Phasmomyrmex

Phasmomyrmex
	Camponotus wolfi
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Hymenoptera
Family:	Formicidae
Subfamily:	Formicinae
Tribe:	Camponotini
Genus:	Camponotus
Subgenus:	Phasmomyrmex; Stitz, 1910
Type species
	Phasmomyrmex sericeus (junior synonym of Camponotus buchneri);
Synonyms
	Myrmacantha Emery, 1920; Myrmorhachis Forel, 1912; Camponotus wolfi Specimen Label

Phantom Carpenter Ants

Overview of Genus. Hita Garcia, Wiesel and Fischer (2013) - "Phasmomyrmex is a very species-poor subgenus with only four species. All are found in the Afrotropical region (Bolton, 2012). The species were described independently from each other in different genera. Their respective generic affiliations remained unstable until they were finally considered to be congeneric (Bolton, 1995, 2003). Despite the small number of species and known specimens a modern taxonomic treatment is still lacking. Biological details of Phasmomyrmex is very limited but they do appear to be arboreal."

Diagnosis. Emery (1925). - "Worker. - Without caste dimorphism; size variable. Head rectangular or trapezoidal; eyes placed at midlength of lateral head margins. Clypeus flat, without median carina, and without anterior lobe, anterior clypeal margin entire or notched in medially. Mesosoma with more-or-less shouldered pronotum; metanotum occupying considerable space dorsally, bounded by sutures anteriorly and posteriorly, metanotal spriacles placed below border which delimits dorsal metanotal surface; propodeum truncate or concave posteriorly. Petiolar scale thick, angular or spiny dorsolaterally. Gaster as in Camponotus. Queen. - Head as in worker. Mesosoma depressed; mesoscutum only slightly produced over pronotum, and mesoscutellum produced over metanotum and propodeum. Wings as in Camponotus. Male. - Unknown.

Geographical Distribution of Species. - Tropical West Africa."

(Translation and editing by B. E. Boudinot, 19 February 2017.)

Phasmomyrmex is currently a subgenus of Camponotus.

Identification

See images of species within this genus

Species by Region

Number of species within biogeographic regions, along with the total number of species for each region.

	Afrotropical Region	Australasian Region	Indo-Australian Region	Malagasy Region	Nearctic Region	Neotropical Region	Oriental Region	Palaearctic Region
Species	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total Species	2840	1735	3042	932	835	4378	1740	2862

Biology

Castes

Nomenclature

The following information is derived from Barry Bolton's Online Catalogue of the Ants of the World.

PHASMOMYRMEX [Formicinae: Camponotini]
- Phasmomyrmex Stitz, 1910: 146. Type-species: Phasmomyrmex sericeus (junior synonym of Camponotus buchneri), by monotypy.
- Phasmomyrmex subgenus of Camponotus: Forel, 1912i: 90.
- Phasmomyrmex revived status as genus: Emery, 1920b: 252; Wheeler, W.M. 1922a: 701.
- Current subgenera of Phasmomyrmex: nominal plus Myrmacantha, Myrmorhachis.

References

Agosti, D. 1991. Revision of the oriental ant genus Cladomyrma, with an outline of the higher classification of the Formicinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). Syst. Entomol. 16: 293-310 (page 295, Phasmomyrmex in Formicinae, Formica genus group)
Blaimer, B.B., Brady, S.G., Schultz, T.R., Lloyd, M.W., Fisher, B.L., & Ward, P.S. 2015. Phylogenomic methods outperform traditional multi-locus approaches in resolving deep evolutionary history: a case study of formicine ants. BMC Evolutionary Biology, 15:271 (DOI 10.1186/s12862-015-0552-5).
Bolton, B. 2003. Synopsis and Classification of Formicidae. Mem. Am. Entomol. Inst. 71: 370pp (page 122, Phasmomyrmex in Formicinae, Camponotini)
Donisthorpe, H. 1943g. A list of the type-species of the genera and subgenera of the Formicidae. [part]. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. 11(10): 617-688 (page 683, Phasmomyrmex in Dolichoderinae (anachronism))
Emery, C. 1920b. Le genre Camponotus Mayr. Nouvel essai de la subdivision en sous-genres. Rev. Zool. Afr. (Bruss.) 8: 229-260 (page 252, Phasmomyrmex in Formicinae, Camponotini; Phasmomyrmex as genus)
Emery, C. 1925d. Hymenoptera. Fam. Formicidae. Subfam. Formicinae. Genera Insectorum 183: 1-302 (page 57, Phasmomyrmex in Formicinae, Camponotini; Phasmomyrmex as genus)
Forel, A. 1912j. Formicides néotropiques. Part VI. 5me sous-famille Camponotinae Forel. Mém. Soc. Entomol. Belg. 20: 59-92 (page 90, Phasmomyrmex as subgenus of Camponotus)
Forel, A. 1914a. Le genre Camponotus Mayr et les genres voisins. Rev. Suisse Zool. 22: 257-276 (page 264, Phasmomyrmex as subgenus of Camponotus)
Forel, A. 1917. Cadre synoptique actuel de la faune universelle des fourmis. Bull. Soc. Vaudoise Sci. Nat. 51: 229-253 (page 251, Phasmomyrmex as subgenus of Camponotus)
Klimeš, P., Drescher, J., Buchori, D., Hidayat, P., Nazarreta, R., Potocký, P., Rimandai, M., Scheu, S., Matos-Maraví, P. 2022. Uncovering cryptic diversity in the enigmatic ant genus Overbeckia and insights into the phylogeny of Camponotini (Hymenoptera:Formicidae:Formicinae). Invertebrate Systematics, 36(6), 557-579 (doi:10.1071/is21067).
Stitz, H. 1910. Westafrikanische Ameisen. I. Mitt. Zool. Mus. Berl. 5: 125-151 (page 146, Phasmomyrmex as genus and subgenus; Phasmomyrmex in Dolichoderinae)
Ward, P.S., Blaimer, B.B., Fisher, B.L. 2016. A revised phylogenetic classification of the ant subfamily Formicinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), with resurrection of the genera Colobopsis and Dinomyrmex. Zootaxa 4072 (3): 343–357 (doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4072.3.4).
Wheeler, W. M. 1922i. Ants of the American Museum Congo expedition. A contribution to the myrmecology of Africa. VII. Keys to the genera and subgenera of ants. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 45: 631-710 (page 701, Phasmomyrmex as genus; Phasmomyrmex in Formicinae, Camponotini, Phasmomyrmex revived status as genus)