Myrmicinae Lepeletier de Saint-Fargeau, 1835

Boudinot, Brendon E., 2015, Contributions to the knowledge of Formicidae (Hymenoptera, Aculeata): a new diagnosis of the family, the first global male-based key to subfamilies, and a treatment of early branching lineages, European Journal of Taxonomy 120, pp. 1-62 : 56

Subfamily Myrmicinae Lepeletier de Saint-Fargeau, 1835

Figs 4H , 5A, G, 16 D–E

Diagnosis

Male Myrmicinae are uniquely identified by the strongly petiolated third abdominal segment (postpetiole), axial helcium, 1,1 maximum ventroapical tibial spur count, unvaulted abdominal tergum IV, and presence of propodeal lobes. All myrmicines lack jugal lobes and have posteriorly-situated antennal toruli, but are highly variable otherwise: mandibles fully-developed to nub-like; antenna 8–13-merous; forewing with (0)1–8 eight closed cells; and petiole sessile to long-pedunculate. Some myrmicines, e.g., Adelomyrmex and Acanthognathus , have extremely reduced wing venation similar to Leptanillinae ; all myrmicine taxa examined during this study with reduced wing venation have conspicuous propodeal lobes, differentiating them easily from Leptanillinae despite secondary petiolation of abdominal segment III in some leptanillines.

Comments

Of all the ant subfamilies, the Myrmicinae will be the grand challenge to understand with respect to males. At the time of writing, 139 valid genera and 6,500 valid species are described. Males of at least 30 genera are unknown, but as generic delimitation is still very active in the Myrmicinae some uncertainty exists for this number. Based on a study of the New World genera (B. Boudinot, in prep.), distinctions between genera may be weak and in many cases genera will have to be keyed multiple times due to variability. The recent subfamily-wide phylogeny of Ward et al. (2015) will contribute significantly to improving the classification of the Myrmicinae .

Figures

Fig. 4. Male morphology. A–C. Abdominal sternum IX in ventral view. B. Oblique. D–E. Petiole in lateral view. F. Forewing in dorsal view. G–H. Propodeum in lateral view. — A. Aenictogiton indet. (Zambia, CASENT0106126, M. Branstetter). B. Cerapachys “parasyscia” lineage (Kenya, B. Boudinot). C. Emeryopone buttelreepeni (Thailand, CASENT0278779, B. Boudinot). D. Paraponera clavata (?Panama, B. Boudinot). E. Cerapachys lividus (Madagascar, CASENT0138502, D. Raharinjanahary). F. Phaulomyrma indet. (Thailand, UCRENT150358, A. Nobile). G. Leptanillinae indet. (Thailand, CASENT0156249, B. Boudinot); arrow indicates dorsal margin of petiolar foramen. H. Adelomyrmex dentivagans; arrow indicates propodeal lobe. All scale bars = 0.2 mm, except D–E = 1.0 mm.

Fig. 16. Male representatives of three subfamilies. A–B. Formica wheeleri, Formicinae (U.S.A., CASENT0173024, A. Nobile). C–D. Rhytidoponera, Ectatomminae, ectaheteromorph clade (Australia, CASENT0004610, A. Nobile). E–F. Pogonomyrmex rastratus (Argentina, CASENT0172673, A.