| Aphaenogaster Temporal range:
| |
|---|---|
| |
| A. swammerdami worker | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Myrmicinae |
| Tribe: | Stenammini |
| Genus: | Aphaenogaster Mayr, 1853 |
| Type species | |
| Aphaenogaster sardoa Mayr, 1853
| |
| Diversity[1] | |
| 200 species | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Aphaenogaster is a genus of myrmicine ants. About 200 species have been described, including 18 fossil species.[1] They occur worldwide except in South America south of Colombia, sub-Saharan Africa, and Antarctica.[2]
They are often confused with Pheidole or Pheidologeton. These two have major and minor workers, while Aphaenogaster has only a single worker caste. Pheidole has three-segmented clubs on its antennae, while Aphaenogaster has four segments and a larger body size. Pheidologeton has 11-segmented antennae, while the antennae in Aphaenogaster are 12-segmented.[3]
In Australia, they often build dense, conspicuous nests.[4] Nest entrances are generally funnel-shaped with diameters up to 4 cm, which resulted in the common name funnel ants. These nests can be a serious problem for golfers or on pastures and unsealed airstrips, because the fragile surface easily collapses under pressure.[3] Where it occurs, Aphaenogaster bioturbation is an important soil and landscape process.[4]
Aphaenogaster ants probably get most of their food from tended aphids on the roots of plants, which explains that they are rarely seen on the surface. The funnel-shaped openings could play a role in trapping arthropods, which are also eaten.[3]
- ^ a b Bolton, B. (2014). "Aphaenogaster". AntCat. Retrieved 23 July 2014.
- ^ Radchenko, A. G.; Perkovsky, E. E. (2016). "The ant Aphaenogaster dlusskyana sp. nov. (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from the Sakhalin amber—the earliest described species of an extant genus of Myrmicinae". Paleontological Journal. 50 (9): 936–946. Bibcode:2016PalJ...50..936R. doi:10.1134/S0031030116090136. S2CID 90471180.
- ^ a b c Genus Aphaenogaster Archived October 9, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b Richards, P.J. (2009) Aphaenogaster ants as bioturbators: impacts on soil and slope processes. Earth-Science Reviews 96: 92-106.