Pristomyrmex is a genus of ants in the subfamily Myrmicinae.[2]

Pristomyrmex
Temporal range: Late Eocene - Recent
P. bispinosus worker from Mauritius
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Hymenoptera
Family: Formicidae
Subfamily: Myrmicinae
Tribe: Crematogastrini
Genus: Pristomyrmex
Mayr, 1866
Type species
Pristomyrmex pungens
Diversity[1]
59 species

Distribution and habitat

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The genus is composed of 59 extant species restricted to the Old World tropics and a single extinct species, Pristomyrmex rasnitsyni, described from Scandinavian amber.[3] Its center of diversity is the Oriental region, though species are also known from the Australian rainforests, Africa, Mauritius and Réunion. Most of the species inhabit the rainforest, forage as predators or scavengers, and tend to nest in soil, leaf litter or rotten wood.[4]

Species

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References

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  1. ^ Bolton, B. (2014). "Pristomyrmex". AntCat. Retrieved 5 July 2014.
  2. ^ "Genus: Pristomyrmex". antweb.org. AntWeb. Retrieved 23 September 2013.
  3. ^ Dlussky, G. M.; Radchenko, A. G. (2011). "Pristomyrmex rasnitsyni sp. n., the first known fossil species of the ant genus Pristomyrmex Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) from the Late Eocene Danish amber". Russian Entomological Journal. 20 (3): 251–254. doi:10.15298/rusentj.20.3.05.
  4. ^ Sarnat, E.; Economo, E. (2013). "Pristomyrmex tsujii sp. n. and P. mandibularis Mann (Hymenoptera, Formicidae) from Fiji". ZooKeys (340): 43–61. Bibcode:2013ZooK..340...43S. doi:10.3897/zookeys.340.5479. PMC 3800798. PMID 24146591.
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