Leptomyrmex: taxon details and analytics
- Domain
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Arthropoda
- Class
- Insecta
- Order
- Hymenoptera
- Family
- Formicidae
- Genus
- Leptomyrmex
- Species
- Scientific Name
- Leptomyrmex
Summary description from Wikipedia:
Leptomyrmex
Leptomyrmex, or spider ants, is a genus of ants and a distinctive member of the ant subfamily Dolichoderinae. Commonly known as "spider ants" for their long legs and spider-like movements, these orange and black ants are prominent residents of intact wet forest and sclerophyll habitats throughout their range. One extant species, Leptomyrmex relictus, is known from central Brazil; otherwise, the global distribution of this genus is restricted to eastern Australia, New Caledonia and New Guinea, as well as the nearby Indonesian islands of Aru and Seram.
Newly hatched Extatosoma tiaratum stick insects mimic these ants to avoid predation.
Workers of Leptomyrmex can be easily recognized by elongate antennal scapes which surpass the posterior margin of the head by more than one half their length, a medially notched hypostoma, mandibles with 7–15 teeth and 5–12 denticles, and a laterally located anterior tentorial pit.
Queens are known from only seven species. All known macro-Leptomyrmex queens are wingless (ergatoid). They can be differentiated from workers by the presence of ocelli and their larger size, including enlarged mesosoma and gaster. Whereas the workers possess a mesosoma that is smooth in profile, the profile of queens is distinctly impressed at the promesonotal suture and the metanotal groove. Appendages are noticeably stouter. Queens of at least one micro-Leptomyrmex species possess wings.
...Leptomyrmex in languages:
- English
- Spider Ants
Images from inaturalist.org observations:
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Parent Taxon
Sibling Taxa
Child Taxa
- Leptomyrmex aitchisoni
- Leptomyrmex burwelli
- Leptomyrmex cnemidatus
- Leptomyrmex contractus
- Leptomyrmex darlingtoni
- Leptomyrmex dolichoscapus
- Leptomyrmex erythrocephalus
- Leptomyrmex flavitarsus
- Leptomyrmex fragilis
- Leptomyrmex garretti
- Leptomyrmex geniculatus
- Leptomyrmex melanoticus
- Leptomyrmex mjobergi
- Leptomyrmex niger
- Leptomyrmex nigriceps
- Leptomyrmex nigriventris
- Leptomyrmex pallens
- Leptomyrmex pilosus
- Leptomyrmex puberulus
- Leptomyrmex ramorniensis
- Leptomyrmex relictus
- Leptomyrmex rothneyi
- Leptomyrmex ruficeps
- Leptomyrmex rufipes
- Leptomyrmex rufithorax
- Leptomyrmex tibialis
- Leptomyrmex unicolor
- Leptomyrmex varians
- Leptomyrmex wiburdi




























































































































































