Pachycondyla

Pachycondyla
Schematic representation of a pachycondyla worker (Wheeler, 1900)
Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta) Order : Hymenoptera (Hymenoptera) Family : Ants (Formicidae) Subfamily : Great Ants (Ponerinae) Genre : Pachycondyla
Scientific name
Pachycondyla
F. Smith , 1858

Pachycondyla is a genus of ants from the subfamily of the primeval ants (Ponerinae).

features

Head and mandibles of Pachycondyla ambigua

The body of all Pachycondyla species is rather small. The stalk member ( petiolus ) is towering and flattened at the top, so that the gaster and the petiolar stigma are about the same height. The basic shape of the mandibles is triangular. They are covered with small teeth on the inside and when closed touch the edge of the head shield ( clypeus ). In Pachycondyla , the tibia of the rear pair of legs each have a comb-like spur and another, much smaller spine. Representatives of Pachycondyla show a great similarity with ants from the genera Cryptopone , Ponera and Hypoponera .

In some species there are no gynomorphic queens and reproduction is carried out by mated workers, so-called gamergaten .

Pachycondyla castanea

Pachycondyla darwinii

Pachycondyla harpax

Pachycondyla verenae

distribution

Over 200 species are known worldwide. Most of them live in the Neotropic and Palaeotropic as well as Australia . Only one species of Pachycondyla darwinii is represented in Eurasia . The genus Pachyocondyla is apparently not a monophyletic group, the taxonomy is in great need of revision.

Way of life

Most species feed on captured arthropods . The workers mostly hunt above ground and in trees, but with some species the animals only stay in the litter layer or other natural cavities. A few species appear to specialize in termite hunting ; The recruiting behavior is also rudimentary among workers of at least one species, which is unusual for ancient ants.

The nests are located underground and are created either in open areas or under the protection of stones and lying tree trunks.

The types of Pachycondyla produce neurotoxins that differ significantly in structure from one another. The mechanism is based on rapidly paralyzing and slow-acting poisons and tissue-dissolving (histolytic) components. In principle, the poison of tree-dwelling species of Pachycondyla acts faster than that of the ground -dwelling species .

Systematics

The following species belong to the genus Pachycondyla (selection):

• Pachycondyla castanea
• Pachycondyla castaneicolor
• Pachycondyla darwinii
• Pachycondyla harpax
• Pachycondyla javana
• Pachycondyla marginata
• Pachycondyla sublaevis
• Pachycondyla tarsata
• Pachycondyla verenae

Synonyms

The following names are synonyms for the genus Pachycondyla :

• Bothroponera Mayr, 1862
• Brachyponera Emery, 1901
• Ectomomyrmex Mayr, 1867
• Eumecopone Forel, 1901
• Hyphopelta Forel, 1913
• Mesoponera Emery, 1901
• Neoponera Emery, 1901
• Pseudoneoponera Donisthorpe, 1943
• Pseudoponera Emery, 1901
• Syntermitopone Wheeler, 1936
• Termitopone Wheeler, 1936
• Trachymesopus Emery, 1911
• Wadeura Weber, 1939
• Xiphopelta Forel, 1913

swell

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Genus Pachycondyla. Australian Ants Online, archived from the original on December 6, 2008 ; Retrieved July 20, 2013 . 
2. ↑ ^{a b} Hölldobler and Wilson : The Ants . Springer (1990) ISBN 3-540-52092-9 .
3. ↑ Pachycondyla Taxon Count. (No longer available online.) Hymenoptera Name Server, formerly the original ; Retrieved June 5, 2008 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.    
4. ^ Pachycondyla F. Smith 1858 Fauna Europaea, accessed June 5, 2008 . 
5. ↑ Pachycondyla. Tree of Life Web Project, accessed June 5, 2008 . 
6. ↑ ^{a b c} Jérôme Orivel, Alain Dejean: Comparative effect of the venoms of ants of the genus Pachycondyla (Hymenoptera: Ponerinae) In: Toxicon , Volume 39, No. 2–3, February – March 2001, pp. 195–201, doi : 10.1016 / S0041-0101 (00) 00113-6 .

literature

• Bert Hölldobler , Edward O. Wilson : Ants. The discovery of a fascinating world. Birkhäuser Verlag, Basel - Boston - Berlin 1995, ISBN 3-7643-5152-7 .

Web links

Commons : Pachycondyla  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• AntWeb pictures of different Pachycondyla species