Acanthostichus

Acanthostichus
Temporal range: Burdigalian? - Recent
A. texanus worker from Mexico
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Dorylinae
Genus: Acanthostichus
Mayr, 1887
Type species
Typhlopone serratula
Diversity[1]
24 species
Synonyms

Ctenopyga Ashmead, 1906

Acanthostichus is a predatory and predominantly subterranean genus of ant in the subfamily Dorylinae.[2][3] They are found in the New World, from the southern United States to Uruguay, Paraguay and northern Argentina.[4] They are probably common, but due to their subterranean nature, they are seldom collected or seen.[5]

Most species are very similar; the petiole is the most important feature in identifying species. Many are known only from a few collections, or even single specimen, which makes it hard to determine variability within species. For this reason, many described members of this genus may be synonyms.[5]

Species

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The genus currently contains 24 species:

References

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  1. ^ Bolton, B. (2014). "Acanthostichus". AntCat. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  2. ^ MacKay 1996, p. 129
  3. ^ "Genus: Acanthostichus". antweb.org. AntWeb. Retrieved 21 September 2013.
  4. ^ MacKay 2004, p. 97
  5. ^ a b MacKay 1996, p. 130
  • MacKay, W. P. (1996), "A revision of the ant genus Acanthostichus (Hymenoptera: Formicidae).", Sociobiology, 27: 129–179
  • MacKay, W. P. (2004), "A new species of the ant genus Acanthostichus Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from Paraguay, and a description of the gyne of A. brevicornis Emery.", Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington, 106: 97–101
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