Aphaenogaster

Belongs within: Myrmicinae.

Aphaenogaster, the funnel ants, is a genus of medium-sized, gracile ants whose members build distinctive nests, comprising a deep wide entrance tunnel surrounded by a pile of loose dirt. They are distinguished by a twelve-segmented antenna with a loose four-segmented club (Heterick 2009). Species of this genus often walk with the gaster notably deflexed downwards or underneath the mesosoma. Aphaenogaster pythia can be regarded as a nuisance species in eastern Australia due to damage caused by its digging to pasture and tracks (Heterick 2009).

<==Aphaenogaster Mayr 1853TB85 (see below for synonymy)
    |--*A. sardoa Mayr 1853TB85
    |--A. albisetosaBS06
    |--A. baroniiES12
    |--A. beccarii Emery 1887 [=A. (Ischnomyrmex) beccarii]Z01
    |--A. blanciE89a
    |--‘Novomessor’ cockerelliC90
    |--A. cristata (Forel 1902) [=Stenamma (Aphaenogaster) cristata]B03
    |--A. depilis Santschi 1911OM19
    |--A. exaperataZ01
    |--A. feae Emery 1889B03 [=A. (Ischnomyrmex) feaeE89b]
    |--A. fulvaWL04
    |--A. geeiZ01
    |--A. hunanensis Wu & Wang 1992Z01
    |--A. japonica Forel 1911 (see below for synonymy)Z01
    |--A. laeviorE89b
    |--A. longiceps (Smith 1858)TB85 (see below for synonymy)
    |--A. longipes (Smith 1857)B03 [=Myrmica longipesB03, A. (*Ischnomyrmex) longipesE89b, B03]
    |--A. megommataWW90
    |--A. occidentalisBS06
    |--A. polyodonta Zhou 2001Z01
    |--A. poultoni Crawley 1922TB85 [incl. A. (Nystalomyrma) barbigula Wheeler 1916TB85, H09, TB85]
    |--A. pumilopuncta Zhou 2001Z01
    |--A. pythia Forel 1915TB85
    |--A. rothneyi (Forel 1902) [=Stenamma (Aphaenogaster) rothneyi]B03
    |--A. rudisWL04
    |--A. sagei (Forel 1902) [=Stenamma (Aphaenogaster) sagei]B03
    |--A. schurri (Forel 1902) [=Stenamma (Aphaenogaster) schurri]B03
    |--A. smythiesii (Forel 1902) [=Stenamma (Aphaenogaster) smythiesii]Z01
    |--A. subexaperata Zhou 2001Z01
    |--A. subterraneaS09
    |--A. swammerdamiBS06
    |--A. takahashiiZ01
    `--A. texanaWL04

Aphaenogaster Mayr 1853^TB85 [incl. Attomyrma Emery 1915^Z01, Brunella Forel 1917 non Smith 1909^Z01, Deromyrma Forel 1913^Z01, Ischnomyrmex Mayr 1862^B03, Novomessor Emery 1915^Z01, Nystalomyema Wheeler 1916^Z01, Planimyrma Viehmeyer 1914^Z01]

Aphaenogaster japonica Forel 1911 [=A. schmitzi japonica, A. (Attomyrma) japonica; incl. A. smithiesii sinensis Wheeler 1928]^Z01

Aphaenogaster longiceps (Smith 1858)^TB85 [=Myrmica longiceps^TB85, A. (*Nystalomyrma) longiceps^TB85, Stenamma longiceps^Z94; incl. S. (Ischnomyrmex) longiceps ruginota Forel 1902^TB85]

*Type species of generic name indicated

References

[B03] Bingham, C. T. 1903. The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Hymenoptera vol. 2. Ants and Cuckoo-Wasps. Taylor and Francis: London.

[BS06] Brady, S. G., T. R. Schultz, B. L. Fisher & P. S. Ward. 2006. Evaluating alternative hypotheses for the early evolution and diversification of ants. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 103 (48): 18172–18177.

[C90] Crawford, C. S. 1990. Scorpiones, Solifugae, and associated desert taxa. In: Dindal, D. L. (ed.) Soil Biology Guide pp. 421–475. John Wiley & Sones: New York.

[E89a] Emery, C. 1889a. Intorno ad alcune formiche della fauna palearctica. Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova, Serie 2^a, 7: 439–443.

[E89b] Emery, C. 1889b. Viaggio di Leonardo Fea in Birmania e regioni vicine. XX.—Formiche di Birmania e del Tenasserim raccolte da Leonardo Fea (1885–87). Annali del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Genova, Serie 2^a, 7: 485–520.

[ES12] Espadaler, X., & S. Santamaria. 2012. Ecto- and endoparasitic fungi on ants from the Holarctic region. Psyche 2012: 168478.

[H09] Heterick, B. E. 2009. A guide to the ants of south-western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum Supplement 76: 1–206.

[OM19] Oussalah, N., F. Marniche, X. Espadaler & M. Biche. 2019. Exotic ants from the Maghreb (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) with first report of the hairy alien ant Nylanderia jaegerskioeldi (Mayr) in Algeria. Arxius de Miscellània Zoològica 17: 45–58.

[S09] Seifert, B. 2009. Cryptic species in ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) revisited: we need a change in the alpha-taxonomic approach. Myrmecological News 12: 149–166.

[TB85] Taylor, R. W., & D. R. Brown. 1985. Formicoidea. In: Walton, D. W. (ed.) Zoological Catalogue of Australia vol. 2. Hymenoptera: Formicoidea, Vespoidea and Sphecoidea pp. 1–149. Australian Government Publishing Service: Canberra.

[WL04] Wang, X.-H., & P. J. Lester. 2004. A preliminary study of the usefulness of morphometric tools for splitting the Monomorium antarcticum (Smith) complex (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), New Zealand’s most common native ants. New Zealand Entomologist 27: 103–108.

[WW90] Wheeler, G. C., & J. Wheeler. 1990. Insecta: Hymenoptera Formicidae. In: Dindal, D. L. (ed.) Soil Biology Guide pp. 1277–1294. John Wiley & Sones: New York.

[Z01] Zhou, S. 2001. Ants of Guangxi. Guangxi Normal University Press: Guilin (China).

[Z94] Zimmerman, E. C. 1994. Australian Weevils (Coleoptera: Curculionoidea) vol. 2. Brentidae, Eurhynchidae, Apionidae and a chapter on immature stages by Brenda May. CSIRO Australia.