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genus
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Leptogenys
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Japanese Name
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Hashiri-hari-ari-zoku
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Original Reference
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Roger, J. (1861) Die Ponera-artigen Ameisen. (Schluss.) Berliner Entomologische Zeitschrift 5: 1-54.
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Description
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Anterior margin of clypeus strongly produced medially. Antennal scapes long, greatly exceeding the posterior margin of the head. Eyes well developed. Mandibles not covered by clypeus, and very variable in shape, e.g. subtriangular, short and shaft-like, or sickle-shaped; their masticatory margins lacking teeth in most species. Pro- and mesonotum more or less convex dorsally. Middle and hind tibiae each with a spine-like and a pectinate spur. Tarsal claws pectinate in almost all species (a feature unique to this genus among ants).. Petiole varying greatly in shape, the node ranging from short to very long.
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Remarks
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Although this genus has long been placed in its own ponerine tribe, Leptogeniini, it is now assigned to the very large tribe Ponerini (Brown, 1963). Its species are found in forests and woodlands, and nest in rotting wood, under stones, and in leaf-litter. These ants are predators of soil arthropods including Diplopoda, Isopoda and termites (Wilson, 1958a; Bolton, 1975). Colony worker populations vary interspecifically from several tens to several millions. Leptogenys is widely distributed in tropical and subtropical areas, and most abundant in the tropics. Two hundred and eighty species names have been declared, covering an estimated 175 biological species (Bolton, 1975). We recognize one Japanese species, L. confucii Forel. L. chinensis (Mayr) was recorded, perhaps incorrectly, from Japan by Dalla Torre (1893); there are no reliable modern records of its presence.
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References
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- Wilson, E. O. (1958a. ). Studies on the ant fauna of Melanesia. I. The tribe Leptogenyini. II. The tribes Amblyoponini and Platythyreini. . Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. Harv., 118, 101-153.
- Bolton, B. (1975). A revision of the ant genus Leptogenys Roger (Hymenoptera:Formicidae) in the Ethiopian Region with a review of the Malagasy species. . Bull. Br. Mus. Nat. Hist. (Ent.), 31, 237-305.
- Dalla-Torre, C. G. de (1893). Catalogus Hymenopterorum. Volumen VII: Formicidae (Heterogyna). . , 289pp. .
- Brown, W. L., Jr. (1963). Characters and synonymies among the genera of ants. Part‡V. Some members of the tribe Ponerini (Ponerinae, Formicidae). . Breviora, (190), 1-10.
- Die Ponera-artigen Ameisen. (Schluss.) Berliner Entomologische Zeitschrift 5: 1-54.
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Editor
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Original text by Mamoru Terayama and Masao Kubota. English tranlation by M. Terayama, edited by Robert W. Taylor.
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