Formiciinae: Difference between revisions
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{{Short description|Extinct subfamily of ants}} |
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{{unreferenced|date=August 2008}} |
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{{Distinguish|text=the extant Formicidae subfamily [[Formicinae]]}} |
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{{update|date=August 2008}} |
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{{Automatic taxobox |
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{{Taxobox |
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| fossil_range = [[Lutetian]], {{fossilrange|47|44.5|earliest=48.6|latest=40.4}} |
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| image = Titanomyrma lubei 02.jpg |
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| fossil_range = [[Eocene]] |
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| image_caption = ''[[Titanomyrma]]'', with a [[rufous hummingbird]] for scale |
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| regnum = [[Animal]]ia |
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| phylum = [[Arthropod]]a |
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| authority = [[Herbert Lutz|Lutz]], 1986 |
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| ordo = [[Hymenoptera]] |
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| subordo = [[Apocrita]] |
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| superfamilia = [[Vespoidea]] |
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| familia = [[Ant|Formicidae]] |
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| subfamilia = '''Formiciinae'''(extinct) |
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| genus = '''''Formicium''''' |
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| subdivision = |
| subdivision = |
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*''[[Formicium |
*''[[Formicium]]'' <small>Westwood, 1854</small> |
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*''[[ |
*''[[Titanomyrma]]'' <small>Archibald ''et al.'', 2011</small> |
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| type_species_authority = Westwood, 1854 |
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}} |
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'''Formiciinae''' is an [[extinct]] subfamily of [[ant]]s known from [[Eocene]] deposits in [[Europe]] and [[North America]].<ref name="Archibald2011">{{cite journal |last1=Archibald| first1=S. Bruce |last2=Johnson |first2=Kirk R. |last3=Mathewes |first3=Rolf W. |last4=Greenwood |first4=David R. |year=2011 |title=Intercontinental dispersal of giant thermophilic ants across the Arctic during early Eocene hyperthermals |journal=[[Proceedings of the Royal Society B]] |volume= 278|issue= 1725|pages= 3679–86|doi=10.1098/rspb.2011.0729 |pmid= 21543354|pmc=3203508}}</ref> |
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The '''Formiciinae''' is a [[fossil]] subfamily of [[ant]]. The type and only [[genus]] is '''''Formicium'''''. The genus ''Formicium'' includes at this moment 5 [[species]] and is known only from queens and males. Workers were never found. The [[wingspan]] of the sexuals is the biggest among ants, both extant and [[extinct]] types combined, that have ever been found. The queens have a maximum wingspan of 13 to 15 cm. They were real giants (one of the species is called ''F. giganteum''). Two of the species are known from queens and males, both from an [[Eocene]] deposit in [[Messel, Germany]]. The others are only known from isolated wings ([[Great Britain|Britain]] and [[USA]]). It is suspected that more species can be found in Messel and nearby deposits. |
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==Genera== |
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The Formicidae family belongs to the order [[Hymenoptera]], which also includes [[sawflies]], [[bees]] and [[wasps]]. Ants are a lineage derived from within the vespoid wasps. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that ants evolved from [[vespoids]] in the mid-Cretaceous period about 120 to 170 million years ago. After the rise of [[angiosperm]] plants about 100 million years ago, they diversified and assumed ecological dominance about 60 million years ago.[4][5][6] Several fossils from the Cretaceous are intermediate in form between wasps and ants, adding further evidence for wasp ancestry. Like other Hymenoptera, the genetic system found in ants is haplodiploidy. |
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***''[[Titanomyrma]]'' <small>Archibald, ''et al.'', 2011</small> |
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****''Titanomyrma gigantea'' <small>(Lutz, 1986)</small> |
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****''Titanomyrma lubei'' <small>Archibald, ''et al.'', 2011</small> |
