families (Agroecomyrmecinae, Amblyoponinae, formicoid clade is also unexpected. As sug- aeration, and nutrient cycling. They have a rich Paraponerinae, Ponerinae, and Proceratiinae); gested by their name, heteroponerines have fossil record (1), yet the evolutionary history of and the formicoid clade, containing the remain- historically been placed in the poneromorph the È11,800 described modern species remains ing 13 subfamilies sampled in this study. All clade. Moreover, Ectatomminae, until recently poorly resolved. three clades were supported by 100% Bayesian also considered poneromorphs, appear to be Bolton_s(1) recent revision of ants (Hymenop- posterior probability (bpp) support, but only the closely related to Heteroponerinae. These find- tera: Formicidae) recognized 288 genera in 21 formicoid and leptanilloid clades were well ings, combined with the lack of stability for the Esubsequently reduced to 20 (2, 3)^ subfamilies. supported in the maximum likelihood analyses Bponeromorphs[ observed in morphological Several phylogenies have been proposed based EQ94% maximum likelihood bootstrap (ml bs)^. analyses (4–7), underscore the extent to which primarily on morphological characters, but Of the 19 subfamilies investigated here, 14 our understanding of ancestral ant morphology these reflect disagreement about the positions were recovered as monophyletic with strong sup- and behavior must be revised. of major lineages (fig. S2) (4–7). Recent mo- port, and none of the three monotypic taxa, each The phylogenetic position of Aneuretus, today lecular analyses have included only a moderate represented by a single extant species (Agro- restricted to Sri Lanka, has been hypothesized number of taxa and recovered only weak sup- ecomyrmecinae, Aneuretinae, and Paraponerinae), to be basal either to the Dolichoderinae or to port for most clades (8, 9), although more com- nested within another lineage, validating their the Dolichoderinae þ Formicinae (12, 13). We prehensive studies are under way (10). status as separate subfamilies. However, the recover Aneuretus as basal to the Dolichoderinae, To evaluate competing phylogenetic hypothe- three sampled genera of Cerapachyinae were with both groups separated from Formicinae, ses, we analyzed 4.5 kb of sequence data (Fig. 1) paraphyletic in all analyses. The eight genera implying that the sting has been reduced in- from portions of five nuclear genes and one of Amblyoponinae grouped together in a clade dependently at least twice in the ants (Dolicho- mitochondrial gene from 139 ant genera and that lacked support, although the monophyly derinae and Formicinae). six Aculeatea Hymenoptera outgroups (n 0 149 of Amblyoponinae genera was well supported The ant fossil record is extensive, with more specimens) representing 19 of the 20 currently in an earlier molecular study (2). than 60 extant and 100 extinct genera. The oldest recognized extant subfamilies. The only ant The monophyly of the Leptanillinae was reliably dated fossils are È100 million years (My) subfamily not included was Aenictogitoninae, a strongly supported (100% bpp and ml bs), and old, from Early Cretaceous French and Bur- rare group known only from males collected at its basal position was recovered in all analyses. mese ambers (14, 15). These include both Ge- lights in equatorial Africa. The monophyly of Ward (6) noted that a basal position of Leptanil- rontoformica and Burmomyrma (Aneuretinae), the Formicidae itself was strongly supported in la within the poneroid group implies that tergo- with features typical of modern Bcrown group[ all analyses (Table 1). sternal fusion of abdominal segments III and IV ants, as well as Sphecomyrminae, with features Analyses with several methods (11)re- in the worker caste occurred early in ant evolu- typical of basal Bstem group[ ants. Although no sulted in a well-resolved phylogeny that tion and was lost secondarily in many lines. Our older sphecomyrmines are known, the presence of divided the family into three groups: the lep- results indicate that these characters are indeed stem and crown group ants in these roughly coeval tanilloid clade, a basal lineage containing 1 labile and homoplasious. Although the basal po- ambers implies an earlier history of Formicidae. sition of Leptanillinae was suggested in other The status of the Armaniinae/-idae as stem group 1 Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, 26 molecular studies (2, 10), previous phylogenetic ants is controversial (1, 3, 15), but if they are Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. 2School of Computational Science, Florida State University, 150-R hypotheses based on morphology had failed to viewed as sister to Formicidae, this also implies Dirac Science Library, Tallahassee, FL 32306–4120, USA. place it in a basal position among extant ants. an extension of the minimum age of ants to the *To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: Bolton (1) proposed a Bponeromorph[ clade, maximum age of Armaniinae/-idae, which has [email protected] including Amblyoponinae, Ectatomminae, Het- been estimated to be È125 My (16). www.sciencemag.org SCIENCE VOL 312 7 APRIL 2006 101 REPORTS Fig. 1. Phylogenetic chronogram of ants (A). Proportional lineages-through- (respective time scales are indicated above and below topology), and the time (LTT) plot for ants and distribution of clade ages for crown group ants overlap between these two regions corresponds to the greatest period of ant (B). Bayesian posterior probability clade support of 100% is indicated by diversification. The LTT plot for ants shows the number of lineages present (as thick lines on topology. Fossil calibration points are indicated on topology. a proportion of terminals) at sequential time points. The shaded area (green) Shaded areas (green) delineate the rise of angiosperm dominance depend- on the LTT plot and histogram likewise correspond to the overlapping region ing on whether minimum or maximum ages are used for fossil calibrations of the origin of angiosperm-dominated forests [(A) and (B)]. 