Thaumatomyrmex

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

Familia: Formicidae
Subfamilia: Ponerinae
Tribus: Thaumatomyrmecini
Genus: Thaumatomyrmex
Species: T. atrox – T. bariay – T. cochlearis – T. contumax – T. ferox – T. mandibularis – T. mutilatus – T. nageli – T. soesilae
Name

Thaumatomyrmex Mayr, 1887
References

Weber, N.A. 1942: The genus Thaumatomyrmex Mayr with description of a Venezuelan species (Hym.: Formicidae). Boletino de Entomología Venezolana, 1: 65–71.
Brandão, C.R.F.; Diniz, J.L.M.; Tomotake, E.M. 1991: Thaumatomyrmex strips millipedes for prey: a novel predatory behaviour in ants, and the first case of sympatry in the genus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Insectes sociaux, 38: 335–344.
Kempf, W.W. 1975: A revision of the neotropical ponerine ant genus Thaumatomyrmex Mayr (Hym. Formicidae). Studia ent., 75: 95–126.
Longino, J.T. 1988: Notes on the taxonomy of the Neotropical ant genus Thaumatomyrmex Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Pp. 35-42 in: Trager, J.C. (ed.) Advances in myrmecology. E.J. Brill, New York. PDF
Makhan, D. 2007: Thaumatomyrmex soesilae sp. nov. from Suriname (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Calodema supplementary paper, (58): 1–3.
Baroni Urbani, C. & M. De Andrade. 2003: The ant genus Thaumatomyrmex in Cuba (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) with description of two new species. Mitteilungen der schweizerchen entomologischen Gesellschaft, 76: 263–277.

Thaumatomyrmex is a Neotropical genus of ants in the subfamily Ponerinae, found from Mexico to Brazil. They are notable for their pitchfork-shaped mandibles, which they use to capture millipedes of the order Polyxenida. The genus is a specialist predator of polyxenids, and one of only two ant genera known to prey upon polyxenids.
Taxonomy and phylogenetics
Head view of a Thaumatomyrmex mandibularis worker, showing its characteristic pitchfork-shaped mandibles

The genus was established by Mayr in 1877 to house the single species Thaumatomyrmex mutilatus, discovered in Brazil.[3] Since its inception, the genus has been placed in various tribes: Ectatommini, Ponerini, Cylindromyrmicini, and its own tribe, Thaumatomyrmecini. Molecular phylogeny by Schmidt & Shattuck (2014) confirmed that the genus is nested within Ponerini.[4] Twelve species has been described, and a few undescribed taxa are known.[5]
Distribution

Thaumatomyrmex is found only in the Neotropics, from Mexico to Brazil (including Cuba and other Caribbean islands). The genus was once thought to be rare, but with better sampling techniques, the ants are now found more frequently.[5]
Description

Workers are small in size (3.3–5.0 mm) and have pitchfork-shaped mandibles with three long teeth. They are specialist predators of millipedes of the order Polyxenida.[4] Polyxenids are an unusual type of prey, only known to be preyed upon by Thaumatomyrmex and Probolomyrmex ants. The millipedes are covered with hooked bristle setae, which entangles potential predators. Thaumatomyrmex use their long mandibles to hold the polyxenids before immobilizing them by stinging, and then stripping the prey from their protective setae.[5] The brush-like hairs on the workers' legs are used to scrape the setae off "like cleaning a chicken".[6] Workers forage individually in the leaf litter.[4]

Alate queens remain undescribed, although Kempf (1975)[7] mentioned an alate T. zeteki queen in the collections of the U.S. National Museum, this has however never been confirmed. Gamergates (reproductive female workers) are known from at least two species (T. atrox and T. contumax).[4]
Species

Thaumatomyrmex atrox Weber, 1939
Thaumatomyrmex bariay Fontenla Rizo, 1995
Thaumatomyrmex cochlearis Creighton, 1928
Thaumatomyrmex contumax Kempf, 1975
Thaumatomyrmex ferox Mann, 1922
Thaumatomyrmex mandibularis Baroni Urbani & De Andrade, 2003
Thaumatomyrmex manni Weber, 1939
Thaumatomyrmex mutilatus Mayr, 1887
Thaumatomyrmex nageli Baroni Urbani & De Andrade, 2003
Thaumatomyrmex paludis Weber, 1942
Thaumatomyrmex soesilae Makhan, 2007
Thaumatomyrmex zeteki Smith, 1944

References

"Genus: Thaumatomyrmex". antweb.org. AntWeb. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
Bolton, B. (2015). "Thaumatomyrmex". AntCat. Retrieved 5 January 2015.
Mayr, G. (1887). "Südamerikanische Formiciden". Verhandlungen der Kaiserlich-Königlichen Zoologisch-Botanischen Gesellschaft in Wien. 37: 511–632.
Schmidt, C. A.; Shattuck, S. O. (2014). "The Higher Classification of the Ant Subfamily Ponerinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), with a Review of Ponerine Ecology and Behavior". Zootaxa. 3817 (1): 1–242. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3817.1.1. PMID 24943802.
Rabeling, C; Verhaagh, M.; Garcia, MVB. (2012). "Observations on the specialized predatory behavior of the pitchfork-mandibled ponerine ant Thaumatomyrmex paludis (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)". Breviora. 533 (533): 1–8. doi:10.3099/MCZ3.1. S2CID 50739717.
E. O. Wilson (professor emeritus, Harvard) in an interview in New Scientist issue No3005 page 29
Kempf, W. W. (1975). "A revision of the Neotropical ponerine ant genus Thaumatomyrmex Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)". Studia Entomologica. 18: 95–126.