Myrmeciinae
Encyclopedia
The Myrmeciinae is a subfamily of the Formicidae that was once found worldwide but is now restricted to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 and New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...

. This subfamily is one of several ant subfamilies which possess gamergates, female worker ants which are able to mate and reproduce, thus sustaining the colony after the loss of the queen. The Myrmeciinae subfamily was formerly composed of only one genus, Myrmecia
Myrmecia
Myrmecia, often called bulldog ants, bull ants, inch ants, sergeant ants, jumper ants or jack-jumpers , is a genus of ants. Bull ants can grow to over in length, with the smallest species long...

, however the subfamily was redescribed by Ward & Brady in 2003 to include two tribes and four genera: An additional three genera, one form genus, and nine species were described in 2006 by Archibald, Cover and Moreau from the Early Eocene of Denmark Canada, and Washington.
  • Tribe Myrmeciini
    • Myrmecia
      Myrmecia
      Myrmecia, often called bulldog ants, bull ants, inch ants, sergeant ants, jumper ants or jack-jumpers , is a genus of ants. Bull ants can grow to over in length, with the smallest species long...

  • Tribe Prionomyrmecini
    • Archimyremex
    • Nothomyrmecia
    • Prionomyrmex
      Prionomyrmex
      Prionomyrmex is a genus of extinct ants belonging to the subfamily Myrmeciinae. This genus is known only from fossil specimens in amber dating to the Eocene. It was suggested by Baroni Urbani in 2000 that the living species Nothomyrmecia macrops belongs in Prionomyrmex, but this proposal has not...

  • Tribe incertae sedis
    • Avitomyrmex
      Avitomyrmex
      Avitomyrmex is an extinct genus of bulldog ants which contains three described species. All three of the described species are from British Columbia, Canada.-History and classification:...

    • Macabeemyrma
      Macabeemyrma
      Macabeemyrma is an extinct genus of bulldog ants in the subfamily Myrmeciinae and containing the single species Macabeemyrma ovata...

    • Ypresiomyrma
      Ypresiomyrma
      Ypresiomyrma is an extinct genus of bulldog ants in the subfamily Myrmeciinae which contains three described species. One species is known from the Isle of Fur in Denmark and two are from British Columbia, Canada.-History and classification:...

  • Form genus (for species belonging to the subfamily but not identifiable to current genera)
    • Myrmeciites
      Myrmeciites
      Myrmeciites is a form genus of extinct bulldog ants which contains three described species and two fossils not placed beyond the genus level...

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