Ponera
| Ponera | ||||||||||
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Ponera sp. |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||
| Ponera | ||||||||||
| Latreille , 1804 |
Ponera is a genus of ants from the subfamily of the primeval ants (Ponerinae).
features
Specimens of this genus are rather small. The basic shape of the mandible is triangular, the insides are covered with several small teeth. The stalk member ( petiolus ) is towering so that the gaster and the petiolar stigma are about the same height. The legs of the rear pair of legs each carry a single comb-like spur on the tibia .
Representatives of Ponera are very similar to ants from the genera Cryptopone , Hypoponera and Pachycondyla . A unique distinguishing feature, however, is the petiolus on the underside. Ponera shows a pointed outcrop or two small thorns on the back and a small translucent spot (fenestra) on the front.
It has only been known since 1995 that real trophallaxis takes place in Ponera and the very similar genus Hypoponera : the adult animals exchange goiter food with one another. Although this behavior is widespread in most groups of ants, it is hardly documented in the primeval ants .
distribution
About 50 species are known worldwide . Most of them occur from Southeast Asia to Australia . Individual species are also found in Europe and North America . In Central Europe there are only two species, namely the narrow ancient ant ( Ponera coarctata ) and a very similar species, the brown ancient ant ( Ponera testacea ).
Way of life
Usually colonies are very poor in individuals and consist of no more than 100 workers. The nests are usually created underground in the open field, crevices in the rock or rotten wood are also used. Some species live under tree bark.
The workers hunt individually and move almost exclusively in the ground, in the cavities of dead wood or in the litter layer. They feed exclusively zoophag . Various underground insects and other arthropods and their stages of development (eggs, larvae and pupae ) are captured .
Systematics
The following species are represented in Europe :
The following species exist in Australia and Papua New Guinea :
Synonyms
Synonyms for the genus Ponera :
- Pseudocryptopone Wheeler, 1933
- Pteroponera Bernard, 1949
- Selenopone Wheeler, 1933
swell
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d Genus Ponera. In: AntWiki. Retrieved July 20, 2013 .
- ^ Wilson , Hölldobler : The rise of the ants: A phylogenetic and ecological explanation . Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA vol. 102 (May 2005) 7411-7414
- ↑ Ponera Taxon Count. (No longer available online.) Hymenoptera Name Server, formerly the original ; Retrieved June 4, 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.
- ↑ CSŐSZ, S. and SEIFERT, B .: PONERA TESTACEA EMERY, 1895 STAT. N. - A SISTER SPECIES OF P. COARCTATA (LATREILLE, 1802). (PDF; 193 kB) Accessed June 4, 2008 .
- ↑ Bernhard Seifert : The ants of Central and Northern Europe . lutra Verlags- und Vertriebsgesellschaft, Görlitz / Tauer 2007, ISBN 978-3-936412-03-1
- ^ Ponera Latreille 1804 Fauna Europaea, accessed June 4, 2008 .
- ↑ Hölldobler and Wilson : The Ants . Springer (1990) ISBN 3-540-52092-9
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
- AntWeb pictures of different Ponera species