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Proatta
| Proatta | |
|---|---|
| |
| Proatta butteli | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Myrmicinae |
| Tribe: | Crematogastrini |
| Alliance: | Mayriella genus group |
| Genus: | Proatta Forel, 1912 |
| Type species | |
| Proatta butteli | |
| Diversity | |
| 1 species (Species Checklist, Species by Country)
| |
This montypic genus, from southeast Asia, is strikingly similar in appearance to New World Attine species. Unlike the Attines, Proatta butteli is a predator and scavenger. Their prey includes isopods, centipeds and a variety of insects, including other ant species.
| At a Glance | • Monotypic |
Identification
The combination of 11 antennal segements, size (~2 mm), the series of spines along the dorso-lateral margins of the mesosoma, and the conspicuous frontal carinae that extend from the frontal lobes to the occipital margin set these workers apart from other co-occurring Myrmicinae ant species. In general appearance they are most similar to a number of Attine genera, which are all found in the New World.
Keys including this Genus
Distribution
Distribution and Richness based on AntMaps
Species by Region
Number of species within biogeographic regions, along with the total number of species for each region.
| Afrotropical Region | Australasian Region | Indo-Australian Region | Malagasy Region | Nearctic Region | Neotropical Region | Oriental Region | Palaearctic Region | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Species | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Total Species | 2841 | 1736 | 3045 | 932 | 835 | 4379 | 1741 | 2862 |
Fossils
Fossils are known from: Zhangpu amber, Zhangpu County, Fujian Province, China (Miocene) (an unidentified species, Wang et al., 2021).
Biology
See the Proatta butteli webpage for information about the single species of this genus.
Flight Period
All Flight Records for Genus
Explore: Show all Flight Month data or Search these data. See also a list of all data tables or learn how data is managed.
| Taxon | Month | Source | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proatta butteli | Apr | antkeeping.info |
Life History Traits
- Mean colony size: 5500 (Greer et al., 2021)
- Compound colony type: not parasitic (Greer et al., 2021)
- Nest site: hypogaeic (Greer et al., 2021)
- Diet class: predator (Greer et al., 2021)
- Foraging stratum: subterranean/leaf litter (Greer et al., 2021)
- Foraging behaviour: cooperative (Greer et al., 2021)
Castes
Worker
- The following images are provided by AntWeb
Head view
Side view
Top view
Specimen labels
Queen
Head view
Side view
Top view
Specimen labels
Male
Head view
Side view
Top view
Specimen labels
Morphology
Worker Morphology
- Explore: Show all Worker Morphology data or Search these data. See also a list of all data tables or learn how data is managed.
• Antennal segment count: 12 • Antennal club: 3 • Palp formula: 3,2 • Total dental count: 4-5 • Spur formula: 0, 0 • Eyes: 11-100 ommatidia • Propodeal Spines: present • Petiolar Spines: dentiform • Caste: none or weak • Sting: present • Metaplural Gland: present • Cocoon: absent
Male Morphology
- Explore: Show all Male Morphology data or Search these data. See also a list of all data tables or learn how data is managed.
• Antennal segment count 13 • Antennal club 0 • Palp formula 3,2 • Total dental count 4 • Spur formula 0, 0
Karyotype
All Karyotype Records for Genus
- See additional details at the Ant Chromosome Database.
- Explore: Show all Karyotype data or Search these data. See also a list of all data tables or learn how data is managed.
| Taxon | Haploid | Diploid | Karyotype | Locality | Source | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Proatta butteli | 32 | Malaysia | Goni et al., 1982 |
Phylogeny
| Myrmicinae |
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See Phylogeny of Myrmicinae for details.
Nomenclature
The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.
- PROATTA [Myrmicinae: Stenammini]
- Proatta Forel, 1912m: 768. Type-species: Proatta butteli, by monotypy.
- [Proatta also described as new by Forel, 1913k: 84.]
- [Proatta erroneously as senior synonym of Asemorhoptrum and Theryella: Snelling, R.R. 1981: 395; these names properly attributed to synonymy of Stenamma, see there.]
Moffett (1987) - For female castes, probable synapomorphies include:
1. The blunt spines on the head and ali trunk of workers, which closely resemble those found in many Mycocepurus and Myrmicocrypta species and some other attines.
2. Presence of a projection located somewhat ventrad on the posterior-lateral surface of the head, remarkably similar to projections found in Myrmicocrypta (feeble ridges present on the heads of Mycocepurus workers may be homologous).
3. Presence of a narrow, finger-shaped extention of the clypeus, which is produced back between the antennal carinae, as in Mycocepurus and Myrmicocrypta.
4. Shape and position of lateral ridges on the dorsal surface of the petiole node closely resemble most species of Myrmicocrypta and Mycocepurus. Petiole shape in these genera is very close to that of Proatta.
5. Posterior margin of postpetiole indented medad in dorsal view, as in most attines.
6. Queen with two pairs of blunt spines on anterior face of pronotum very similar in size and location to those of Myrmicocrypta queens. Proatta, gynes also closely resemble those of attines in wing venation and in trunk shape. Proatta males likewise resemble those of attines.
Of the characters distinguishing Proatta from the Attini (EMERY, 1922; WEBER, 1.958), several (e.g. the number of antennal segments) are apparently plesiomorphies. Contrary to statements by EMERY (1922) and others, the front tarsi of attine ants are not always conspicuously more dilated than in Proatta. The front tarsi of Proatta and species of Cyphomyrmex are particularly similar. The clypeus of Proatta is very distinctive; however, this could represent an autapomorphy.
