Temporary Page

Formicidae

Ants

Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
taxon links [up-->]Brownimecia clavata [up-->]Myrmeciinae [up-->]Paraponera [up-->]Formicinae [up-->]Leptanillinae [up-->]Amblyoponinae [up-->]Ectatomminae [up-->]Formicium [up-->]Agroecomyrmecinae [up-->]Ponerinae [up-->]Aneuretinae [up-->]Armaniinae [up-->]Heteroponerinae [up-->]Myrmicinae [up-->]Proceratiinae [up-->]Pseudomyrmecinae [up-->]Dolichoderinae [up-->]Dorylomorphs [up-->]Sphecomyrminae extinct icon extinct icon extinct icon extinct icon extinct icon extinct icon extinct icon extinct icon Phylogenetic position of group is uncertainPhylogenetic position of group is uncertainPhylogenetic position of group is uncertainPhylogenetic position of group is uncertainPhylogenetic position of group is uncertainPhylogenetic position of group is uncertainPhylogenetic position of group is uncertainPhylogenetic position of group is uncertainPhylogenetic position of group is uncertain and group is not monophyleticPhylogenetic position of group is uncertain and group is not monophyletic[down<--]Vespoidea Interpreting the tree
close box

This tree diagram shows the relationships between several groups of organisms.

The root of the current tree connects the organisms featured in this tree to their containing group and the rest of the Tree of Life. The basal branching point in the tree represents the ancestor of the other groups in the tree. This ancestor diversified over time into several descendent subgroups, which are represented as internal nodes and terminal taxa to the right.

example of a tree diagram

You can click on the root to travel down the Tree of Life all the way to the root of all Life, and you can click on the names of descendent subgroups to travel up the Tree of Life all the way to individual species.

For more information on ToL tree formatting, please see Interpreting the Tree or Classification. To learn more about phylogenetic trees, please visit our Phylogenetic Biology pages.

close box
Relationships among the major ant lineages are still unclear. The unresolved phylogeny given above is based on the subfamily-level classification of Bolton (2003), with relationships of the dorylomorph subfamilies from Brady (2003), and with Apomyrminae sunk into Amblyoponinae as in Saux et al. (2004).
Containing group: Vespoidea

Characteristics

Bolton (2003) gives the following list of general synapomorphies for the Formicidae (but note that several of these are not unique to ants and have evolved independently in other vespoids, and that several have been secondarily lost in certain ant lineages):

Other Names for Formicidae

References

Agosti, D., D. Grimaldi, and J. M. Carpenter. 1997. Oldest known ant fossils discovered. Nature 391: 447.

Baroni Urbani, C. 2000. Rediscovery of the Baltic amber ant genus Prionomyrmex (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) and its taxonomic consequences. Eclogae Geologicae Helvetiae 93: 471-480.

Baroni Urbani, C., B. Bolton and P. S. Ward. 1992. The internal phylogeny of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Systematic Entomology 17: 301-329.

Bolton, B. 1994. Identification Guide to the Ant Genera of the World. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Bolton, B. 1995. A New General Catalogue of the Ants of the World. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Bolton, B. 2003. Synopsis and Classification of Formicidae. 370 pp. Memoirs of the American Entomological Institute, Vol. 71. Gainesville, FL.

Brady, S. 2003. Evolution of the army ant syndrome: the origin and long-term evolutionary stasis of a complex of behavioral and reproductive adaptations. PNAS 100(11): 6575-6579.

Brown, W. L., Jr. 1954. Remarks on the internal phylogeny and subfamily classification of the family Formicidae. Insectes Sociaux 1:21-31.

Crozier, R. H., L. S. Jermiin, and M. Chiotis. 1997. Molecular evidence for a Jurassic origin of ants. Naturwissenschaften 84: 22-23.

Grimaldi, D. and D. Agosti. 2000. A formicine in New Jersey Cretaceous amber (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) and early evolution of the ants. PNAS 97: 13678-13683.

Grimaldi, D., D. Agosti, and J. M. Carpenter. 1997. New and rediscovered primitive ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Cretaceous amber from New Jersey, and their phylogenetic relationships. American Museum Novitates 3208: 1-43.

Hölldobler, B. and E. O. Wilson. 1990. The Ants. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Rust, J. and N. M. Andersen. 1999. Giant ants from the Paleogene of Denmark with a discussion of the fossil history and early evolution of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 125: 331-348.

Saux, C., B. L. Fisher, and G. S. Spicer. 2004. Dracula ant phylogeny as inferred by nuclear 28S rDNA sequences and implications for ant systematics (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Amblyoponinae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 33: 457-468.

Schultz, T. R. 2000. In search of ant ancestors. PNAS 97(26): 14028-14029.

Shattuck, S. O. 1992. Higher classification of the ant subfamilies Aneuretinae, Dolichoderinae and Formicinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Systematic Entomology 17: 199-206.

Ward, P. S. 1994. Adetomyrma, an enigmatic new ant genus from Madagascar (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), and its implications for ant phylogeny. Systematic Entomology 19: 159-175.

Ward, P. S., B. B. Bolton, S. O. Shattuck, and W. L. Brown, Jr. 1996. A bibliography of ant systematics. University of California Publications in Entomology 116:1-417.

Wheeler, G. C. & Wheeler, J. 1976. Ant larvae: review and synthesis. Memoirs of the Entomological Society of Washington 74: 1-108.

Wilson, E. O. 1987. The earliest known ants: an analysis of the Cretaceous species and an inference concerning their social organization. Paleobiology 13(1): 44-53.

Wilson, E. O., F. M. Carpenter, and W. L. Brown, Jr. 1967. The first Mesozoic ants. Science 157: 1038-1040.

Information on the Internet

Title Illustrations
Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Click on an image to view larger version & data in a new window
Scientific Name Myrmica sp.
Location U.S.A. (Arizona)
Comments Worker carrying brood
Sex Female
Life Cycle Stage Worker, larva
Copyright © 2003 Alex Wild
Scientific Name Formica exsectoides
Location U.S.A. (New York)
Sex Female
Life Cycle Stage Worker
Copyright © 2003 Alex Wild
Scientific Name Eciton burchelli
Location Paraguay
Sex Female
Life Cycle Stage Major worker
Copyright © 2003 Alex Wild
About This Page

Page: Tree of Life Formicidae. Ants. The TEXT of this page is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License - Version 3.0. Note that images and other media featured on this page are each governed by their own license, and they may or may not be available for reuse. Click on an image or a media link to access the media data window, which provides the relevant licensing information. For the general terms and conditions of ToL material reuse and redistribution, please see the Tree of Life Copyright Policies.

Citing this page:

Tree of Life Web Project. 2002. Formicidae. Ants. Version 01 January 2002 (temporary). http://tolweb.org/Formicidae/11247/2002.01.01 in The Tree of Life Web Project, http://tolweb.org/

edit this page
close box

This page is a Tree of Life Branch Page.

Each ToL branch page provides a synopsis of the characteristics of a group of organisms representing a branch of the Tree of Life. The major distinction between a branch and a leaf of the Tree of Life is that each branch can be further subdivided into descendent branches, that is, subgroups representing distinct genetic lineages.

For a more detailed explanation of the different ToL page types, have a look at the Structure of the Tree of Life page.

close box

Formicidae

Page Content

articles & notes

Treehouses

collections

people

Explore Other Groups

random page

  go to the Tree of Life home page
top