| Mycocepurus castrator | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Hymenoptera |
| Family: | Formicidae |
| Subfamily: | Myrmicinae |
| Tribe: | Attini |
| Genus: | Mycocepurus |
| Species: | M. castrator
|
| Binomial name | |
| Mycocepurus castrator Rabeling & Bacci, 2010[1]
| |
Mycocepurus castrator is a species of parasitic ant, in the genus Mycocepurus, native to Brazil.[2] Described in 2010, the species is a workerless and obligate parasite of the related ant Mycocepurus goeldii. It is known only from Rio Claro, Brazil, and has only been found in nests of M. goeldii.
M. castrator and its host are closely related and diverged recently, around 37,000 years ago. They evolved in the same geographic region, making the parasite–host pair an example of sympatric speciation. The species is the first inquiline known among the lower attines.
- ^ Rabeling, Christian; Bacci Jr., Maurício (July 2010). "A new workerless inquiline in the Lower Attini (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), with a discussion of social parasitism in fungus-growing ants". Systematic Entomology. 35 (3): 379–392. Bibcode:2010SysEn..35..379R. doi:10.1111/j.1365-3113.2010.00533.x. S2CID 50232493.
- ^ "Discovery: Deadbeat ant species branched off as parasite inside its own colony". Smithsonian Science. 21 August 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.