102 7 APRIL 2006 VOL 312 SCIENCE www.sciencemag.org REPORTS Table 1. Clade support for phylogenetic analyses and divergence time estimates. Support for Paleocene and the Late Cretaceous, 60 to 100 Ma clades recovered under Bayesian posterior probabilities, maximum likelihood bootstrap, and (21–24). The proliferation of angiosperms is maximum parsimony bootstrap (bpp/ml bs/mp bs). Divergence time estimations T1.96 SD of the thought to have driven the diversification of ma- bootstrapped samples. *, not applicable because only one taxon represents clade or outgroup; – , jor herbivorous groups such as beetles (25, 26) support
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Newly Discovered Sister Lineage Sheds Light on Early Ant Evolution
    Newly discovered sister lineage sheds light on early ant evolution Christian Rabeling†‡§, Jeremy M. Brown†¶, and Manfred Verhaagh‡ †Section of Integrative Biology, and ¶Center for Computational Biology and Bioinformatics, University of Texas, 1 University Station C0930, Austin, TX 78712; and ‡Staatliches Museum fu¨r Naturkunde Karlsruhe, Erbprinzenstr. 13, D-76133 Karlsruhe, Germany Edited by Bert Ho¨lldobler, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, and approved August 4, 2008 (received for review June 27, 2008) Ants are the world’s most conspicuous and important eusocial insects and their diversity, abundance, and extreme behavioral specializations make them a model system for several disciplines within the biological sciences. Here, we report the discovery of a new ant that appears to represent the sister lineage to all extant ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). The phylogenetic position of this cryptic predator from the soils of the Amazon rainforest was inferred from several nuclear genes, sequenced from a single leg. Martialis heureka (gen. et sp. nov.) also constitutes the sole representative of a new, morphologically distinct subfamily of ants, the Martialinae (subfam. nov.). Our analyses have reduced the likelihood of long-branch attraction artifacts that have trou- bled previous phylogenetic studies of early-diverging ants and therefore solidify the emerging view that the most basal extant ant lineages are cryptic, hypogaeic foragers. On the basis of morpho- logical and phylogenetic evidence we suggest that these special- EVOLUTION ized subterranean predators are the sole surviving representatives of a highly divergent lineage that arose near the dawn of ant diversification and have persisted in ecologically stable environ- ments like tropical soils over great spans of time.
    [Show full text]
  • Ant Type Specimens (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) Deposited in the Museu De Zoologia Da Universidade De São Paulo, Brazil
    Volume 48(11):75-88, 2008 Catalogue of “poneromorph” ant type specimens (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) deposited in the Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil Cristiane P. Scott-Santos Flávia A. Esteves Carlos Roberto F. Brandão AbsTracT The present catalogue lists the type specimes of 112 nominal “poneromorph” ant species housed in the Formicidae collection of the Hymenoptera laboratory, Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo (MZSP). The catalogue includes types of Amblyoponinae, Ectatomminae, Heteroponerinae, Ponerinae, and Proceratiinae, that is, all poneromorph (sensu Bolton, 2003) but for the monotypic Paraponerinae, of which the collection bears no type specimens. We present here information on type categories (holotype, paratype, syntype, lectotype, and paralectotype), label data, nomenclatural changes since the original description and type specimens conservation status. At last we present indexes for the taxa names presented. Keywords: Hymenoptera, ants, types, MZSP, Amblyoponinae, Ectatomminae, Heteroponerinae, Ponerinae, Proceratiinae. INTRODucTION The purpose of the present catalogue is to pro- vide updated information on poneromorph type The Formicidae collection housed in the Hy- specimes of the MZSP collection, following Article menoptera laboratory of the Museu de Zoologia da 72 F.4 of the International Code for Zoological No- Universidade de São Paulo (MZSP) is under con- menclature (1999). struction since the end of the 19th century and is to- The poneromorph group of ants, as defined by day one of the largest and more representative ant col- Bolton (2003), is distributed worldwide and consists lections in and for the Neotropical region, as regard of circa 1,700 described species in 49 genera of six to the number of specimens, including types, and subfamilies: Amblyoponinae, Ectatomminae, Hetero- localities (Brandão, 2000).
