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Poneromorph subfamilies
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The traditional subfamily Ponerinae has recently been divided up into several subfamilies, with several former tribes now elevated to subfamily rank by the British myrmecologist Barry Bolton.[1]
Bolton's careful analysis shows that some ponerine groups may be more closely related to other subfamilies than to each other.
Bolton's subfamilies of "poneromorph" Formicidae include :
- Amblyoponinae
- Ectatomminae (this one, and possibly the next, apparently related to the widely distributed and highly diverse Myrmicinae)
- Heteroponerinae
- Paraponerinae (possibly related to Myrmeciinae - Australian bulldog ants)
- Ponerinae (in a much more restricted sense)
- Proceratiinae.
Long considered primitive on the basis of retention of a typical hymenopteran sting and pupae in cocoons, some groups among the poneromorphs exhibit considerable specialization in predatory habits and mandibular form.
These two evolutionary developments are often, but not necessarily, seen in association : enlongated mandibles with modified teeth for handling large and potentially toxic prey in Amblyopone and Thaumatomyrmex, and strongly modified "snap-jaws" and associated musculature in the generalized predator Odontomachus.
Most poneromorphs appear to have lost the taste for sweets (nectar, fruit) typical of adult stinging Hymenoptera, and this should probably also be considered an evolutionary "advancement". Foraging for extrafloral nectar and honeydew from Homoptera has been retained in Ectatomminae and Paraponerinae, but was perhaps secondarily re-acquired in Odontomachus of the Ponerinae.
- ^ (2003) "Synopsis and classification of Formicidae". Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute 71: 370.