Phylogeny of Pseudomyrmecinae

Relationships among genera of the ant subfamily Pseudomyrmecinae (extant taxa only) based on Ward & Downie (2005) and Brady et al (2006).

For relationships among the subfamilies see Phylogeny of Formicidae.

Pseudomyrmecinae	some Tetraponera  (87 species, 7 fossil species) some Tetraponera some Tetraponera Myrcidris  (1 species, 0 fossil species) Pseudomyrmex  (155 species, 13 fossil species)

Relationships among the three genera of Pseudomyrmecinae, Myrcidris, Pseudomyrmex and Tetraponera, were examined by Ward (1990) who concluded, on the basis of morphological characters, that Myrcidris is the sister group of (Pseudomyrmex + Tetraponera). A recent, more comprehensive study, based on both morphological and molecular data, demonstrated a sister group relationship between Pseudomyrmex and Myrcidris (Ward & Downie, 2005, especially Fig. 2, shown below). DNA sequence data (~5 kb, from five nuclear genes) strongly suggest that Tetraponera is paraphyletic, with one species group (the rufonigra-group) being more closely related to (Pseudomyrmex + Myrcidris) than to other Tetraponera.

Ward & Downie, 2005, Fig. 2.

References

• Brady, S.G., Schultz, T.R., Fisher, B.L. & Ward, P.S. 2006. Evaluating alternative hypotheses for the early evolution and diversification of ants. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences U.S.A. 103: 18172-18177.
• Ward Lab Blog
• Ward, P.S. 1990. The ant subfamily Pseudomyrmecinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): generic revision and relationship to other formicids. Syst. Entomol. 15:449-489.
• Ward, P.S., Downie, D.A. 2005. The ant subfamily Pseudomyrmecinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae): phylogeny and evolution of big-eyed arboreal ants. Systematic Entomology 30:310-335 (doi:10.1111/j.1365-3113.2004.00281.x).