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****''Titanomyrma simillima'' <small>(Lutz, 1986)</small> |
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***''[[Formicium]]'' <small>Westwood, 1854</small> (collective group genus) |
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****''Formicium berryi'' <small>(Carpenter, 1929)</small> |
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****''Formicium brodiei'' <small>Westwood, 1854</small> |
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The type [[genus]] is ''[[Formicium]]'' with the genus ''[[Titanomyrma]]'' being described in 2011. ''Formicium'' includes the described [[species]] which are known from fossil wings only. ''Formicium'' is known from three species. ''Formicium mirabile'', named by [[Theodore Dru Alison Cockerell|Theodore D. A. Cockerell]] in 1920, and ''Formicium brodiei'', named by [[John Obadiah Westwood|John O. Westwood]] in 1854, are both known from [[Wing (insect)|fore wings]] found in the [[middle Eocene]] of [[Bournemouth]], [[Dorset, England]].<ref name="Archibald2011"/> The third species named, ''Formicium berryi'' was named by [[Frank M. Carpenter]] in 1929 from the middle Eocene [[Claiborne Formation]] in [[Puryear, Tennessee]], USA, though he misidentified the formation as the [[Wilcox Formation]]. ''F. berryi'' was the first described occurrence of the genus and, until 2011, the subfamily, in North America.<ref name="Archibald2011"/> With the description of ''Titanomyrma'', the two species already described from complete body specimens, ''Formicium giganteum'' and ''F. simillimum'', were transferred to the new genus as ''Titanomyrma giganteum'' and ''T. simillimum'' respectively. ''Titanomyrma'' also contains a third species, ''T. lubei'' described in the same paper as the genus and which is the second member of the subfamily known from North America.<ref name="Archibald2011"/> |
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In 1966 [[E. O. Wilson]], et al. obtained the first [[amber]] [[fossil]] remains of an ant ([[Sphecomyrma freyi]]) from the [[Cretaceous]] era. The specimen was trapped in amber from [[New Jersey]] and is more than 80 million years old. This species provides the clearest evidence of a link between modern ants and non-social wasps. Cretaceous ants shared both wasp-like and modern ant-like characteristics.[7] |
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==Size== |
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During the Cretaceous era, only a few species of primitive ants ranged widely on the super-continent [[Laurasia]] (the [[northern hemisphere]]). They were scarce in comparison to other [[insects]] (about only 1%). Ants became dominant after [[adaptive radiation]] at the beginning of the [[Tertiary]] Period. Of the species extant in the Cretaceous and [[Eocene]] eras, only 1 of approximately 10 genera is now [[extinct]]. 56% of the genera represented on the Baltic amber fossils (early [[Oligocene]]), and 96% of the genera represented in the Dominican amber fossils (apparently early [[Miocene]]) still survive today |
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While workers belonging to the subfamily have not been found, queens and males for ''T. giganteum'' and ''T. simillimum'' are known and ''T. lubei'' is known from a single queen. The average size for the queens and males in ''Titanomyrma'' is equal to that of some of the largest modern ants known. Only the queens of ''[[Dorylus wilverthi]]'' currently reach similar lengths, up to {{convert|52|mm|in}} as the smallest species of ''Titanomyrma'', ''T. lubei''.<ref name="Archibald2011"/> |
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Formiciinae members were restricted in habitat to living in regions which had a [[mesic habitat|mesic]] wet climate and an average mean annual temperature of {{convert|20|°C|°F}} or higher. This is similar to the restricted ranges of the largest species of modern ants.<ref name="Archibald2011"/> The spread of the subfamily from Europe to North America is postulated to have been across the [[North Atlantic]] landbridges which were present in the Eocene. While the average temperatures for this route are thought to have been lower than the range needed for Formiciinae species, a series of warmer events throughout the Eocene are suggested as aides in the crossing.<ref name="Archibald2011"/> |
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==References== |
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* [http://www.lasius.narod.ru/antGenera/Formiciinae1.htm The biggest ants Formiciinae] |
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{{Reflist}} |
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*{{Commonscat-inline|Formiciinae}} |
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*{{Wikispecies-inline|Formiciinae}} |
