Myrmecia piliventris explained

Myrmecia piliventris, the golden tail bull ant, is an Australian ant which belongs to the genus Myrmecia. This species is native to Australia. The Myrmecia piliventris is distributed Australia wide, but they're not too common in the western regions of Australia.^[1]

Characteristics

The typical size for a worker is around 10–15.5 millimetres long. The species is black mostly, with the exceptions where the mandibles, antennae and legs are dark brown. The tarsi is lighter but with a more reddish tone. The abdomen is a golden yellow colour. They have similarities to some Myrmecia species as they do not have teeth, which most of its kind contain.^{[2] [3] [4]}

Myrmecia piliventris has a genome similar to that of the jack jumper ant. However its chromosome complement is n=2, higher than the jack jumper ant, but most of its relatives of the genus Myrmecia have a much higher chromosome count.^{[5] [6]}

Notes and References

1. Web site: Myrmecia piliventris Smith, 1858. . Govt of Australia . 13 March 2014 .
2. Book: Clark, John . The Formicidae of Australia (Volume 1) . Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Australia. Melbourne . 1951 . 156–158 .
3. G. . Mayr . Die australischen Formiciden . Journal des Museum Godeffroy . 1876 . 12 . 93 .
4. Book: Wheeler, GC . Ant larvae of the subfamily Myrmeciinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) . Pan-Pac. 1971 . 251 .
5. Book: Taylor, R.W., Imai, H.T. . The exceptionally low chromosome number n=2 in an Australian bulldog ant Myrmecia piliventris . 1986 . 20 .
6. Book: Taylor, R.W. . Notes on the remarkable karyology of the primitive ant Nothomyrmecia macrops, and of the related genus Myrmecia (Hymenoptera: Formicidae).. Hindawi Publishing. 1990 .