Aphaenogaster

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Cladus: Protostomia
Cladus: Ecdysozoa
Cladus: Panarthropoda
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Hexapoda
Classis: Insecta
Cladus: Dicondylia
Subclassis: Pterygota
Cladus: Metapterygota
Infraclassis: Neoptera
Cladus: Eumetabola
Cladus: Endopterygota
Superordo: Hymenopterida
Ordo: Hymenoptera
Subordo: Apocrita
Superfamilia: Formicoidea

Familia: Formicidae
Subfamilia: Myrmicinae
Tribus: Pheidolini
Genus: Aphaenogaster
Valid species

A. aktaci – †A. amphioceanica – A. angulata – A. annandalei – †A. antiqua – A. aquia – A. araneoides – †A. archaica – A. ashmeadi – A. atlantis – †A. avita – A. balcanica – A. balcanicoides – A. baogong – A. barbara – A. barbigula – A. baronii – A. beccarii – A. beesoni – A. boulderensis – A. burri – A. caeciliae – A. campana – A. cardenai – A. carolinensis – A. cavernicola – A. cecconii – A. concolor – A. cristata – A. crocea – A. curiosa – A. dejeani – A. depilis – A. depressa – A. dlusskyi – A. donann – †A. donisthorpei – A. dromedaria – A. dulciniae – †A. dumetora – A. edentula – A. epirotes – A. equestris – A. erabu – A. espadaleri – A. exasperata – A. fabulosa – A. fallax – A. famelica – A. faureli – A. feae – A. fengbo – A. festae – A. finzii – A. flemingi – A. floridana – A. foreli – A. friederichsi – A. fulva – A. gamagumayaa – A. geei – A. gemella – A. georgica – A. gibbosa – A. gonacantha – A. gracillima – A. graeca – A. haarlovi – A. hesperia – A. holtzi – A. honduriana – A. huachucana – A. hunanensis – A. iberica – A. illyrica – A. incurviclypea – A. inermita – A. iranica – A. irrigua – A. isekram – A. italica – A. izuensis – A. januschevi – A. japonica – A. jolantae – A. karpathica – A. kervillei – A. kimberleyensis – A. koniari – A. kumejimana – A. kurdica – A. laevior – A. lamellidens – †A. lapidescens – A. ledouxi – A. lepida – A. lesbica – A. leveillei – †A. longaeva – A. longiceps – A. loriai – A. lustrans – A. luteipes – A. lykiaensis – †A. maculata – A. maculifrons – †A. maculipes – A. mariae – A. mauritanica – †A. mayri – A. mediterrae – A. megommata – A. melitensis – †A. mersa – A. messoroides – A. mexicana – A. miamiana – A. miniata – A. minutula – A. muelleriana – A. mutica – A. nadigi – A. obsidiana – A. occidentalis – †A. oligocenica – A. olympica – A. omotoensis – A. opposita – A. osimensis – A. ovaticeps – A. pallescens – A. pallida – †A. paludosa – †A. pannonica – A. patruelis – A. perplexa – A. phalangium – A. phillipsi – A. picea – A. picena – A. polyodonta – A. poultoni – A. praedo – A. praenoda – †A. praerelicta – A. projectens – A. pumilopuncta – A. punctaticeps – A. pythia – A. quadrispina – A. radchenkoi – A. reichelae – A. relicta – A. rhaphidiiceps – A. rifensis – A. rothneyi – A. rudis – A. rugosoferruginea – A. rugulosa – A. rupestris – A. sagei – A. saharensis – A. sangiorgii – A. sardoa – A. schmidti – A. schurri – A. semipolita – A. senilis – †A. shanwangensis – A. sicardi – A. sicula – A. simonellii – A. smythiesii – †A. sommerfeldti – A. spinosa – A. splendida – A. sporadis – A. striativentris – A. strioloides – A. subcostata – A. subexaperata – A. subterranea – A. subterraneoides – A. swammerdami – A. syriaca – A. takahashii – A. tennesseensis – A. testaceopilosa – A. texana – A. theryi – A. tibetana – A. tinauti – A. tipuna – A. tokarainsulana – A. torossiani – A. treatae – A. turkestanica – A. uinta – A. ujhelyii – A. umphreyi – A. wangtian – A. wangye – A. weigoldi – A. weulersseae – A. wilsoni – A. xuantian
Invalid names

