E. Fox, Adrian A. Smith, Joshua C. Gibson, Daniel Solís
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引用次数: 7
Abstract
This study aims to contribute to the neglected topic of larval biology in ants. The number of larval instars for three different species of trap-jaw ants, Odontomachus meinerti Forel, 1905, Odontomachus bauri Emery, 1892, and Odontomachus brunneus (Patton, 1894) was estimated to three based on the maximum width frequency distributions of head capsules from worker and male larvae. The obtained number of larval instars was smaller than from a previous report with another species in the genus, indicating possible interspecific variation. Larvae of different sexes and instars among the three different species were generally identical, differing merely by relative dimensions and patterns of hair distribution. Dorsal "doorknob" protuberances were recorded for the first time in the genus, and observed being used to fix larvae onto nest walls. From observing several individuals, we suggest the ornamentation of spiracle peritremes and the types of body protuberances are useful characters for larval taxonomy within this group. Moreover, a few individuals were found possessing anomalous structures which are reminiscent of characters from related taxa. Finally, some brief observations are made on an unidentified parasite found inside some mature larvae of O. bauri.
期刊介绍:
Taxonomic manuscripts with isolated species descriptions are generally discouraged, especially for genera with large numbers of undescribed species; it lies at the discretion of the editorial team whether such manuscripts are considered. Papers on new distribution records will be considered if the new records are sufficiently important or unexpected from a biogeographical perspective. Such papers could, for example, discuss relevant biological/ecological data and/or biogeographical implications such as analysis by species-distribution modelling.
In detail, research areas covered by Myrmecological News include: behaviour; biogeography and faunistics; biological-pest control; chemical ecology; climate-change biology; cognition and learning; comparative and functional morphology; community ecology; conservation biology and bioindication; cytogenetics; ecology and evolution of (endo)symbioses; ecosystem (dis)services; foraging strategies; fossils; fragmentation ecology; genomics; histology; immune research; (integrative) taxonomy; interspecific hybridisation; invasion biology; life-history research; methodology in community quantification; national checklists; neurobiology; niche ecology; orientation and navigation; phenology; phylogeny and phylogeography; population genetics; sensory physiology; social evolution; social parasitism; sociogenomics; stable isotopes; tools for routine identification.