Dinoponera australis explained
Dinoponera australis is a species of ant notable for its lack of distinct queen caste.
In 2021, the species name was demoted to a synonym of Dinoponera grandis.[1]
Subspecies
Dinoponera australis is divided into three subspecies:
- Dinoponera australis australis Emery, 1901
- Dinoponera australis bucki Borgmeier, 1937
- Dinoponera australis nigricolor Borgmeier, 1937
Description
Studies have shown that fat storage in this species is related to the division of labour in the colony and non-reproductive individuals are characterized with a lower lipid count than reproductives.
Dinoponera australis has been found to exhibit marked differences in the degree of polyploidy across its tissues, ranging from 2 to 64 copies of the nuclear genome.
Distribution
Dinoponera australis has the widest known range of the Dinoponera. This species is found in the department of Santa Cruz in Bolivia, southern Brazil in the states of Mato Grosso, Goiás, Minas Gerais, São Paulo, Mato Grosso do Sul, Paraná, Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul, eastern Paraguay in the departments of Itapúa, Alto Paraná and Guairá, as well as the province of Misiones in Argentina.
References
- Lenhart . P. . Dash . S. T. . MacKay . W. P. . A revision of the giant Amazonian ants of the genus Dinoponera (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) . 10.3897/JHR.31.4335 . Journal of Hymenoptera Research . 31 . 119–164 . 2013 . free .
- 10.3897/jhr.37.6824. Organ-specific patterns of endopolyploidy in the giant ant Dinoponera australis. Journal of Hymenoptera Research. 37. 113–126. 2014. Scholes . D. . Suarez . A. . Smith . A. . Johnston . S. . Paige . K. . free .
- C. R. . Smith . A. V. . Suarez . N. D. . Tsutsui . S. E. . Wittman . B. . Edmonds . A. . Freauff . C. V. . Tillberg . 2011 . Nutritional asymmetries are related to division of labor in a queenless ant . . 6 . 8 . e24011 . 10.1371/journal.pone.0024011 . 21886914 . 3160331 . free.
External links
Notes and References
- 2024-03-12 . 2021-12-21 . 10.5852/ejt.2021.784.1603 . Amanda Martins . John Edwin . 2118-9773 . en . Dias . Lattke . 1–66 . European Journal of Taxonomy . Large ants are not easy – the taxonomy of Dinoponera Roger (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Ponerinae) .