A. aciculata – A. albisetosa – A. andrei – A. angusta – A. berendti – A. blanci – A. brevicornis – A. calderoni – A. clavata – A. cockerelli – A. conica – A. corsica – A. cristatus – A. debilis – A. ensifera – A. expolitus – A. funkikoensis – A. gatesi – A. gigantea – A. gracilinodis – A. hispanica – A. ionia – A. juliana – A. laevis – †A. livida – A. macrospina – A. manni – A. muschtaidica – A. nana – A. oculata – A. patruele – A. pseudoaegyptiaca – A. punctithorax – A. pusilla – A. ruginota – A. ruida – A. schaufussi – A. silvestrii – A. sinensis – A. sonorae – A. striola – A. subrubra – A. testaceopilosum – A. vapida – A. verecunda
Name

Aphaenogaster Mayr, 1853: 107

Type species: Aphaenogaster sardous Mayr, designated by Bingham, 1903
Synonyms

Attomyrma Emery
Brunella Forel
Deromyrma Forel
Novomessor Emery
Nystalomyrma Wheeler
Planimyrma Viehmeyer
Sinaphaenogaster Zhang

References

Boer, P. 2013. Revision of the European ants of the Aphaenogaster testaceopilosa-group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Tijdschrift voor entomologie 156(1): 57–93. DOI: 10.1163/22119434-00002022 Reference page.
Bračko, G., Lapeva-Gjonova, A., Salata, S., Borowiec, L. & Polak, S. 2019. Aphaenogaster illyrica, a new species from the mountains of the Balkan Peninsula (Hymenoptera, Formicidae). Zookeys, 862: 89–107. DOI: 10.3897/zookeys.862.32946 Reference page.
Borowiec, L. & Salata, S. 2014. Review of Mediterranean members of the Aphaenogaster cecconii group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), with description of four new species. Zootaxa 3861(1): 40–60. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.3861.1.2 Reference page.
Mayr, G.L. 1853. Beiträge zur Kenntniss der Ameisen. Verhandlungen des Zoologisch-Botanischen Vereins in Wien 3: 101–114.
Creighton, W.S. 1950. The ants of North America. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology of Harvard College 104: 1–585. BHL Reference page.
Cagniant, H. 1996. Les Aphaenogaster du Maroc (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): Clé et catalogue des espèces. Annales de la Société Entomologique de France (n.s.) 32(1): 67–85.
Naka, T. & Maruyama, M. 2018. Aphaenogaster gamagumayaa sp. nov.: the first troglobiotic ant from Japan (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae). Zootaxa 4450(1): 135–141. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4450.1.10 Open access PDF Reference page.
Park & Kim, B.-J. 2000. Systematic study of Pheidolini (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmicinae) in Korea. Korean Journal of Entomology 30(2): 107–114.
Bolton, B. 2003. Synopsis and classification of Formicidae. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute 71: 1–370.
Shattuck, S.O. 2008, Australian ants of the genus Aphaenogaster (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zootaxa 1677: 25–45. Abstract & excerpt Reference page.
Salata, S. & Borowiec, L. 2016. A new species of the Aphaenogaster cecconii group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Rhodes. Zootaxa 4170(1): 194–200. DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4170.1.13. Reference page.

Aphaenogaster is a genus of myrmicine ants. About 200 species have been described, including 18 fossil species.[1] They occur worldwide except in South America south of Colombia, sub-Saharan Africa, and Antarctica.[2]

They are often confused with Pheidole or Pheidologeton. These two have major and minor workers, while Aphaenogaster has only a single worker caste. Pheidole has three-segmented clubs on its antennae, while Aphaenogaster has four segments and a larger body size. Pheidologeton has 11-segmented antennae, while the antennae in Aphaenogaster are 12-segmented.[3]

In Australia, they often build dense, conspicuous nests.[4] Nest entrances are generally funnel-shaped with diameters up to 4 cm, which resulted in the common name funnel ants. These nests can be a serious problem for golfers or on pastures and unsealed airstrips, because the fragile surface easily collapses under pressure.[3] Where it occurs, Aphaenogaster bioturbation is an important soil and landscape process.[4]

Aphaenogaster ants probably get most of their food from tended aphids on the roots of plants, which explains that they are rarely seen on the surface. The funnel-shaped openings could play a role in trapping arthropods, which are also eaten.[3]
Species

