Artículos de revistas
Cyatta abscondita: Taxonomy, Evolution, and Natural History of a New Fungus-Farming Ant Genus from Brazil
Fecha
2013-11-15Registro en:
Plos One. San Francisco: Public Library Science, v. 8, n. 11, 20 p., 2013.
1932-6203
10.1371/journal.pone.0080498
WOS:000327258600066
WOS000327258600066.pdf
Autor
University of Maryland
Smithsonian Inst
Universidade de São Paulo (USP)
Staatl Museum Nat Kunde
Universidade Federal do Paraná (UFPR)
Harvard Univ
Universidade Estadual Paulista (Unesp)
Universidade Federal de Uberlândia (UFU)
Institución
Resumen
Cyatta abscondita, a new genus and species of fungus-farming ant from Brazil, is described based on morphological study of more than 20 workers, two dealate gynes, one male, and two larvae. Ecological field data are summarized, including natural history, nest architecture, and foraging behavior. Phylogenetic analyses of DNA sequence data from four nuclear genes indicate that Cyatta abscondita is the distant sister taxon of the genus Kalathomyrmex, and that together they comprise the sister group of the remaining neoattine ants, an informal clade that includes the conspicuous and well-known leaf-cutter ants. Morphologically, Cyatta abscondita shares very few obvious character states with Kalathomyrmex. It does, however, possess a number of striking morphological features unique within the fungus-farming tribe Attini. It also shares morphological character states with taxa that span the ancestral node of the Attini. The morphology, behavior, and other biological characters of Cyatta abscondita are potentially informative about plesiomorphic character states within the fungus-farming ants and about the early evolution of ant agriculture.