Leptanilloides

Small hypogaeic blind ant predators with subterranean legionary habits. Their hypogaeic habits may, in concert with collecting techniques that have vastly undersampled ants with such a lifestyle, explain the paucity of information about these ants. Museum collections hold few specimens of these ants and there are also some oddly disjunct distributions for some species.

Species richness
Species richness by country based on regional taxon lists (countries with darker colours are more species-rich). View Data



Biology
Anecdotal observations suggest these ants ("Leptanilloidinae" species) behave as army-ant like predators. These ants are likely to be largely subterranean, occasionally coming to the ground surface under debri (rocks, downed wood, etc.) while foraging or to allow mature sexuals (either males only or perhaps males and females) to leave their natal nest. Group predation, frequent colony migrations and synchronized brood cycles may also be part of their life history.

Nomenclature

 *  LEPTANILLOIDES [Leptanilloidinae]
 * Leptanilloides Mann, 1923: 13. Type-species: Leptanilloides biconstricta, by original designation.