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Carnivorous ants. The subfamily comprises about 200 species in 7 genera assigned to 3 tribes: Cerapachyini, Cylindromyrmecini and Acanthostichini. Tribe Cerapachyini includes 4 genera (Cerapachys, Sphinctomyrmex, Simopone and Leptanilloides), distributed from tropical to warm temperate areas of the world. The included species are usually specialist predators of other ants. The tribes Cylindromyrmecini and Acanthostichini include 1 and 2 genera respectively. Both are found in the new world and are predators of termites. The taxonomic treatment of cerapachyine ants has varied historically. Brown (1975) placed all three tribes in the subfamily Ponerinae. Wheeler & Wheeler (1985) recognized the subfamily Cerapachyinae with 2 tribes (Cerapachyini and Acanthostichini) and assigned tribe Cylindromyrmecini to subfamily Ponerinae. We follow the classical conception of the subfamily (as of Wheeler, 1920 and Brown, 1954), but consider that the generic classification should be re-examined. In Japan, the subfamily is represented only by Cerapachys species.
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