    [Show full text]
  • Digging Deeper Into the Ecology of Subterranean Ants: Diversity and Niche Partitioning Across Two Continents
    diversity Article Digging Deeper into the Ecology of Subterranean Ants: Diversity and Niche Partitioning across Two Continents Mickal Houadria * and Florian Menzel Institute of Organismic and Molecular Evolution, Johannes-Gutenberg-University Mainz, Hanns-Dieter-Hüsch-Weg 15, 55128 Mainz, Germany; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected] Abstract: Soil fauna is generally understudied compared to above-ground arthropods, and ants are no exception. Here, we compared a primary and a secondary forest each on two continents using four different sampling methods. Winkler sampling, pitfalls, and four types of above- and below-ground baits (dead, crushed insects; melezitose; living termites; living mealworms/grasshoppers) were applied on four plots (4 × 4 grid points) on each site. Although less diverse than Winkler samples and pitfalls, subterranean baits provided a remarkable ant community. Our baiting system provided a large dataset to systematically quantify strata and dietary specialisation in tropical rainforest ants. Compared to above-ground baits, 10–28% of the species at subterranean baits were overall more common (or unique to) below ground, indicating a fauna that was truly specialised to this stratum. Species turnover was particularly high in the primary forests, both concerning above-ground and subterranean baits and between grid points within a site. This suggests that secondary forests are more impoverished, especially concerning their subterranean fauna. Although subterranean ants rarely displayed specific preferences for a bait type, they were in general more specialised than above-ground ants; this was true for entire communities, but also for the same species if they foraged in both strata. Citation: Houadria, M.; Menzel, F.
    [Show full text]
  • Ant Venoms. Current Opinion in Allergy and Clinical
    CE: Namrta; ACI/5923; Total nos of Pages: 5; ACI 5923 Ant venoms Donald R. Hoffman Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, Purpose of review Greenville, North Carolina, USA The review summarizes knowledge about ants that are known to sting humans and their Correspondence to Donald R. Hoffman, PhD, venoms. Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, Recent findings 600 Moye Blvd, Greenville, NC 27834, USA Fire ants and Chinese needle ants are showing additional spread of range. Fire ants are Tel: +1 252 744 2807; e-mail: [email protected] now important in much of Asia. Venom allergens have been characterized and Current Opinion in Allergy and Clinical studied for fire ants and jack jumper ants. The first studies of Pachycondyla venoms Immunology 2010, 10:000–000 have been reported, and a major allergen is Pac c 3, related to Sol i 3 from fire ants. There are very limited data available for other ant groups. Summary Ants share some common proteins in venoms, but each group appears to have a number of possibly unique components. Further proteomic studies should expand and clarify our knowledge of these fascinating animals. Keywords ant, fire ant, jack jumper ant, phospholipase, sting, venom Curr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol 10:000–000 ß 2010 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins 1528-4050 east [4] and P. sennaarensis in the middle east [5]. These Introduction two species are commonly referred to as Chinese needle Ants are among the most biodiverse organisms on earth. ants and samsum ants.
