A Phylogenetic Analysis of the Dirt Ants, Basiceros (Formicidae: Myrmicinae): Inferring Life Histories Through Morphological Convergence

Probst, Rodolfo S.; Wray, Brian; Moreau, Corrie S.; Brandão, Carlos Roberto F.

doi:10.1093/isd/ixz013

Cited by 7 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…army ants, implies improved protection of the mouthparts [ 40 ]. The elongated, pointed labrum of ‘dirt ants' (Basicerotini) was hypothesized to be involved in prey capture [ 65 ]. In some trap jaw ants such as the genera Strumigenys and Daceton , the labrum is modified to serve as a latch mechanism for the mandibles, to enable their power-amplified prey capture strike [ 32 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The feeding apparatus of ants: an overview of structure and function

Richter,

Economo

2023

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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Ants are a dominant family of eusocial terrestrial insects with a diversity of ecologies, lifestyles and morphologies. Ant diet preferences range from strict carnivory through omnivory to almost complete herbivory in species feeding on seeds or exudates of plant-sucking insects. While several studies have investigated ant feeding performance on different substrates, comparatively little is known about the functional morphology of the structures involved in food uptake or their diversification across the ants. To take stock of our current knowledge, we give an overview of how adult ants ingest food, followed by a morphological description of the mouthparts, preoral space and cephalic sucking pump. The mandibles are the most prominent mouthparts and have received considerable attention in the literature, so we focus on the maxillae and labium here. We present current hypotheses for the movement patterns of these parts and discuss morphological differences among ants that may be related to their ecological diversity. Finally, we give short comparisons of the ant condition with some other insects and vertebrates, as well as an outlook summarizing gaps in our knowledge. This sets the stage for future studies elucidating the connections between ant feeding mechanisms and mouthpart evolution. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Food processing and nutritional assimilation in animals’.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The feeding apparatus of ants: an overview of structure and function

Richter,

Economo

2023

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

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“…The enlarged labrum of, e.g., army ants, implies improved protection of the mouthparts [40]. The elongated, pointed labrum of "dirt ants" (Basicerotini) was hypothesized to be involved in prey capture [65]. In some trap jaw ants such as the genera Strumigenys and Daceton, the labrum is modified to serve as a latch mechanism for the mandibles, to enable their power amplified prey capture strike [32].…”

Section: The Labrum a Protective Platementioning

confidence: 99%

The feeding apparatus of ants: An overview of structure and function

Richter,

Economo

2023

Preprint

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Ants are a dominant family of eusocial terrestrial insects with a diversity of ecologies, lifestylesand morphologies. Ant diet preferences range from strict carnivory through omnivory to almost complete herbivory in species feeding on seeds or exudates of plant sucking insects. While several studies have investigated ant feeding performance on different substrates,comparatively little is known about the functional morphology of the structures involved in food uptake or their diversification across the ants. To take stock of our current knowledge, we give an overview of how adult ants ingest food, followed by a morphological description of themouthparts, preoral space and cephalic sucking pump. The mandibles are the most prominent mouthparts and have received considerable attention in the literature, so we focus on the maxillae and labium here. We present current hypotheses for the movement patterns of these parts and discuss morphological differences among ants that may be related to their ecological diversity. Finally, we give short comparisons of the ant condition to some other insects and vertebrates, as well as an outlook summarizing gaps in our knowledge. This sets the stage for future studies elucidating the connections between ant feeding mechanisms and mouthpart evolution.

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“…As exemplified by this and the previous character, labral shape is highly variable within Aculeata and requires investigation with a much larger taxon sampling to reveal more phylogenetically informative features. Indeed, several highly specialized shapes have been observed among crown ants, such as in Basicerotina (e.g., Longino, 2013Longino and Boudinot 2013, Probst et al 2019. Category 3.…”

Section: Labrummentioning

confidence: 99%

The First Reconstruction of the Head Anatomy of a Cretaceous Insect, †Gerontoformica gracilis(Hymenoptera: Formicidae), and the Early Evolution of Ants

Richter

Boudinot

Yamamoto

et al. 2022

Insect Systematics and Diversity

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The fossil record allows a unique glimpse into the evolutionary history of organisms living on Earth today. We discovered a specimen of the stem group ant †Gerontoformica gracilis (Barden and Grimaldi, 2014) in Kachin amber with near-complete preservation of internal head structures, which we document employing µ-computed-tomography-based 3D reconstructions. We compare †Gerontoformica to four outgroup taxa and four extant ant species, employing parsimony and Bayesian ancestral state reconstruction to identify morphological differences and similarities between stem and crown ants and thus improve our understanding of ant evolution through the lens of head anatomy. Of 149 morphological characters, 87 are new in this study, and almost all applicable to the fossil. †Gerontoformica gracilis shares shortened dorsal tentorial arms, basally angled pedicels, and the pharyngeal gland as apomorphies with other total clade Formicidae. Retained plesiomorphies include mandible shape and features of the prepharynx. Implications of the reconstructed transitions especially for the ant groundplan are critically discussed based on our restricted taxon sampling, emphasizing the crucial information derived from internal anatomy which is applied to deep time for the first time. Based on the falcate mandible in †Gerontoformica and other Aculeata, we present hypotheses for how the shovel-shaped mandibles in crown Formicidae could have evolved. Our results support the notion of †Gerontoformica as ‘generalized’ above-ground predator missing crucial novelties of crown ants which may have helped the latter survive the end-Cretaceous extinction. Our study is an important step for anatomical research on Cretaceous insects and a glimpse into the early evolution of ant heads.

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A Phylogenetic Analysis of the Dirt Ants, Basiceros (Formicidae: Myrmicinae): Inferring Life Histories Through Morphological Convergence

Cited by 7 publications

References 27 publications

The feeding apparatus of ants: an overview of structure and function

The feeding apparatus of ants: an overview of structure and function

The feeding apparatus of ants: An overview of structure and function

The First Reconstruction of the Head Anatomy of a Cretaceous Insect, †Gerontoformica gracilis(Hymenoptera: Formicidae), and the Early Evolution of Ants

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