A. aktaci Kiran & Tezcan, 2008
†A. amphioceanica De Andrade, 1995[5]
A. angulata Viehmeyer, 1922
A. annandalei Mukerjee, 1930
†A. antiqua Dlussky & Perkovsky, 2002
A. araneoides Emery, 1890
†A. archaica (Meunier, 1915)
A. ashmeadi (Emery, 1895)
A. atlantis Santschi, 1929
†A. avita Fujiyama, 1970[6]
A. balcanica (Emery, 1898)
A. balcanicoides Boer, 2013
A. baogong Terayama, 2009
A. barbara Shattuck, 2008
A. barbigula Wheeler, 1916
A. baronii Cagniant, 1988
A. beccarii Emery, 1887
A. beesoni Donisthorpe, 1933
A. boulderensis Smith, 1941
A. burri (Donisthorpe, 1950)
A. caeciliae Viehmeyer, 1922
A. campana Emery, 1878
A. cardenai Espadaler, 1981
A. carolinensis Wheeler, 1915
A. cavernicola Donisthorpe, 1938
A. cecconii Emery, 1894
A. concolor Watanabe & Yamane, 1999
A. cristata (Forel, 1902)
A. crocea André, 1881
A. curiosa Santschi, 1933
A. dejeani Cagniant, 1982
A. depilis Santschi, 1911
A. depressa Bolton, 1995
†A. dlusskyana Radchenko & Perkovsky, 2016[2]
A. dlusskyi Radchenko & Arakelian, 1991
A. donann Watanabe & Yamane, 1999
†A. donisthorpei Carpenter, 1930[7]
A. dromedaria (Emery, 1900)
A. dulciniae Emery, 1924
†A. dumetora (Lin, 1982)
A. edentula Watanabe & Yamane, 1999
A. epirotes (Emery, 1895)
A. erabu Nishizono & Yamane, 1990
A. espadaleri Cagniant, 1984
A. exasperata Wheeler, 1921
A. fabulosa Arnol'di, 1968
A. fallax Cagniant, 1992
A. famelica (Smith, 1874)
A. faureli Cagniant, 1969
A. feae Emery, 1889
A. fengbo Terayama, 2009
A. festae Emery, 1915
A. finzii Müller, 1921
A. flemingi Smith, 1928
A. floridana Smith, 1941
A. foreli Cagniant, 1996
A. friederichsi Forel, 1918
A. fulva Roger, 1863
A. geei Wheeler, 1921
A. gemella (Roger, 1862)
A. georgica Arnol'di, 1968
A. gibbosa (Latreille, 1798)
A. gonacantha (Emery, 1899)
A. gracillima Watanabe & Yamane, 1999
A. graeca Schulz, 1994
A. haarlovi Collingwood, 1961
A. hesperia Santschi, 1911
A. holtzi (Emery, 1898)
A. honduriana Mann, 1922
A. huachucana Creighton, 1934
A. hunanensis Wu & Wang, 1992
A. iberica Emery, 1908
A. incurviclypea Wang & Zheng, 1997
A. inermita Bolton, 1995
A. iranica Kiran & Alipanah, 2013
A. irrigua Watanabe & Yamane, 1999
A. isekram Bernard, 1977
A. italica Bondroit, 1918
A. januschevi Arnol'di, 1976
A. japonica Forel, 1911
A. karpathica Boer, 2013
A. kervillei Forel, 1910
A. kimberleyensis Shattuck, 2008
A. koniari Cagniant & Galkowski, 2013
A. kumejimana Watanabe & Yamane, 1999
A. kurdica Ruzsky, 1905
A. laevior Emery, 1887
A. lamellidens Mayr, 1886
†A. lapidescens Zhang, 1989
A. ledouxi Tohmé, 1969
A. lepida Wheeler, 1930
A. lesbica Forel, 1913
A. leveillei Emery, 1881
†A.? longaeva (Scudder, 1877)[8][7]
A. longiceps (Smith, 1858)
A. loriai (Emery, 1897)
A. lustrans Smith, 1961
A. luteipes Watanabe & Yamane, 1999
†A. maculata Théobald, 1937
A. maculifrons Kiran & Tezcan, 2008
†A. maculipes Théobald, 1937
A. mariae Forel, 1886
A. mauritanica Dalla Torre, 1893
†A. mayri Carpenter, 1930[7]
A. mediterrae Shattuck, 2008
A. megommata Smith, 1963
A. melitensis Santschi, 1933
†A. mersa Wheeler, 1915
A. messoroides Dlussky, Soyunov & Zabelin, 1990
A. mexicana (Pergande, 1896)
A. miamiana Wheeler, 1932
A. miniata Cagniant, 1990
A. minutula Watanabe & Yamane, 1999
A. muelleriana Wolf, 1915
A. mutica Pergande, 1896
A. nadigi Santschi, 1923
A. obsidiana (Mayr, 1861)
A. occidentalis (Emery, 1895)
†A. oligocenica Wheeler, 1915
A. opposita (Say, 1836)
A. osimensis Teranishi, 1940
A. ovaticeps (Emery, 1898)
A. pallescens Walker, 1871
A. pallida (Nylander, 1849)
†A. paludosa Zhang, 1989
†A. pannonica Bachmayer, 1960
A. patruelis Forel, 1886
A. perplexa Smith, 1961
A. phalangium Emery, 1890
A. phillipsi Wheeler & Mann, 1916
A. picea (Wheeler, 1908)
A. picena Baroni Urbani, 1971
A. polyodonta Zhou, 2001
A. poultoni Crawley, 1922
A. praedo Emery, 1908
A. praenoda Santschi, 1933
†A. praerelicta De Andrade, 1995[5]
A. projectens Donisthorpe, 1947
A. pumilopuncta Zhou, 2001
A. punctaticeps MacKay, 1989
A. pythia Forel, 1915
A. quadrispina Emery, 1911
A. radchenkoi Kiran & Tezcan, 2008
A. reichelae Shattuck, 2008
A. relicta Wheeler & Mann, 1914
A. rhaphidiiceps (Mayr, 1877)
A. rifensis Cagniant, 1994
A. rothneyi (Forel, 1902)
A. rudis Enzmann, 1947
A. rugosoferruginea Forel, 1889
A. rugulosa Watanabe & Yamane, 1999
A. rupestris Forel, 1909
A. sagei (Forel, 1902)
A. saharensis Bernard, 1953
A. sangiorgii (Emery, 1901)
A. sardoa Mayr, 1853
A. schmidti Karavaiev, 1912
A. schurri (Forel, 1902)
A. semipolita (Nylander, 1856)
A. senilis Mayr, 1853
†A. shanwangensis (Hong, 1984)
A. sicardi Cagniant, 1990
A. sicula Emery, 1908
A. simonellii Emery, 1894
A. smythiesii (Forel, 1902)
†A. sommerfeldti Mayr, 1868
A. spinosa Emery, 1878
A. splendida (Roger, 1859)
A. sporadis Santschi, 1933
A. striativentris Forel, 1895
A. strioloides Forel, 1890
A. subcostata Viehmeyer, 1922
A. subexaperata Zhou, 2001
A. subterranea (Latreille, 1798)
A. subterraneoides Emery, 1881
A. swammerdami Forel, 1886
A. syriaca Emery, 1908
A. takahashii Wheeler, 1930
A. tennesseensis (Mayr, 1862)
A. testaceopilosa (Lucas, 1849)
A. texana Wheeler, 1915
A. theryi Santschi, 1923
A. tibetana Donisthorpe, 1929
A. tinauti Cagniant, 1992
A. tipuna Forel, 1913
A. tokarainsulana Watanabe & Yamane, 1999
A. torossiani Cagniant, 1988
A. treatae Forel, 1886
A. turkestanica Arnol'di, 1976
A. uinta Wheeler, 1917
A. ujhelyii Szabó, 1910
A. umphreyi Deyrup & Davis, 1998
A. wangtian Terayama, 2009
A. wangye Terayama, 2009
A. weigoldi Viehmeyer, 1922
A. weulersseae Cagniant, 1989
A. wilsoni Cagniant, 1988
A. xuatian Terayama, 2009