    [Show full text]
  • Download PDF File (177KB)
    Myrmecological News 19 61-64 Vienna, January 2014 A novel intramandibular gland in the ant Tatuidris tatusia (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Johan BILLEN & Thibaut DELSINNE Abstract The mandibles of Tatuidris tatusia workers are completely filled with glandular cells that represent a novel kind of intra- mandibular gland that has not been found in ants so far. Whereas the known intramandibular glands in ants are either epi- thelial glands of class-1, or scattered class-3 cells that open through equally scattered pores on the mandibular surface, the ducts of the numerous class-3 secretory cells of Tatuidris all converge to open through a conspicuous sieve plate at the proximal ventral side near the inner margin of each mandible. Key words: Exocrine glands, mandibles, histology, Agroecomyrmecinae. Myrmecol. News 19: 61-64 (online 16 August 2013) ISSN 1994-4136 (print), ISSN 1997-3500 (online) Received 31 May 2013; revision received 5 July 2013; accepted 16 July 2013 Subject Editor: Alexander S. Mikheyev Johan Billen (contact author), Zoological Institute, University of Leuven, Naamsestraat 59, box 2466, B-3000 Leuven, Belgium. E-mail: [email protected] Thibaut Delsinne, Biological Assessment Section, Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Rue Vautier 29, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium. E-mail: [email protected] Introduction Ants are well known as walking glandular factories, with that T. tatusia is a top predator of the leaf-litter food web an impressive overall variety of 75 glands recorded so far (JACQUEMIN & al. in press). We took advantage of the for the family (BILLEN 2009a). The glands are not only availability of two live specimens to carry out a first study found in the head, thorax and abdomen, but also occur in of the internal morphology in the Agroecomyrmecinae.
    [Show full text]
  • Cytogenetic Studies of the Neotropical Ant Genus Ectatomma (Formicidae: Ectatomminae: Ectatommini) by Luísa Antônia Campos Barros1; Cléa S.F
    555 Cytogenetic Studies of the Neotropical Ant Genus Ectatomma (Formicidae: Ectatomminae: Ectatommini) by Luísa Antônia Campos Barros1; Cléa S.F. Mariano2; Davileide de Sousa Borges2; Silvia G. Pompolo1 & Jacques H.C. Delabie2* AbsTRacT The ant genus Ectatomma (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) is typically Neo- tropical and is the only genus of the subfamily Ectatomminae for which no cytogenetic data previously existed. Cytogenetic studies of five species of the Ectatomma genus are reported here. Colonies were collected at Viçosa (Minas Gerais, Brazil), Ilhéus and Manoel Vitorino (Bahia, Brazil). In this genus, the chromosome number ranged from 2n=36 to 46: Ectatomma brunneum Smith, 2n=44 (karyotype formula: 2K=22M + 22A); Ectatomma muticum Mayr, n=20 (K=16M + 4A); Ectatomma permagnum Forel, 2n=46 (2K=20M + 26A); Ectatomma tuberculatum Olivier, 2n=36 (2K=30M + 6A), while the observed metaphases of Ectatomma edentatum Roger, with 2n=46, did not allow a precise karyotype definition. The variations presented by the karyotypes of these ants can be attributed to the increase in the number of acrocentric chromosomes, probably because of rearrangements such as centric fission. This study is important for the understanding of evolutionary processes in the Ectatomminae subfamily. Key-words: chromosome, karyotype, Minimum Interaction Theory INTRODUCTION Many animal studies have proven that cytogenetics is a useful tool for the biological understanding of a species, especially in evolutionary, taxonomic, phylogenetic and speciation mechanism studies, because chromosome al- terations are normally significant for species evolution (White 1973; King 1Laboratório de Citogenética de Insetos. Departamento de Biologia Geral, Universidade Federal de Viçosa. 36570-000Viçosa-MG, Brazil. [email protected], [email protected] 2U.P.A.
    [Show full text]
  • Sistemática Y Ecología De Las Hormigas Predadoras (Formicidae: Ponerinae) De La Argentina
    UNIVERSIDAD DE BUENOS AIRES Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales Sistemática y ecología de las hormigas predadoras (Formicidae: Ponerinae) de la Argentina Tesis presentada para optar al título de Doctor de la Universidad de Buenos Aires en el área CIENCIAS BIOLÓGICAS PRISCILA ELENA HANISCH Directores de tesis: Dr. Andrew Suarez y Dr. Pablo L. Tubaro Consejero de estudios: Dr. Daniel Roccatagliata Lugar de trabajo: División de Ornitología, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia” Buenos Aires, Marzo 2018 Fecha de defensa: 27 de Marzo de 2018 Sistemática y ecología de las hormigas predadoras (Formicidae: Ponerinae) de la Argentina Resumen Las hormigas son uno de los grupos de insectos más abundantes en los ecosistemas terrestres, siendo sus actividades, muy importantes para el ecosistema. En esta tesis se estudiaron de forma integral la sistemática y ecología de una subfamilia de hormigas, las ponerinas. Esta subfamilia predomina en regiones tropicales y neotropicales, estando presente en Argentina desde el norte hasta la provincia de Buenos Aires. Se utilizó un enfoque integrador, combinando análisis genéticos con morfológicos para estudiar su diversidad, en combinación con estudios ecológicos y comportamentales para estudiar la dominancia, estructura de la comunidad y posición trófica de las Ponerinas. Los resultados sugieren que la diversidad es más alta de lo que se creía, tanto por que se encontraron nuevos registros durante la colecta de nuevo material, como porque nuestros análisis sugieren la presencia de especies crípticas. Adicionalmente, demostramos que en el PN Iguazú, dos ponerinas: Dinoponera australis y Pachycondyla striata son componentes dominantes en la comunidad de hormigas. Análisis de isótopos estables revelaron que la mayoría de las Ponerinas ocupan niveles tróficos altos, con excepción de algunas especies arborícolas del género Neoponera que dependerían de néctar u otros recursos vegetales.