References
- Blaimer, B.B., Ward, P.S., Schultz, T.R., Fisher, B.L., Brady, S.G. 2018. Paleotropical diversification dominates the evolution of the hyperdiverse ant tribe Crematogastrini (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Insect Systematics and Diversity 2(5): 3; 1-14 (doi:10.1093/isd/ixy013).
- Bolton, B. 1994. Identification guide to the ant genera of the world. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 222 pp. (page 106, Proatta in Myrmicinae, Stenammini)
- Bolton, B. 1995a. A taxonomic and zoogeographical census of the extant ant taxa (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). J. Nat. Hist. 2 29: 1037-1056 (page 1052, Proatta in Myrmicinae, Stenammini)
- Bolton, B. 1995b. A new general catalogue of the ants of the world. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 504 pp. (page 366, Proatta in Myrmicinae, Stenammini)
- Bolton, B. 2003. Synopsis and Classification of Formicidae. Mem. Am. Entomol. Inst. 71: 370pp (page 204, Proatta in Myrmicinae, Stenammini)
- Burchill, A.T., Moreau, C.S. 2016. Colony size evolution in ants: macroevolutionary trends. Insectes Sociaux 63, 291–298 (doi:10.1007/s00040-016-0465-3).
- Cantone S. 2018. Winged Ants, The queen. Dichotomous key to genera of winged female ants in the World. The Wings of Ants: morphological and systematic relationships (self-published).
- Chapman, J. W.; Capco, S. R. 1951. Check list of the ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) of Asia. Monogr. Inst. Sci. Technol. Manila 1: 1-327 (page 83, Proatta in Myrmicinae, Attini)
- Dlussky, G. M.; Fedoseeva, E. B. 1988. Origin and early stages of evolution in ants. Pp. 70-144 in: Ponomarenko, A. G. (ed.) Cretaceous biocenotic crisis and insect evolution. Moskva: Nauka, 232 pp. (page 80, Proatta in Myrmicinae, Pheidolini)
- Donisthorpe, H. 1943g. A list of the type-species of the genera and subgenera of the Formicidae. [part]. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. 11(10): 617-688 (page 686, Proatta in Myrmicinae, Attini)
- Emery, C. 1913c. Études sur les Myrmicinae. [V-VII.]. Ann. Soc. Entomol. Belg. 57: 250-262 (page 251, Proatta in Myrmicinae, Attini)
- Emery, C. 1914e. Intorno alla classificazione dei Myrmicinae. Rend. Sess. R. Accad. Sci. Ist. Bologna Cl. Sci. Fis. (n.s.) 18: 29-42 (page 42, Proatta in Myrmicinae, Attini)
- Emery, C. 1924f [1922]. Hymenoptera. Fam. Formicidae. Subfam. Myrmicinae. [concl.]. Genera Insectorum 174C: 207-397 (page 333, Proatta in Myrmicinae, Attini [subtribe Proattini])
- Forel, A. 1912n. Descriptions provisoires de genres, sous-genres, et espèces de Formicides des Indes orientales. Rev. Suisse Zool. 20: 761-774 (page 768, Proatta as genus)
- Forel, A. 1913l. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse einer Forschungsreise nach Ostindien ausgeführt im Auftrage der Kgl. Preuss. Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin von H. v. Buttel-Reepen. II. Ameisen aus Sumatra, Java, Malacca und Ceylon. Gesammelt von Her (page 84, Proatta also described as new)
- Forel, A. 1917. Cadre synoptique actuel de la faune universelle des fourmis. Bull. Soc. Vaudoise Sci. Nat. 51: 229-253 (page 246, Proatta in Myrmicinae, Proattini)
- Hölldobler, B.; Wilson, E. O. 1990. The ants. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, xii + 732 pp. (page 16, Proatta in Myrmicinae, Pheidolini)
- Jansen, G., Savolainen, R. 2010. Molecular phylogeny of the ant tribe Myrmicini (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 160(3), 482–495 (doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2009.00604.x).
- Snelling, R. R. 1981. Systematics of social Hymenoptera. Pp. 369-453 in: Hermann, H. R. (ed.) Social insects. Volume 2. New York: Academic Press, xiii + 491 pp. (page 395, Proatta as senior synonym of Asemorhoptrum and Theryella, in error, these names properly attributable to synonymy of Stenamma.)
- Wang, B., Shi, G., Xu, C., Spicer, R. A., Perrichot, V., Schmidt, A. R., Feldberg, K., Heinrichs, J., Chény, C., Pang, H., Liu, X., Gao, T., Wang, Z., Ślipiński, A., Solórzano-Kraemer, M. M., Heads, S. W., Thomas, M. J., Sadowski, E. M., Szwedo, J., Azar, D., Nel, A., Liu, Y., Chen, J., Zhang, Q., Zhang, Q., Luo, C., Yu, T., Zheng, D., Zhang, H., Engel, M. S. 2021. The mid-Miocene Zhangpu biota reveals an outstandingly rich rainforest biome in East Asia. Science advances, 7(18), eabg0625 (doi:10.1126/sciadv.abg0625).
- Wheeler, G. C.; Wheeler, J. 1985b. A simplified conspectus of the Formicidae. Trans. Am. Entomol. Soc. 111: 255-264 (page 257, Proatta in Myrmicinae, Proattini)
- Wheeler, W. M. 1922i. Ants of the American Museum Congo expedition. A contribution to the myrmecology of Africa. VII. Keys to the genera and subgenera of ants. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 45: 631-710 (page 668, Proatta in Myrmicinae, Proattini)