Proatta
Proatta is a Southeast Asian genus of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae.[1] It contains the single species Proatta butteli, known from the Malay Peninsula, Borneo and Sumatra.[2]
| Proatta | |
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| Proatta butteli worker | |
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| Genus: | Proatta Forel, 1912 |
| Species: | Proatta butteli |
| Binomial name | |
| Proatta butteli Forel, 1912 | |
Biology
Due to morphological similarities with the fungus-growing ants, Emery (1922) placed the genus within the tribe Attini. Weber (1958) attributed the shared similarities to convergent evolution, and Bolton (2003) finally moved the genus to Stenammini.[3] Unlike the attines of the New World, Proatta species are predators and scavengers, and while fungus may grow in refuse piles in the nest, the ants do not actively cultivate fungus.[2]
References
- "Genus: Proatta". antweb.org. AntWeb. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
- Moffett, M. W. (December 1986). "Behavior of the group-predatory ant Proatta butteli (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): an Old World relative of the attine ants" (PDF). Insectes Sociaux. 33: 444–457. doi:10.1007/bf02223950.
- Weber, N.A. (1958). "Nomenclatural notes on Proatta and Atta (Hym.: Formicidae)". Entomological News. 69: 7–13.
- Emery, C. (1922). "Hymenoptera. Fam. Formicidae. Subfam. Myrmicinae. [part]." Genera Insectorum 174B: 95-206.
- Forel, A. (1912). "Descriptions provisoires de genres, sous-genres, et espèces de Formicides des Indes orientales." Revue Suisse de Zoologie 20: 761-774.
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