    [Show full text]
  • Borowiec Et Al-2020 Ants – Phylogeny and Classification
    A Ants: Phylogeny and 1758 when the Swedish botanist Carl von Linné Classification published the tenth edition of his catalog of all plant and animal species known at the time. Marek L. Borowiec1, Corrie S. Moreau2 and Among the approximately 4,200 animals that he Christian Rabeling3 included were 17 species of ants. The succeeding 1University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, USA two and a half centuries have seen tremendous 2Departments of Entomology and Ecology & progress in the theory and practice of biological Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, classification. Here we provide a summary of the NY, USA current state of phylogenetic and systematic 3Social Insect Research Group, Arizona State research on the ants. University, Tempe, AZ, USA Ants Within the Hymenoptera Tree of Ants are the most ubiquitous and ecologically Life dominant insects on the face of our Earth. This is believed to be due in large part to the cooperation Ants belong to the order Hymenoptera, which also allowed by their sociality. At the time of writing, includes wasps and bees. ▶ Eusociality, or true about 13,500 ant species are described and sociality, evolved multiple times within the named, classified into 334 genera that make up order, with ants as by far the most widespread, 17 subfamilies (Fig. 1). This diversity makes the abundant, and species-rich lineage of eusocial ants the world’s by far the most speciose group of animals. Within the Hymenoptera, ants are part eusocial insects, but ants are not only diverse in of the ▶ Aculeata, the clade in which the ovipos- terms of numbers of species.
    [Show full text]
  • Hymenoptera: Formicidae
    16 The Weta 30: 16-18 (2005) Changes to the classification of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) Darren F. Ward School of Biological Sciences, Tamaki Campus, Auckland University, Private Bag 92019, Auckland ([email protected]) Introduction This short note aims to update the reader on changes to the subfamily classification of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Although the New Zealand ant fauna is very small, these changes affect the classification and phylogeny of both endemic and exotic ant species in New Zealand. Bolton (2003) has recently proposed a new subfamily classification for ants. Two new subfamilies have been created, a revised status for one, and new status for four. Worldwide, there are now 21 extant subfamilies of ants. The endemic fauna of New Zealand is now classified into six subfamilies (Table 1), as a result of three subfamilies, Amblyoponinae, Heteroponerinae and Proceratiinae, being split from the traditional subfamily Ponerinae. Bolton’s (2003) classification also affects several exotic species in New Zealand. Three species have been transferred from Ponerinae: Amblyopone australis to Amblyoponinae, and Rhytidoponera chalybaea and R. metallica to Ectatomminae. Currently there are 28 exotic species in New Zealand (Table 1). Eighteen species have most likely come from Australia, where they are native. Eight are global tramp species, commonly transported by human activities, and two species are of African origin. Nineteen of the currently established exotic species are recorded for the first time in New Zealand as occurring outside their native range. This may result in difficulty in obtaining species-specific biological knowledge and assessing their likelihood of becoming successful invaders. In addition to the work by Bolton (2003), Phil Ward and colleagues at UC Davis have started to resolve the phylogenetic relationships among subfamilies and genera of all ants using molecular data (Ward et al, 2005).