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{{Formicidae subfamilies}} |
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[[Category:Subfamilies of the Formicidae]] |
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{{Taxonbar|from=Q1932313}} |
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[[Category:Ant subfamilies|†Formiciinae]] |
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[[Category:Eocene insects]] |
[[Category:Eocene insects]] |
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[[Category:Fossil ant taxa]] |
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[[Category:Eocene first appearances]] |
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{{ant-stub}} |
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[[Category:Eocene extinctions]] |
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[[ca:Formicium]] |
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[[it:Formicium]] |
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[[pl:Formicium]] |
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[[uk:Formiciinae]] |
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Latest revision as of 02:15, 15 October 2023
| Formiciinae Temporal range: Lutetian,
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| Titanomyrma, with a rufous hummingbird for scale | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | †Formiciinae Lutz, 1986 |
| Type species | |
| Formicium berryi Westwood, 1854
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| Genera | |
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Formiciinae is an extinct subfamily of ants known from Eocene deposits in Europe and North America.[1]
Genera[edit]
- Formiciinae Lutz, 1986
- Formiciini Lutz, 1986
- Titanomyrma Archibald, et al., 2011
- Titanomyrma gigantea (Lutz, 1986)
- Titanomyrma lubei Archibald, et al., 2011
- Titanomyrma simillima (Lutz, 1986)
- Formicium Westwood, 1854 (collective group genus)
- Formicium berryi (Carpenter, 1929)
- Formicium brodiei Westwood, 1854
- Formicium mirabile (Cockerell, 1920)
- Titanomyrma Archibald, et al., 2011
- Formiciini Lutz, 1986
The type genus is Formicium with the genus Titanomyrma being described in 2011. Formicium includes the described species which are known from fossil wings only. Formicium is known from three species. Formicium mirabile, named by Theodore D. A. Cockerell in 1920, and Formicium brodiei, named by John O. Westwood in 1854, are both known from fore wings found in the middle Eocene of Bournemouth, Dorset, England.[1] The third species named, Formicium berryi was named by Frank M. Carpenter in 1929 from the middle Eocene Claiborne Formation in Puryear, Tennessee, USA, though he misidentified the formation as the Wilcox Formation. F. berryi was the first described occurrence of the genus and, until 2011, the subfamily, in North America.[1] With the description of Titanomyrma, the two species already described from complete body specimens, Formicium giganteum and F. simillimum, were transferred to the new genus as Titanomyrma giganteum and T. simillimum respectively. Titanomyrma also contains a third species, T. lubei described in the same paper as the genus and which is the second member of the subfamily known from North America.[1]
Size[edit]
While workers belonging to the subfamily have not been found, queens and males for T. giganteum and T. simillimum are known and T. lubei is known from a single queen. The average size for the queens and males in Titanomyrma is equal to that of some of the largest modern ants known. Only the queens of Dorylus wilverthi currently reach similar lengths, up to 52 millimetres (2.0 in) as the smallest species of Titanomyrma, T. lubei.[1]
Formiciinae members were restricted in habitat to living in regions which had a mesic wet climate and an average mean annual temperature of 20 °C (68 °F) or higher. This is similar to the restricted ranges of the largest species of modern ants.[1] The spread of the subfamily from Europe to North America is postulated to have been across the North Atlantic landbridges which were present in the Eocene. While the average temperatures for this route are thought to have been lower than the range needed for Formiciinae species, a series of warmer events throughout the Eocene are suggested as aides in the crossing.[1]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g Archibald, S. Bruce; Johnson, Kirk R.; Mathewes, Rolf W.; Greenwood, David R. (2011). "Intercontinental dispersal of giant thermophilic ants across the Arctic during early Eocene hyperthermals". Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 278 (1725): 3679–86. doi:10.1098/rspb.2011.0729. PMC 3203508. PMID 21543354.
External links[edit]
Media related to Formiciinae at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Formiciinae at Wikispecies
