| 翻訳と辞書 |
Kempfidris
''Kempfidris'' is a Neotropical genus of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae containing the single species ''Kempfidris inusualis''. Known from Brazil, Ecuador and Venezuela, the species was originally described as ''Monomorium inusuale'' in 2007, but was reclassified as the type species for the new genus ''Kempfidris'' in 2014. The species is only known from workers and almost nothing is known about their natural history.
==Description==
The genus was described in 2014 based on the workers of a single species, ''K. inusualis'', originally described by Fernández (2007) and provisionally placed in ''Monomorium'' awaiting a better understanding of the internal relationships in Myrmicinae. ''Kempfidris'' has a series of distinctive morphological characters including the mandibular configuration, vestibulate propodeal spiracle, propodeal carinae, and cylindrical micro-pegs on the posteromedian portion of abdominal tergum VI and anteromedian portion of abdominal tergum VII. This last trait appears to be autapomorphic for the genus.〔 Queens and males are unknown.〔
The most outstanding feature of ''Kempfidris'' is the series of minute, hair-bearing tubercles or cylindrical pegs on the abdominal apex. Most are concentrated on the anteromedian portion of the pygidium and some on the posteromedian portion of abdominal tergite VI, a position that would coincide with the position of the pygidial gland, which opens between abdominal tergites VI and VII.〔 The structure of the micropegs with their associated hairs also hints at some sort of glandular function, or possibly a mechano-reception function during stinging, but a more convincing explanation will only be possible after a histological study. Whatever the function of these tubercles, they appear to be an autapomorphic structure, absent in other Myrmicinae and probably in other ants as well. In ants, the most structurally similar cuticular projections can be found throughout most of the body of some species in the formicine genus ''Echinopla'', except on the pygidium, and additionally on the gastral apex of an undescribed species of ''Strumigenys''. Given that these aforementioned taxa are not closely related to ''Kempfidris'', their structures are probably not homologous, but perhaps convergent evolution could be considered, especially in the case of the dacetine ant. Other specialized pygidial structures found in ants are the denticles or spines of Cerapachyinae (now Dorylinae) and the large, upward-curving teeth in ''Pachycondyla crassinoda'' workers, but their position and form are very different. Most members of the solenopsidine group are smooth, with little sculpturing, but this species presents a moderate amount of sculpturing on the head, mesosoma, petiole and postpetiole.〔
抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』
■ウィキペディアで「Kempfidris」の詳細全文を読む
スポンサード リンク
| 翻訳と辞書 : 翻訳のためのインターネットリソース |
Copyright(C) kotoba.ne.jp 1997-2016. All Rights Reserved.
|
|