References

Bolton, B. (2014). "Aphaenogaster". AntCat. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
Radchenko, A. G.; Perkovsky, E. E. (2016). "The ant Aphaenogaster dlusskyana sp. nov. (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from the Sakhalin amber—the earliest described species of an extant genus of Myrmicinae". Paleontological Journal. 50 (9): 936–946. doi:10.1134/S0031030116090136. S2CID 90471180.
Genus Aphaenogaster Archived October 9, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
Richards, P.J. (2009) Aphaenogaster ants as bioturbators: impacts on soil and slope processes. Earth-Science Reviews 96: 92-106.
De Andrade, M. L. (1995). "The ant genus Aphaenogaster in Dominican and Mexican amber (Amber Collection Stuttgart: Hymenoptera, Formicidae. IX: Pheidolini)". Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde. Serie B (Geologie und Paläontologie). 223: 1–11.
Fujiyama, I. (1970). "Fossil insects from the Chojabaru Formation, Iki Island, Japan". Memoirs of the Natural Science Museum, Tokyo. 3: 65–74.
Carpenter, F. M. (1930). "The fossil ants of North America" (PDF). Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology. 70: 1–66.
Scudder, S. H. (1890). "The Tertiary insects of North America". United States Geological Survey of the Territories, Washington: 615. ISBN 9780665263149.