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Rossomyrmex
| Rossomyrmex | |
|---|---|
| |
| Rossomyrmex proformicarum | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Formicinae |
| Tribe: | Formicini |
| Genus: | Rossomyrmex Arnol'di, 1928 |
| Type species | |
| Rossomyrmex proformicarum | |
| Diversity | |
| 4 species (Species Checklist, Species by Country)
| |
Ants of the genus Rossomyrmex are slave-makers that invade nests of genus Proformica to steal brood that will grow up as slaves (Marikovsky, 1974; Ruano & Tinaut, 1999). This genus was first described from the Caucasian steppes (Arnoldi,1928, 1932) with the species R. proformicarum. No further information on this genus appeared for 40 years, until 1974, when the biology of this species was studied by Marikovsky (1974) in the Tian-Shan slopes, near Almaty (Kazakhstan). Tinaut (1981) described workers and queens of a new species : R. minuchae, found in Sierra Nevada (Granada, Spain) thousands of kilometers away from the Central Asian steppes, the only place where the genus was known until then. The third species of the genus, R. quandratinodum, was described in the Chinese region of Urumchi (Xinjiang) (Xia & Zheng, 1995), located in the western part of China and corresponding to a small region between Mongolia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.
Identification
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 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Total Species | 2841 | 1736 | 3045 | 932 | 835 | 4379 | 1741 | 2862 |
Biology
Association with Other Organisms
All Associate Records for Genus
| Taxon | Relationship | Associate Type | Associate Taxon | Associate Relationship | Locality | Source | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rossomyrmex anatolicus | dulotic parasite | ant | Proformica korbi | host | Tinaut et al., 2010; Ruano et al., 2013; de la Mora et al., 2021 | ||
| Rossomyrmex minuchae | dulotic parasite | ant | Proformica longiseta | host | Ruano & Tinaut, 1999; D'Ettorre & Heinze, 2001; Errard et al., 2006; Ruano et al., 2013; de la Mora et al., 2021 | ||
| Rossomyrmex proformicarum | dulotic parasite | ant | Proformica epinotalis | host | D'Ettorre & Heinze, 2001; Ruano et al., 2013; de la Mora et al., 2021 | ||
| Rossomyrmex quandratinodus | dulotic parasite | ant | Proformica sp. | host | Tinaut et al., 2010; Ruano et al., 2013; de la Mora et al., 2021 |
Life History Traits
- Mean colony size: 23-200 (Greer et al., 2021)
- Compound colony type: dulosis (Greer et al., 2021)
- Nest site: hypogaeic (Greer et al., 2021)
- Diet class: omnivore (Greer et al., 2021)
- Foraging stratum: subterranean/leaf litter (Greer et al., 2021)
Castes
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: absent • Palp formula: 6,4 • Total dental count: 4-6 • Spur formula: 1 simple, 1 simple • Eyes: >100 ommatidia • Scrobes: absent • Pronotal Spines: absent • Mesonotal Spines: absent • Propodeal Spines: absent • Petiolar Spines: absent • Caste: none or weak • Sting: absent • Metaplural Gland: present • Cocoon: present
Phylogeny
| Formicinae |
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See Phylogeny of Formicinae for details.
Nomenclature
The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.
- ROSSOMYRMEX [Formicinae: Formicini]
- Rossomyrmex Arnol'di, 1928c: 299. Type-species: Rossomyrmex proformicarum, by original designation.
References
- [[Media:Tinaut 2007.pdf| Tinaut, A. 2007. A new species of the genus Rossomyrmex Arnoldi, 1928 from Turkey. Graellsia 63: 1*Agosti, D. 1991. Revision of the oriental ant genus Cladomyrma, with an outline of the higher classification of the Formicinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Syst. Entomol. 16: 293-310 (page 295, Rossomyrmex in Formicinae, Formica genus group.)
- Agosti, D. 1994b. The phylogeny of the ant tribe Formicini (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) with the description of a new genus. Syst. Entomol. 19: 93-117 (page 112, diagnosis, review of genus)
- Arnol'di, K. V. 1928c. Studien über die Systematik der Ameisen. III. Rossomyrmex. Neue Gattung der Ameisen und ihre Beziehungen zu den anderen Gattungen der Formicidae. Zool. Anz. 75: 299-310 (page 299, Rossomyrmex as genus)
- Bolton, B. 2003. Synopsis and Classification of Formicidae. Mem. Am. Entomol. Inst. 71: 370pp (page 130, Rossomyrmex in Formicinae, Formicini)
- 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).
- Donisthorpe, H. 1943h. A list of the type-species of the genera and subgenera of the Formicidae. [concl.]. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. 11(10): 721-737 (page 725, Rossomyrmex in Formicinae, Formicini)
- Greer, J. A., Moreau, C. S. 2021. Phylogenetic analysis and trait evolution of ant cocoons. Insect Systematics & Evolution 53(1), 60–77 (doi:10.1163/1876312x-bja10008).
- Rabeling, C. 2020. Social Parasitism. In: Starr, C. (ed.) Encyclopedia of Social Insects. Springer, Cham. (doi:10.1007/978-3-319-90306-4_175-1).
35-142.]]