The ant subfamily Myrmeciinae comprises two extant genera, Myrmecia with 80 estimated species (Fig. 1) and Nothomyrmecia with a single known species, N. macrops (Fig. 2). All are native to Australia except the New Caledonian endemic M. apicalis. Myrmecia brevinoda is present in New Zealand as a human introduction.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Archibald, B. A., Cover, S. P., & Moreau, C. S. (2006). Bulldog ants of the Eocene Okanagan highlands and history of the subfamily (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmeciinae). Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 99, 487–523.
Brown, S. G. A., van Eeden, P., Wiese, M. D., Mullins, R. J., Solley, G. O., Puy, R., Bleasel, K., Taylor, R. W., & Heddle, R. J. (2011). Ant sting anaphylaxis in Australia – The Australian Ant Venom Allergy Study. Medical Journal of Australia, 195, 69–73.
Brown, W. V., Jaisson, P., Taylor, R. W., & Lacey, M. J. (1990). Novel internally branched, internally unsaturated alkenes as major components of the cuticular hydrocarbons of the primitive Australian ant Nothomyrmecia macrops Clark (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Journal of Chemical Ecology, 16, 2623–2635.
Haskins, C. P., & Haskins, E. F. (1951). Notes on the biology and social behavior of the archaic ponerine ants of the genera Myrmecia and Promyrmecia. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 43, 461–491.
Hölldobler, B., & Taylor, R. W. (1983). A behavioral study of the primitive ant Nothomyrmecia macrops Clark. Insectes Sociaux, 30, 384–401.
Imai, H. T., & Taylor, R. W. (1986). The exceptionally low chromosome number n=2 in an Australian bulldog ant Myrmecia piliventris Smith. Annals and Report of the National Institute of Genetics (Japan), 36, 59–61.
Imai, H. T., Taylor, R. W., Kubota, M., Ogata, K., & Wada, M. Y. (1990). Notes on the remarkable karyology of the primitive ant Nothomyrmecia macrops Clark, and on the related genus Myrmecia Fabricius (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Psyche (Cambridge), 97, 133–140.
Ogata, K., & Taylor, R. W. (1991). Ants of the genus Myrmecia Fabricius: A preliminary review and key to the named species. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmeciinae). Journal of Natural History, 25, 1623–1673.
Taylor, R. W. (1978). Nothomyrmecia macrops: A living-fossil ant rediscovered. Science, 201, 979–985.
Taylor, R. W. (2015). Ants with attitude: Australian Jack-jumpers of the Myrmecia pilosula species complex – a biological review, with descriptions of five new species (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Myrmeciinae). Zootaxa, 3911, 493–520.
Taylor, R. W., Imai, H. T., Hasegawa, E., & Beaton, C. D. (2019). A unique conjunction: Gynogenesis and haplodiploid sex determination in an Australian ant. Psyche (Cambridge), 2018(232057), 1–7.
Ward, P. S., & Brady, S. (2003). Phylogeny and biogeography of the ant subfamily Myrmeciinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Invertebrate Systematics, 17, 361–386.
Ward, P. S., & Taylor, R. W. (1981). Allozyme variation, colony structure and genetic relatedness in the primitive ant Nothomyrmecia macrops Clark (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Journal of the Australian Entomological Society, 20, 177–183.
Wheeler, G. C., Wheeler, J., & Taylor, R. W. (1980). The larval and egg stages of the primitive ant Nothomyrmeciamacrops Clark (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Journal of the Australian Entomological Society, 19, 131–137.
Wheeler, W. M. (1933). Colony-founding among ants, with an account of some primitive Australian species. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. 179 pp.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Taylor, R.W. (2021). Myrmeciine Ants. In: Starr, C.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Social Insects. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28102-1_79
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-28102-1_79
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-28101-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-28102-1
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesReference Module Biomedical and Life Sciences