Adetomyrma

Venatrix worker of type Adetomyrma

Adetomyrma is a genus of ants. All known species live in Madagascar.

Features

Workers

The workers are adapted to an underground ( hypogeous ) lifestyle. They are small, pale -colored, eyeless animals with cylindrical body outline. Only in this ant genus the first abdominal segment is not clear cut off as petiole, but sits wide at the remaining abdomen (gaster ) to. At all abdominal segments, the sclerites ( tergites and sternites ) are clearly separated and not fused. The abdomen formation therefore is less like all other ants, but the other aculeaten Hymenoptera. At the top is a typical series of conical bristles on the anterior margin of the clypeus, give this a serrated appearance. The antennas are sitting close behind the clypeus, their bases are heavily approximated. The mandibles are sickle-shaped ( falciform ) with edges parallel-sided, with two sharp teeth, the inner edge jagged little on the front end, their formation is adapted to predatory diet. The animals have a military sting of striking for ants size.

Male

The male animals are dark colored (except Adetomyrma aureocuprea ) winged, and carry large, hemispherical bulging compound eyes and ocelli in addition ( simple eyes ) by striking size. Your abdomen corresponds to the formation of the workers. The wings have a large, dark-colored Flügelmal ( pterostigma ). A vein near the leading edge, the radial sector is remarkably weak and does not reach the boundary wire. The antennas consist of 13 members. In contrast to the females, their mandibles bear at the end only a blunt tooth.

Queens

Queens are so far known only from two species. In Adetomyrma goblin they are winged, at Adetomyrma caputleae they are wingless and resemble in physique to the workers ( " ergatoide " Queens). These have, in contrast to the workers eyes and a small complex ( the middle ) ocellus.

Way of life

The ecology of the species is hardly known. Most species are known from forests being of coastal up in the mountains all elevations are populated. There are also finds from vegetated sand dunes before (A. bressleri, A. goblin ). Nests were found mainly in rotten wood, but also in the ground. The first specimens of the type species Adetomyrma Venatrix were found under a rotting tree trunk.

A colony can contain up to 10,000 animals. The ants feed on other arthropods, which they paralyze with poison and contribute to the colony. In addition, the Queen operates ( Gyne ) LHF ( larval hemolymph feeding ), where it feeds on the haemolymph of their own larvae by the integument is punctured at certain points; the larva is characterized but not killed. This peculiar behavior is common in the subfamily further.

System

The genus is known with nine species from Madagascar, with five species so far only males were found. The subfamily Amblyoponinae is widespread in Madagascar with six very similar genera and many species. While the discovery of the type species in 1994, this still appeared morphologically completely isolated, similar species are now outside of Madagascar have been found, a related genus with a very similar kind for example, from Vietnam.

With a relationship analysis, based homologous DNA sequences, the classification of the genus has been confirmed in the Ambloyponinae. For an exact sister group analysis but the data material was not sufficient.

Endangering

The first one found was kind Adetomyrma Venatrix soon after its description in the IUCN Red List in the category " endangered " ( " crtitically endangered " ) was added. At this time, a single colony of this one type was merely known. Thanks to the many new discoveries since then, this entry must be improved. As the rain forests of Madagascar, the habitat of most species of the genus, are endangered by deforestation, a threat but appears quite probable. However, the data base for a secure classification is not sufficient.