    [Show full text]
  • Integrating Taxonomic Approaches to Assess Ant Diversity at the Southern Extreme of the Atlantic Forest
    Received: 19 May 2017 | Revised: 12 September 2017 | Accepted: 14 September 2017 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.3549 ORIGINAL RESEARCH Mind the gap! Integrating taxonomic approaches to assess ant diversity at the southern extreme of the Atlantic Forest Priscila Elena Hanisch1 | Pablo D. Lavinia1 | Andrew V. Suarez2 | Darío Alejandro Lijtmaer1 | Maurice Leponce3 | Carolina Ivon Paris4 | Pablo Luis Tubaro1 1Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia” MACN-CONICET, Abstract Buenos Aires, Argentina Understanding patterns of species diversity relies on accurate taxonomy which can 2 Department of Entomology and Department only be achieved by long- term natural history research and the use of complementary of Animal Biology, University of Illinois, Urbana, USA information to establish species boundaries among cryptic taxa. We used DNA bar- 3Aquatic and Terrestrial Ecology unit, Royal coding to characterize the ant diversity of Iguazú National Park (INP), a protected area Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Brussels, of the Upper Paraná Atlantic Forest ecoregion, located at the southernmost extent of Belgium 4Departamento Ecología, Genética y this forest. We assessed ant diversity using both cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) Evolución, Universidad de Buenos Aires, sequences and traditional morphological approaches, and compared the results of Buenos Aires, Argentina these two methods. We successfully obtained COI sequences for 312 specimens Correspondence belonging to 124 species, providing a DNA barcode reference library for nearly 50% of Priscila E Hanisch, Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales “Bernardino Rivadavia” the currently known ant fauna of INP. Our results support a clear barcode gap for all MACN-CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina. but two species, with a mean intraspecific divergence of 0.72%, and an average con- Email: [email protected] generic distance of 17.25%.
    [Show full text]
  • Fossil Ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): Ancient Diversity and the Rise of Modern Lineages
    Myrmecological News 24 1-30 Vienna, March 2017 Fossil ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): ancient diversity and the rise of modern lineages Phillip BARDEN Abstract The ant fossil record is summarized with special reference to the earliest ants, first occurrences of modern lineages, and the utility of paleontological data in reconstructing evolutionary history. During the Cretaceous, from approximately 100 to 78 million years ago, only two species are definitively assignable to extant subfamilies – all putative crown group ants from this period are discussed. Among the earliest ants known are unexpectedly diverse and highly social stem- group lineages, however these stem ants do not persist into the Cenozoic. Following the Cretaceous-Paleogene boun- dary, all well preserved ants are assignable to crown Formicidae; the appearance of crown ants in the fossil record is summarized at the subfamilial and generic level. Generally, the taxonomic composition of Cenozoic ant fossil communi- ties mirrors Recent ecosystems with the "big four" subfamilies Dolichoderinae, Formicinae, Myrmicinae, and Ponerinae comprising most faunal abundance. As reviewed by other authors, ants increase in abundance dramatically from the Eocene through the Miocene. Proximate drivers relating to the "rise of the ants" are discussed, as the majority of this increase is due to a handful of highly dominant species. In addition, instances of congruence and conflict with molecular- based divergence estimates are noted, and distinct "ghost" lineages are interpreted. The ant fossil record is a valuable resource comparable to other groups with extensive fossil species: There are approximately as many described fossil ant species as there are fossil dinosaurs. The incorporation of paleontological data into neontological inquiries can only seek to improve the accuracy and scale of generated hypotheses.
    [Show full text]
  • Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Amblyoponinae) and Description of the Worker Caste
    Zootaxa 3734 (3): 371–379 ISSN 1175-5326 (print edition) www.mapress.com/zootaxa/ Article ZOOTAXA Copyright © 2013 Magnolia Press ISSN 1175-5334 (online edition) http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3734.3.6 http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:2890D856-2245-4B79-9D7D-61D265238DDB Rediscovery of the rare ant genus Bannapone (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Amblyoponinae) and description of the worker caste BENOIT GUÉNARD1,3, BENJAMIN BLANCHARD1, CONG LIU1,2, DA-RONG YANG2 & EVAN ECONOMO1 1Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University, Okinawa, 904-0495, Japan 2Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China 3Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected] Abstract The genus Bannapone was described in 2000 on the basis of a single dealate queen specimen. Since its original collection in Yunnan, China, no other specimen has been reported, making it one of the rarest ant genera in the world. Here we report the collection of two workers of Bannapone also from Yunnan province. The description of the worker caste is presented. Furthermore, we found significant differences with the described B. mulanae Xu, 2000 which leads us to describe the workers as a new species, B. scrobiceps n. sp.. Finally, we briefly discuss the importance of leaf-litter collection methods to collect taxa considered as “rare”. Key words: Formicidae, Amblyoponinae Introduction The subfamily Amblyoponinae includes 116 species spread over 13 genera. Most of the Amblyoponine genera exhibit a pan-tropical distribution (Guénard et al. 2011), although a few species are also known to be adapted to cooler habitats of temperate regions.
    [Show full text]